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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  Always a Dodge Chick :) - 1999 Dodge Dakota
  By Sami08 - August 15 - 1:49 am

  This is my second Dodge Dakota and I love them! The one I have now. Im the second owner and the truck has 247k miles on it and still all stock and running like a champ! 4x4 works awesome even when I had bad tires it got me out of the snow in my area. I have got friends hooked on this truck and now they want one! Gas mileage isnt too hateful. Im a broke college student and it does good for me around town and trips back home. Always will buy dodges. They are the only thing that seem to last when taken care of!

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  Adored this car - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By AEpixie7 - August 14 - 9:43 pm

  My parents purchased this car when I was in middle school, and passed it down to me as my first car. We live in an area of heavy snow at times, and I swear this car has gotten me through 2 to 3 foot snow drifts without a problem. It now has 210,000 miles on it, has been in 2 wrecks, but it still runs EXTREMELY well. Very reliable and great in extreme weather. I will sincerely miss it when the time comes.

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  You can have This One ! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By chip - August 14 - 12:29 pm

  First of all, I traded from a grand Cherokee to this! I feared I was trading down even before I took delivery and continue to think this way after 30 months. I cannot wait until someone else is driving/paying for this vehicle. Brakes and 4 new tires all before 40k! ! And today at 53k told I need brakes again! I will say it was good in snow (have the awd) but so are many other cars. Hyundai is looking better and better! ! Had a Dakota in the 80s and had much better luck with that in the 104k miles I put on it. Very disappointed in this vehicle. I point and laugh at the others on the road and yell sucker but they probably love theirs. Not me! Cant wait until this one goes !

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  Road Warrior - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By Tricia - August 14 - 7:13 am

  The second Caravan Ive owned, this one, bought used, is reliable, comfortable, and a great service vehicle for any task Ive used it to accomplish. It is great on the highway and offers reasonable gas efficiency. At 145,000 and going strong, I still have miles to go with regular maintenance. It is truly my road warrior! The only problem I ever had is with a wacky onboard computer that had to be replaced (twice, since the first one from manufacturer was also faulty). My private mechanic was great the dealership I had to order through was difficult to work with and proved to be a ripoff!!

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  Great Car - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Roger Perry - August 13 - 1:40 pm

  As I write this, Ive only had this car 1 day, but I really like it, and I think as time goes on, Ill will enjoy it even more.

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  Gear box - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Davis - August 13 - 11:30 am

  I have a 2008 Avenger and got in it last night and could not get it out of park. Also the trunk leaks and have not been able to understand what the problem is. On the gears had to override the safe box just to get it to the Dodge House. I am sure for one little plastic piece they are going to want me to buy a hole new gear box.

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  Nice Looking and um nice looking - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By EGH75 - August 13 - 12:06 am

  I loved this car when I first saw it. Nice looking car and test drove good. Since it was first year model, there was no history. I wish I didnt buy it. Rubber pieces on outside of door just by rear tires fallen off. Replaced rear brakes at 40k and fronts at 56k. Both visor mirror covers have broken off. Stained seats cant be cleaned. Pass. window motor is shot. Had my engine computer flashed twice. Ive had to change both inner and outer tie rods. Im getting poor gas mileage. No where close to the gas mileage youre supposed to get. Im already looking at trading it in. Too much plastic on the inside. Feels cheap. Although its a 7 seater you can only put children in the very back.

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  Great Deal, chicks Love it - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By Dave - August 12 - 6:08 pm

  Bought it new for $15,300, under the cash for clunkers program. Beautiful red paint job. Chicks love to look. Looks fast, but performs average. Great gas mileage, average 25 mpg overall. Besides oil changes the only reason the for a dealer serviced my dodge was I Had a water leak in the trunk. It was the spoiler, tighten the screw stopped the leak. And a loose negative ground cable which cause battery light to come on. All warranty. Handles local roads well, never been stuck on these poor Alaskan roads. Seats comfortable. Cruise and power features are great.

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  Computer - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By BethRodgers - August 12 - 3:04 pm

  Well I had my car, bought used the owner before paid got the extended warranty, part of the selling feature. When I driving the car sometimes starts to chug and I step on the gas and nothing happens, no rpm no speed, then the engine light flashes and the bell starts to ring. And then the car feels like its going to die. I pull over turn it off the then restart. And the car is fine. But this isnt really happening (more then 50 times) because the dealer cant find anything wrong with it. The computer say it didnt happen. Ya right. I will never buy another Dodge again. They have treated me like crap. I have never had this many problems before.

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  Rather have my Jeep - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Rather have my Jeep - August 12 - 2:21 pm

  I will have my Journey back in the shop for the 2nd time due to a shaking in the front end and into the steering column after having the front suspension checked, and the tires balance for the 2nd time. PLUS we just had to replace the brakes and rotors front and back with only 31,000 all highway miles on it. What the heck! I didnt have to have that done until 65,000 miles on my Jeep liberty and no chassis vibration.