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:

• 

  Journey Problems - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By buddyrelihan - August 29 - 3:33 pm

  Front brakes & rotors replaced @34k (not covered by warranty), both visor mirror covers broken & replaced (warranty), now having problems with transmission. Vehicle hesitates & skips. Dealer said it was normal for the electronic tranny to perform this way. My dealer closed & am now using another dealer. I have not received any recalls from Chrysler or the dealer but Im sure there have been some.

• 

  Travel to Cancun - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By Gabo - August 29 - 1:50 am

  In march 2010 traveled in Mexico , ags city to Cancun aprox 5000 km in my journey rt 2010 and dont have a problem, excellent travel with my family 5 adults and 2 babies now had a almost 16,000 km and Im very happy, i live in mexico .

• 

  Dont buy this car - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By TonyK - August 28 - 8:57 pm

  From day one we weve had trouble with this car. We probably spent several hundreds over the past 3 years getting it to pass emissions. recently the the transmission went out, theres another $4500 for a car thats less than 4 years old. we sold it to the dealer for $8500, and paid close $20,000 for it. it depreciated faster than any other car weve had.

• 

  Brakes, Brakes, and More Brakes! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Vampi - August 28 - 3:01 pm

  This is another issue with brakes. Replaced front brakes at 9500 miles and told that was normal. Now again at 12,500 miles, plus back brakes. Need front rotors replaced as well. Biggest concern is there was no warning, brakes were completely gone, and no noise from the wheels, twice now. Dealer cant figure out why, but will comp our front brakes. Wont offer much in trade either. Seat stains will not come out of the fabric they use, even with stain guard applied.

• 

  1 month old, so far, SUPER, We love it - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By W & S Love - August 28 - 9:23 am

  Traded in a 2004 300M, loaded. I have not missed it yet. The options on the Journey we purchased fulfills our most needed feature. Easy entry and exit to the vehicle. We are retired and have leg and knee problems. It was getting very hard to get in and out of the 300M. It sat too low to the ground. We do have 19" wheels on our Journey SXT so it is just the right height to get in and out without having to bend the legs much at all. So Far, we love the ride, looks and quality. My daughter bought a loaded used 2009 Journey R/T the next day after we bought our new one. She loves it. She traded in a 2004 Chrysler Sebring Limited and says she likes the Journey better than she did it.

• 

  I Love my Nitro - 2010 Dodge Nitro
  By JacquiBrown - August 28 - 1:48 am

  This Dodge Nitro is definitely one of the best vehicles I have ever purchased I read a lot of information on them and a lot of it said it was a bad SUV to purchased just based on the bad fuel mileage, I wanted to yell at these people who wrote those, "its a freaking SUV of course the gas mileage is crappy your looking at an SUV for more room, so more room means heavy means it takes more gas to move the thing really!" for that matter from my research the gas mileage on this SUV is with in 1 to 2 of every other SUV so why do people complain its very comfortable it works well when you have a baby who spills her drinks all the time and its easy to get both her and me in and out of. Its a great SUV.

• 

  Lemon! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By mcbrown - August 27 - 4:39 pm

  Weve been driving this for 14 months. We have replaced tires, brakes, door lock, etc. Had an Explorer before and loved it, but had transmission issue. Id take the transmission issues over this one any day of the week! Do not buy this car! Do not buy tires from the dealers, they will not help you if you have a blowout before youve put 200 miles on it. Ive complained to the dealer about my brakes since about 3 months after purchase. Was told there were no issues, it was a new car and would take some time to wear in. Surprisingly, after 1 year, they told me that the brake pads were gone and needed to be replaced and that the rotors had damage as well. Will never buy Dodge again!

• 

  A year update - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Jaclyn - August 27 - 3:37 pm

  Last year I commented on how bad the car chews up tires. On set 4 in 3 years! {Over $2000 in tires...ugh} Like everyone else, I now need new lower ball joints in the front end. {$58.00 for part} The car is bucking and getting horrible gas mileage {about $65+ a week in gas! And its a 4 cylinder!) Emissions light is on. {probably need an O2 censor} Had to replace the headlights. {Not hard, just dont touch the bulbs!} Still have problems with sunroof not closing. Have to actually open a window cause it gets to pressurized to work. And right door doesnt unlocked when it gets cold.

• 

  Upset - 2009 Dodge Charger
  By Chargerr x3 - August 27 - 2:09 pm

  I bought this car not even 2 weeks ago and Im already having A LOT of problems with it. I noticed the control arm on the car was busted the very same day I got it home and Dodge refused to cover the damages! I love the car, its been my dream car for a very long time but I am furious with how Dodge handles these problems. I am crazy about the car, but I would never again buy a Dodge.

• 

  my Dodge - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By chicagolandcardeals - August 27 - 1:39 pm

  Absolutely a blast to drive, fun, fun, fun. Better than expected gas mileage but still avg at best. A lot more comfortable than I had expected. Love the retro styling but the huge rear pillars obstruct you blind spots, so pulling out in traffic is a "little" stressful. Overall better than I had expected!