Overview & Reviews

One of America's most storied automotive brands, Dodge has been around since the early days of the auto industry. In the past couple of decades, it has revitalized itself to be a producer of aggressively styled and performance-oriented vehicles.

Two brothers, Horace and John Dodge, began the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle company in 1914, after having worked as manufacturers of bicycles and automotive parts. Their first vehicle was a touring car that proved a fast favorite with car buyers; it was soon joined by a roadster and a four-door sedan. By 1917, the company's model line had grown to include trucks. Dodge cars and trucks were used as staff vehicles and ambulances in World War I.

Dodge was briefly owned by a banking firm and subsequently sold by its new owner to the Chrysler Corporation in 1928. From there, the brand slowly evolved into the division responsible for trucks and performance-oriented cars. Post WWII, Dodge introduced vehicles like the military-inspired Power Wagon truck, Hemi-powered Coronet and the Royal Lancer; in addition, the manufacturer began offering dealer-installed air-conditioning.

Vehicles like the Dodge Dart and the Coronet kept the manufacturer in American driveways throughout the 1960s. That decade also saw the launch of one of Dodge's most iconic vehicles, the Charger. Dodge's muscle car was based on the Coronet platform, and featured a fastback roof line, hidden headlamps and a full-width taillamp panel. Best of all, the Charger could pack one heck of a wallop under the hood. A 318-cubic-inch V8 was standard, but buyers seeking maximum brawn could upgrade to a 426-cubic-inch, 425-hp Hemi V8. The company also introduced a Mustang-fighting pony car, called the Challenger, in 1970.

As with other American auto manufacturers, Dodge's fortunes started to slip in the '70s due to changing tastes and increased competition. The company was saved from extinction in the early '80s thanks to government loans and the sales success of its Omni and Aries economy cars (the former an attempted copy of the VW Rabbit). But 1984 was when Dodge made its mark in the history books with the introduction of the wildly popular Caravan. Ideal for families and able to seat up to seven, the space-efficient Caravan started a whole new vehicle segment -- the minivan.

The early '90s saw the company wow the public with the V10-powered Viper roadster and an all-new Ram pickup that set a new standard for big-rig-like styling. A few years later, Dodge came to be part of DaimlerChrysler, a result of the merger of the German company Daimler (owner of Mercedes-Benz) and Chrysler.

The merger never really worked, however, and Daimler sold Chrysler and Dodge to a private equity firm in 2007. Soon after, America's economy slid into recession. Due to poor sales and debt, Chrysler had to declare bankruptcy. The federal government intervened and eventually Dodge came under control of Fiat, a European automaker known for its small cars, an area where Dodge's entries had been roundly criticized for mediocre build quality and unrefined performance.

More recent years have seen Dodge concentrate on the more practical vehicles in its lineup, making notable improvements to the performance and overall quality of its midsize Avenger sedan and Journey SUV entries. Dodge also spun off its truck line, making it a separate Ram brand. But make no mistake; Dodge is still considered Chrysler's performance division thanks to cars like the Challenger and Charger. Time will tell how successful Dodge's latest makeover is.

User Reviews:

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  Dakota 4Cyl - 1999 Dodge Dakota
  By DMS - July 21 - 3:08 pm

  I bought my Dodge Dakota with 70,000 miles on it. I jumped into buying it. It has the 2.5 L 4 cylinder engine that is expected to carry over 3500 pounds. I have a difficult time getting up to speed and fill I am going to get run over. And with a 4 cylinder I only average 18 mpg that is unbelievably low. But besides having no power, the truck has needed both upper and lower ball joints, radiator at 80,000 miles, the crankshaft sensor at 85,000 miles, the front seal went out at 91,000 miles so I spent over 1,200 dollars in two years in repairs. But at the moment I have 107,000 miles on it and it is finally running good, but I am still not getting anywhere fast.

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  Great Fun to Drive - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By MarNan - July 21 - 10:28 am

  One of the best cars we have owned. Great ride, a little hard, but very good none the less. Having just completed a 3300 mile trip and averaging over 23.4 miles per gallon was surprising. Granted we drove the speed limit using our cruise control and air conditioning only when necessary but performance was excellent. Long stretches of driving under these conditions on the interstate resulted in over 25 MPG. Rode a little stiff and driver seat a little firm for my liking but only minor problem compared to all of the other excellent features of this vehicle. Dodge has a winner in my opinion. Hope they dont decide to discontinue the model in the near future.

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  Durango - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By vegasdriver - July 21 - 10:00 am

  Very comfortable. Will turn better than many smaller cars. Mine is 2WD, it has gotten stuck on gravel shoulders. Stock tires squeal and slip on easy starts. Rear only anti- lock brakes are a bad engineering scheme, the truck skids easily.

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  Dodge - Get better engineers - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Jim - July 19 - 8:02 pm

  After 1 1/2 years and 35,000 I have never had such a love/hate feeling for a vehicle. Good style and good ride, MPG ok for the size(19/23). Computer system, water pump, roof rails, wiper motor and switch have been replaced under warranty. Have had 2 recalls so far. Roof rails are cracked and rattling again(very poor design)and this will be my last visit under warranty. Not sure I want to own this Dodge when its out of warranty coverage.

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  Blinded by design - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Tamdive - July 18 - 12:00 pm

  This car is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Driving is smooth, but reminds me of driving a pickup truck. On the drivers side, there is a terrible blind spot. This one "flaw" has convinced me never to own one. Also, the high rear combined with a small rear window-makes it difficult to see out the rear window.

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  2008 Caliber R/T 5 SP - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Kurt - July 15 - 12:26 pm

  We were looking for something my 5 year old daughter would be comfortable in, in the back seat, and this filled the bill. We bought our Caliber R/T this past winter. I was worried about the tires in the snow. They did pretty good, though I am planning on snow wheels and tire for this winter. Salt and aluminum wheels dont like each other. I drove a base model with the CVT and didnt like it. So we opted for the R/T with the 2.4L with the 5 speed. I love it, so far. Average fuel mileage is 27 mpg. On the highway, should be able to hit 30 mpg. Well, maybe not. ( : I just needed a car to get around in, and we sold a 94 Eclipse, so this was a car to replace that one.

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  My - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By Charles Pinkston - July 14 - 2:00 am

  I traded a 95 Intrepid on this 2000 R/T and really liked the looks of the newer one. Ive had this one for only a week, so I actually cant pass judgement on the performance this soon. Ill keep in touch, tho!!

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  great van so far - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By proud van owner - July 14 - 1:03 am

  Great Van so far other than the front brakes which i had to replace at 8000 miles.Poor quality. Thankfully it was covered under warranty in its first year and dealer replaced it at no charge and they gave me another year coverage. Van has everything you need for the family at a great price. Too bad Honda and Toyota are not competitive enough for features and price. From experience in ownership,they are not reliable vehicles.

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  Bad On Gas but Really Hauls (Fast) - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By rad dad - July 12 - 10:00 am

  My Magnum RT RWD is a keeper. People stop, point, talk, stare and roll down windows, they ask "What is it? or "Love your car". It is thumbs up everywhere. Manual trans is a blast - winding roads or freeway. Huge inside for towing or guests. Stero rocks. Satelite radio is fantastic. U connect is the best and safe and really works! Love the car, but ran out of gas twice already by not watching the gauge. It goes and goes fast and is expensive to keep filled and prices are not going down. Dealers are demanding $5K-$10K over MSRP and not budging in negotiations so far.

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  test - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By princeofmoon - July 12 - 10:00 am

  the car handels wonderful, you can feel that the car is actuali an german one, if you have the money by the car because the style is perfect