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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  1998 Dodge Caravan 4cylinder - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By Marky Mark - April 25 - 7:12 pm

  I bought this used caravan in 2000 because I started a family of 4. I brought the price down to our price range which was practically a steal. Only 5,000 miles used. A lot of space inside roomy. Rides well. Only drive 5 to 6 miles a day, full tank of gas last me a month. Some mechanical problems, tires would tread a bit faster than usual, AC needed freon in 3 yrs, leaks oil had it check out and fixed new head gasket, oil pan gasket still leaks to this day. So I just add a qt. of oil every a month. Transmission was slipping at 40,000 miles had it serviced. I have 75,000 miles on it to this day. The quality of this van is not to good, things breaks down sooner than you would think.

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  Good SUV overall - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Tina - April 25 - 6:01 pm

  We bought our SLT new and I love it to this day! It drives like a sedan, the sound system is great, hemi is very powerful. Sometimes it seems to get confused with the gear switch but no mayor issue. I didnt have any issues with that but the hubby did. It did have one major issue with some computer panel. The engine stalled in the middle of drive a couple of times and another time it lost power and started to drive bumpy while a bunch of dashboard lights came on. Of course that happened right after the warranty ran out. Lately weve had a clicking sound in the motor (not always) that turns off after a while. I hope its not a new trend with all the little fix its. Its only got 50,000 miles

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  I love my Spunky! - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By musicmamma - April 25 - 5:44 pm

  I turned in my Durango and decided I needed something smaller with better gas mileage. I always name my cars, so after I took it on a particular drive I found out that it was so "Spunky" for a 4 cylinder that I named him spunky. He drives great, gets great gas mileage and was a perfect buy for me. Within my first month I drove him to Williamsburg VA and back to PA, he took only a tank down and one back. I had 3 total passengers, all of us rather large in the middle and we enjoyed the ride and the cost.

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  Really nice car - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By Ian - April 24 - 8:15 pm

  I have owned this car for several months and, overall, it is really a nice car. It is the SE base model with the 1.8 liter engine. I bought the manual shift as I am using it to tow behind my RV. I added cruise control, power windows and power door locks. I would not recommend anyone to install the above after market stuff as it has been kind of a hassle, but it all works well. I have no idea why any auto company would sell a car without cruise, power windows, door locks and mirrors, it just does not make sense. The car is slightly slow if you want to race another driver, but overall is powered with the manual just fine. There is a blind spot at the rear sides, use rear view mirrors.

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  Decent overall, horrible in snow - 2001 Dodge Neon
  By Cargirl - April 24 - 5:55 pm

  The Neon was great for me for the first couple of years. It had decent power for a 4 cylinder car and excellent gas mileage. However, it is horrible in snow and would get stuck on hills I never even noticed without snow. Other small cars would pass me by as I was stuck. As soon as I paid it off, I started having problems with the exhaust manifold, passenger power window, water leaking from the rear lights into the trunk and passenger seat, as well as some minor issues. The exterior was built well, though! It survived having a tree fall on it in the middle of an nice storm with only minor body damage. Visibility was great in front, but poor to the rear. Seats uncomfortable on longer rides.

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  Couple things people dont know - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By jimalee2000 - April 24 - 11:50 am

  I bought my car at an auction last year. I have driven it every day and had no major problems other than: The 4 cyl has a not so known issue of the valve cover gasket leaking oil into spark plugs. This was found by a mech telling us so I have yet to replace gasket. I take the plug out clean it and its good to go for a few months longer. Secondly is I have to put oil in it cause the oil pan gasket is bad. BUT knowing those two problems I am ok with it. It is known for bad heads and often blow. I havent had that issue yet! But the engines are so easy to find it is good to work on.

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  This is the 6th dodge truck ive owned - 1996 Dodge Dakota
  By javelin - April 23 - 11:41 pm

  I bought this truck 3 months ago for $2500.00 and its the best $2500.00 Ive ever spent.Truck has 180,000 and runs like a champ.The 6th dodge Ive owned and as you can see it will always be this way. Dodge Dakota best truck on the road.

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  Any Helpful Hints? - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By truckeegirl89 - April 23 - 5:18 pm

  I have had the Caliber for 2.5 years now and have 70,000 miles on it. I was told with this car that the tranny will go out around 100,000 miles if you do not get new tranny fluid every 30,000 miles (which costs $400), I have not yet had it done because of the cost and because I was told that it should be done every 60,000. Ive had problems with it for a while now with the tranny and accelerating but Dodge is saying that there is nothing wrong with it. Has anyone else had this type of a problem with theres? I feel that I am paying for a car that is a ticking time bomb!

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  Best Truck I Ever Had - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By Ken S - April 23 - 11:50 am

  Sharp Looking ( RED ) Very Comfortable, No Problems just Standard Maintenance, Decent Mileage with 4.7 V8, 16 around Town 22 on trips

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  Big mistake, look twice and buy foreign - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By HonestinNJ - April 22 - 11:53 pm

  Nothing but trouble from day one. Had 12 miles on it and it has has been back to the dealer 6 times now from electrical issues to lag time in acceleration,covered under warranty. A metal skid plate that grounded down and had to be replaced, covered and now at 72,000 miles both ball joints are pretty much shot, not covered!I am meticulous about this car with oil changes, checking tire pressure and accelerating and breaking as gently as i can to make this car last me 20 years, so having something like this break was just unbelievable. Unreal. Gasket leaked around tail light, not covered. Short in wire that blew out headlight, covered but not the headlight. Unacceptable! Do not buy one