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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  Misfiring when moisture in air - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By southpaw9 - April 7 - 9:13 pm

  Every time I start my Dakota in the morning and there is moisture in the air, it will misfire and shake and go away when I drive for 5 minutes. Today, its been raining all day and I went to go start it and it wont start. It will crank over but thats it. fuel pump turns on, coils have a shock to plugs, jump start didnt work. I dont know what to look at. Can anyone help?

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  Reliable work horse, kids love it. - 2000 Dodge Caravan
  By wt - April 6 - 10:25 pm

  I got my caravan new in 2000 and have 114,000 on it so far. I bumped it. I used it for everything. Even use it to pull a small trailer now. Gas could be better. I did not get the lesser model because of difference I can feel when test driving. I worn off the original tire and brakes. Now the biggest problem is my kids wont let me get a newer car.

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  Real American Muscle - 2010 Dodge Challenger
  By Mike - April 6 - 8:00 pm

  This car drives like a dream. With the added performance cat back exhaust and the cold air intake, it only gets better and the sound is second to none.

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  Not real happy - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By suparman - April 6 - 6:00 pm

  I have the 4.7 HO motor auto trans and tow package truck was great for 4 months off of the dealers lot. then had lots of issues gets 10 miles to the gallon at 50 k miles the cats are bad fuel pump broke. not real happy with it. I bought the truck to support domestic companies but I am not going to make that mistake again.

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  No Problems To Date - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By CC - April 6 - 1:50 pm

  Ive had no problems whatsoever to date with my 2007 Nitro. I like the look of it and the interior is very spacious. Its a very basic model but other than regular maintenance (i.e. oil changes and 1 recall) it has not seen a garage. I find that its turning radius is too wide but otherwise its easy enough to handle despite its larger size. Im not all that tall so it would probably "fit" someone with longer legs better than me, but I knew that when I tried it out for the first time.

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  good investment - 2002 Dodge Caravan
  By peter39120 - April 5 - 11:34 pm

  Bought used with 50k miles. good fuel economy, few repairs, just the usual minor repairs. except trans. rebuild. have owned a 92, 96, 02, 04 and 06 caravan. so far, the three old ones all needed trans. repair 70k-100k. but considering other costs are very reasonable, not a big problem. since i paid just $6200 for this van and have put 40k miles on it, its been a dream. good ride. seats could be a bit more supportive. have a 06 caravan too. it has too firm a ride, but does have more supportive seats. i am a big caravan fan. my old 96 had a four cyl 2.4 L would get 20-21 mpg in town but be prepared. caravan are cheap to buy, cheap to maintain. but they will need transmission repairs.

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  Journey R/T 2WD with all options - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By andy - April 5 - 10:56 pm

  Have about 8000 mi on car have had no problems with car except a small squeak in right dashboard . Love all the electronic gadgets an hookups

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  Silver Bullet - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By Tony Skells - April 5 - 11:48 am

  I bought a new 1970 challenger se and kept it for 8 years until the family outgrew it. it was a great car and in the time i owned it i did nothing except do oil changes and tune ups. my 2009 rt is a better performing car than the original. i like the mds tranny as a gas saver. compared to ford and gm Chrysler got the retro challenger looking right. the fit and finish is a-one. my wife gets to drive it more than i do. she is a driver and loves the car. there are a lot of auto suppliers on line that have a lot of upgrade items for this car.since 2009 Chrysler has also put out a catalog of accessories.

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  Good ride. - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By Frank - April 3 - 7:51 pm

  I think this is a good vehicle it might just be me but it has already left me stranded onces It was the camshaft sensor and crankshaft sensor. 260 bucks to get that fixed less than a month after buying it at a local fire rescue auction for 2400 and a few days after getting that fixed my master cylinder for the brakes went out plus i had to change my back brakes because they were completely spent. so in less than a month of driving Ive spend an extra 600 bucks on the car. Now it seems to be running excellent and i hope it does not give me any problems cuz im broke now. but its a very nice car to drive if it does not give me anymore problems I wont be sorry i bought it.

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  Mixed bad - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By overland - April 3 - 4:55 pm

  Good power and looks with adequate cargo room. Better than expected fuel mileage - 27 highway and 19 highway city. Several annoying electrical problems - rear windows failed intermittently, wipers had glitches, and constant dash rattles that started at 20k miles. Handling is so so for a big and heavy car - no corner carver. Bland but functional interior.