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:

• 

  Best Used Car for the Money - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By carnut - June 6 - 1:45 am

  I think that these Neons get a lot of negative publicity because of the Toyota/Nissan/Honda owners out there. For a used car though, I would rather buy a Neon for $4,000 than an Import for $7,000 any day. You cant beat it for the value and the more I drive mine, the more I like it. Mind you, it isnt worth buying new and if I did, Id buy the Honda Civic but resale value works in favor of the used car buyer too, and I lucked out with my Neon. I would definitely buy the Used Neon over the Used Civic any day.

• 

  Best vehicle Ive ever owned - 1993 Dodge Dakota
  By rhapsodyfreak - June 5 - 11:58 am

  I was a truck driver for a while in the US Marines and despite all of the Humvees and other bog trucks I drove and performed maintinance for, no vehicle has ever been as reliable to me as this vehicle. It has never let me down in the few years Ive had it and believe you me has it endured many things since then, several wrecks and off-roading, and overall abuse it still runs magnificent. In spite of all of this, it is fast and comfortable. The only thing bad in my opinion is the fuel economy isnt the greatest and it contains only about a 10-12 gallon fuel tank. The stereo it comes with is loud and many other factory or stock items are very nice for such an old vehicle.

• 

  Above expectations - 1999 Dodge Caravan
  By fhohio - June 4 - 9:22 pm

  The van has been surprisingly reliable. No major problems in almost 9 years. It cant be beat for utility in hauling people or their cargo. It is a comfortable vehicle to travel in, althought the performance is, well, van-like.

• 

  Buy A Honda, Buy a Toyota - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By CorvetteKev - June 4 - 4:03 am

  Ive owned Ford & Mazda vans and switched to Dodge when these were unavailable. Electrical problems plague this car (WORSE THAN MY OLD ALFA ROMEO)! Brake failure at 16k, 2 bad ignitions, a bad ignition pack, bad rear shocks, bad front sway bar, NOW Im burning 2.5 qts of oil in 3k miles - Dealer says this is normal. Dont believe me, I have the invoices! Buy a Honda! I have 32k on the van - not good

• 

  2006 Durango...an awesome vehicle - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Soxman - June 2 - 6:57 pm

  This SUV was purchased with 38600 miles, but runs like a new vehicle. It is far superior to my previous Pathfinder in ride and performance. The interior is spacious and well designed. My next vehicle will be a Durango as well.

• 

  2005 Dodge Durango Adventurer 4wd - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By jkh - May 31 - 12:43 am

  Love the Hemi, powerfull yet quiet. Great for coastal roads and long hauls. Gets better mileage with speed, so I suggest investing in a radar detector.

• 

  2.7 engine is garbage - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By jbrogz - May 30 - 10:11 am

  Bought car used. I use full synthetic oil and change religiously at 3000 miles. Oil sludge is still there (propbably prior to when I bought it). Will be changing engine to a 3.5 liter. If it wasnt for the problems with the 2.7 L. it would be a perfect car.

• 

  Please turn engine light off! - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Jorge - May 29 - 11:36 pm

  I have had this car 3 months. Great Looks, 3.7 L. engine good track record, (Jeep Liberty) notable refinements. 1.5 months later engineÂ’s light came on; up today still on, they have no clue (dealer, Chrysler). The third time the car stayed at dealer for four days dealer could not figure out the nature for problem. Then it was time for Chrysler. That day I drove car home with light on, and still waiting for software update. The other incident I encounter twice while driving, it just quit, and all dashboard lights came on. The sad part is that the car is for my wifeÂ’s use and daughters, instead I am driving it. Wife does not feel safe driving it, thinking she might get stranded on the road.

• 

  Its been good to me so far - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Durango Driver - May 29 - 5:01 pm

  Though not perfect in any single category, this is a very good SUV. I have not had one single mechanical issue with this vehicle. I do all service work myself according to the book, which I am hoping will save money in the long haul. Performance with the 4.7L V8 is good, I occasionally tow a utility trailer with various loads and it still performs admirably. Long grades at 70 MPH fully loaded are no problem. Braking is excellent for a large SUV both in feel and in braking distance. The bumpers fore and aft are thin plastic, not adequate. They are painted on the SLT and higher trim levels, which leads to very visible road rash from debris.

• 

  Very Disappointed - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Scotsman - May 26 - 6:58 am

  Love the looks, interior build quality is great, 3rd row of seats is big enough for 2 adults and with those folded down we can store a ton of stuff. Been on a few very long journeys and it has driven well. Smooth, DVD player in the back has kept the kids happy. But after 18,000 the transmission completely siezed on my wife and we had to get a whole new one. Now lost confidence in the car and then had a product recall (# G07). Thankfully just leasing so will return the SUV next summer and run like mad from the dealership. Its a real shame as I loved it for the first 18 months.