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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  Will never buy a Dodge Again - 1998 Dodge Stratus
  By tarheel - March 18 - 8:47 am

  I bought this car in 2000, its a 1998 the oil light stayed on when I turned key on but dealer finds nothing wrong, after about 50,000 the head gasket blows, before that the fuel pump went bad,now the engine shakes needs motor mounts on the front, brakes wear down fast im disappointed in dodge/chrysler cars i will not purchase or suggest anyone buy one, dodge wont change until someone gets seriously hurt driving one of there products, i thought about getting a chrysler town and country but after reading reviews and all the complaints no way, i might go to hyundai for a nice ride now.

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  We love it! - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Graham - March 17 - 10:58 pm

  We have 175,000 miles on it, have driven it fairly hard, pulled trailers with it, towed a large trailer with a bulldozer on it, etc, and we have no complaints. We got our moneys worth! 318 5.2L V8 should never have been discontinued. We have just (3 weeks ago) put a rear end in it, and that might have been damaged in an accident a few years ago. No engine/tranny trouble (no rebuilds or repairs on either). The only things that have gone wrong are the ball joint (and I hear those go bad regularly, but Dodge has made parts available so you dont have to buy a whole new assembly) and the AC evaporator. We tell people were planning to give this to our first-born, who hasnt even been born yet!

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  reliable car - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By red - March 17 - 3:02 pm

  This is a car has a very low maintenance but expensive parts when they got to be replace. I had to replace the tires only 1 time @ 75,000 miles, change the plugs and wires, fr brakes once. Now I got to replace the fr. struts. I think this is not bad after having 95,000 miles on the car.

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  Unconditional Love - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By Joes Intrepid - March 17 - 12:09 pm

  I bought my Intrepid at the beginning of last summer. $500! It had 142k miles, I thought Id hang on to it as a backup/work car. I ended up selling my LeSabre instead. This is a great car. My only problem to date is I had to replace the water pump an a belt. But overall, WONDERFUL CAR! She now has over 185k and feels brand new. I just finished installing 2000 watts of subwoofer in the trunk... love the car, you should get one if you have the means.

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  Duct tape helps - 1994 Dodge Caravan
  By still runs - March 16 - 2:15 pm

  the van i have has been fairly reliable with only some minor repairs. nothing to major has broke yet, still waiting for tranny to go, it does slip now and again. very comfortable seating, love the room inside for my kids and dogs. I bought the 94 over a newer 99 design because i really dont like the ext. style or the poorly laid out interior of these vans. I also love the ext appearance with the right package of skirts and rims the van does look some aggressive. Handling sucks but it is a box on wheels after all. fuel eco. is not bad for my 3.0l about 450 to 500 km tank still. Very good passing on the highways and comfy to drive very long distances. still going after 300,000 km. hope for more!

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  Cracking - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Sameia - March 16 - 7:53 am

  This SUV is nice but the seat interior is terrible it cracks all up around the seat and seat belt. The bumper seem to be loose and and if in an accident it seem like Itll crack right up!?! There needs to be a recall on the seats. I also have the ABS light on which has been explained to me as a recall?

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  2000 Dodge Neon - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By dkthcks - March 15 - 9:32 pm

  117K miles in 5.5 yrs. Its been driven hard both city and Hwy miles. Routine mechanical have incl. tires 2xs, brake work, spark plugs once. Clutch still going strong with not so nice driving. Brakes squeak in the rain or high humidity. Best car I have had. Good gas mileage. However, car now at 136K miles and developed an oil pressure problem. Was a GREAT car until now.

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  Best bang for the buck, hands down. - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By George - March 14 - 8:18 pm

  I just love it I cant be more happy with it. I have a Vette with a worked 383 that was never as much fun as thing car is right out of the box. Put a couple grand in upgrade parts into and youll blow the doors off anything on the road. The only cars that can take it on the highway, bone stock, are the STI and EVO. WRXs get smoked.

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  Should have bought it sooner - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By Toms NYC Review - March 13 - 10:04 pm

  I purchased this car used with only 80 miles on it and got a super deal, number 1. I was statisfied with the price, leather , styling, sunroof, and the space. Hope it would be as powerful as my 1970 Cutlass which I missed dearly, and holy cow it was. Not only was it peppy and powerful but I had all the safety and comfort of a car built today. And yes, it does get good gas mileage when driven nicely, which I personally cannot do! Wish I did not have to deal with all the lovely traffic of NYC, then I can really open it up

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  DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Bob1972 - March 11 - 10:00 am

  THIS IS MY THIRD DURANGO I LEASED A 00 AND 02 BEFORE THIS. I WAS NOT IMPRESSED AT FIRST WITH THE NEW LOOK BUT THE DRIVE IS UNBELIEVEABLE. SO MUCH BETTER THEN THE OLD. I AM VERY HAPPY WITH HAVING MORE ROOM AND A NICE SMOOOOOTH RIDE.