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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  08 caravan SXT No good - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Shann - December 4 - 10:00 am

  08 grand caravan sxt & in that time the automatic stow rear seats serviced every 3 months or at every oil change because they will not stow or they get stuck in stow mode. My sliding doors are ALWAYS broken, i.e. the button does not work them, or they start to up but slide back. Navigation system had to be replaced. Front brakes wore out at 13,000 miles (Pads and rotors). Rear brake pads and rotors wore out at 22,000 miles. Transmission got stuck in gear and would not go into manual mode. Dealership repaired-said it was a computer communication problem due to a "loose wire". Transmission problems again 3 days after 1st tranny repair! Do NOT BUY this VAN! Buyers BEWARE!

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  60 days and no answer. - 2018 Dodge Durango
  By Gary Stokes - December 3 - 8:23 am

  Glitch in the touchscreen/radio where it shuts down and restarts randomly and repeatedly. This also means you cant have a hands free phone call as it drops the call when the system restarts. Started on the drive home but here I am 60 days later and no repair date in sight. The dealership just keeps telling me that all the 2018s have this issue and it will be fixed next week but next week still hasnt come. I know new products can have issues but not getting the truth has me frustrated and unhappy with this purchase. If I could get my money back I would return the vehicle and not buy from this dealer nor Dodge again.

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  Wish I Never Traded - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Terry - November 26 - 1:46 am

  Steering pump went out very quickly. Had to stay with dealer 3 days no loaner. Dash has too much plastic, pops and cracks all the time. A/C acts crazy, makes funny air noises on take off and drain stopped up which flooded passenger floor on 6 hour trip. Transmission cannot find proper gear. 6 speed shifts up and down all the time, manual mode is a laugh. Tail pipe rubbing making funny noise. Dealer no help, service adviser had never been inside one. Worst new car I have owned. Have other issues but not enough space to tell them all. Think I got a Lemon.

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  warning have your seatbelts checked - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By david smith - November 6 - 8:03 pm

  Ive put 17,400 miles on it over 16,900 just going back and fourth to work alone, my wife used it one night to pick are daughter up a car cut her off and my daughter went flying to the windsheild the seatbelt failed the dealer said dont worry your covered but thats not the point it should have never happen, called Dodge -e-mailed Dodge no answer they dont care! One lady who answered the phone ask me what I want didge to do.... If they dont know then they dont need costumers 1 have it checked by a neutral dealership 2 check the part number find out what factory made it and check there qualty reports 3 go to factory a spot check seatbelts 4 contact engineers

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  They could have done better - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Jim - October 6 - 7:30 am

  The comfort of the vehicle leaves alot to be desired. The automatic doors sometimes dont work as they should. With a 3.8 L engine the drive could handle a little bit better. The fuel eff. is good and I like the "Stow-n- Go" seating.

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  Good but bad - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By loverofcars - October 4 - 4:56 pm

  This car has not been very reliable. Sometimes in the cold winter the car will not get into gear. You have to put it into neutral and the engine picks up again. The quality features of our car is that we have automatic trunk and one automatic door. The design of the car both interior and exterior are pretty well designed.Last thing is that the seats dont fold down you have to pull them out of the car.

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  Disappointed - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By joe R - September 7 - 11:36 pm

  After all the hoopla about needing to buy "American" I bought a Dodge grand caravan. I first took possession of a v4. Could barely get it home. No pep at all. Had to move up to v6. The price moved by $15,000. Within 5 months had to replace brakes and rotors in front. It seems Dodge used inferior quality brakes. Now Ive been replacing them every 12-15k miles. Ive already replaced the front end ball bearings and the rear bearings. The dealer actually replaced the front twice. It seems the first was defective. Been driving for 40 years and never had to replace bearings in my life. Now I have to replace an air-cond. Hose. Have to wait 4-6 weeks for the part. 4 to 6 weeks for a hose? Is this America

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  New brakes at 20,000 - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Jerene - September 7 - 11:23 am

  I also needed new brakes and rotors at 20,000. Normal wear and tear?? I think not. Now the low tire pressure light is flashing... the tire pressure is fine. Im totally aggravated I have to go back so soon after the brakes to have this looked at. Im disappointed to say the least.

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  Never again - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By jdhboys - August 28 - 10:00 am

  I had an oil absorbtion problem after have this brand new vehicle only 3 months. Repeatedly lost 1 quart of oil over a 1 month period. The tire are absolutely horrible. They wear pretty fast. The window regulators all went out intermittenly and one is permanently fried which cost $225 to replace a relatively cheap part. Brakes are terrible as the brake dust cause the brakes to squeak bad. If you have 7 passengers in the vehicle you can forget about any luggage space and there is virtually NONE!!! Since I work for the #1 Japanese transplant mfg. I know what quality and customer approval means and this SUV doesnt get it done.

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  Buyer beware! - 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By LemonGirl - August 23 - 10:00 am

  I have had troubles with this van from day one. First, air conditioning wouldnt work. Even vent would blow HOT air. Cost to fix (after 3 mechanics to find the problem) $1500. Then there was the fuel line problem ($500). Now the service engine light is constantly on (transmission?). Have I mentioned the problems with the computer system? (Phantom wiper, other air conditioning problems, Cruise control, horn). Oh, and to top it off, the CD player wont work half the time. I have heard that Dodge has improved their minivans...lets hope so. DO NOT BUY A 1997...unless you like living on the edge of insanity as I have for the last two years!