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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  Loved it untill Motor Died at 46k and Bought new. - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By npalafax - December 6 - 12:47 am

  My first brand new car in Oct 2006. Car was still in bubble wrap ect. Car has been so so on the reliability scale. The second day I had it the radio knobs fell off. At 32k the coolant reserve tank failed at least it was parked when that happened. The car is not driven much only on short trips. The car drives excellent ect. But the reliability isnt great. I am a 40 yr old and dont hot rod this car like a18yr old. This is where the kicker comes in. At 46k the motor failed... would not start. Towed to Dodge and found it dropped a valve seat and damaged the whole motor. Dodge said it was a common problem. I was lucky got the 4k warranty from dealer didnt pay anything for repair. TRADING IT IN!!

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  Cheap, but very reliable - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By rmasters2007 - December 4 - 6:01 am

  Cheap (i.e. painted plastic bumpers), difficult to maintain (i.e. water pump driven by timing chain, $1,200 to replace). Poor quality (i.e. electric issues, plastic pieces breaking). 220,000 miles and still runs strong. Regular oil changes with good oil, never had any issues so far. It will die one day, probably because either being involved in an accident or an expensive repair.

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  Interior lights wont shut off automatically - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By 2012blkcharger - November 27 - 10:21 pm

  Lately when I crank my car all of the interior door lights in both the front and back will remain on. Ive checked to make sure that all doors are shut tight. Ive also checked to ensure that the roll light button control wasnt accidentally turned on. To make matters worse the only way that i can turn off the interior door lights is to individually press each light to switch them off. So literally I have to pull over and get out of my car and walk to the rear seats and passenger seats to press the light fixtures to off. Ive owned many vehicles in my 29 years and have never experienced such a problem. Any suggestions?

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  I made a good choice! - 2012 Dodge Challenger
  By kakonegro - November 10 - 8:19 am

  I came from a 2004 BMW 325i to this 2012 Challenger SXT. I had in mind The Focus, 2013 Ultima, or Buick Verano. Roads are saturated with Mustands and Camaros. Some pulled behind me on my BMW and looked through the rear view mirror and saw the Challengers headlight its grill, it looked intimidating, aggressive and from there I felt in love and wanting one. It gives me good gas millage better then the BMW. Works great for daily driving (I was told that the comfort concept was of the 300C). Nice trunk size. In the cabin a lot organizing compartments. I have it all blackout. It looks bad ass. ast. If I was wealthy I would buy two. One for collection and the other one for everyday

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  Fairly new 05 dodge neon sxt owner - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By cochenour94 - November 7 - 9:44 am

  I got this car from a buy here pay here lot for upwards of $6,000. My parents put some money down on it for me & I am currently paying $290 a month for it. I am the 2nd owner of this car & got it with barely 80,000 miles on it. Its great on gas, but Im at the pump more than I want to be b/c of the size of the tank. I love the car b/c its the perfect size for me & easy to drive. After a couple of months, things started going wrong. My parents did not get a car fax & I quickly realized there was no horn assembly, the battery died, a part failure caused 50% loss of the brakes, the tires have never been replaced, the engine light comes on and the car jolts and the timing belt needed replaced.

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  Best retro car to get! - 2012 Dodge Challenger
  By nprax - October 29 - 5:19 pm

  I was in the market between a Camaro, Mustang or the Challenger. Of the three, I bought the challenger because it is the better of the three to live with. All of them have awesome styling, all have v-6 engines delivering decent MPG and of course, all are American! But what made the challenger stand out was that is was more livable for the day to day stuff. While the base Camaro and Mustang feel like your sitting in a rattling plastic tub, the challenger wlecomes you to a nuetral black interior with better build quality (still not a bmw) and great styling. The bigger body means a better ride, but it also means its heavier. Definitly a great cruiser!

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  206,000 miles a good solid car - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By mopar350 - October 25 - 10:22 pm

  I bought this car with 50,000 miles on it six years ago. so far I have only done some normal maintance. changed timing belt twice and front brake pads once. now at 206,000 mile mark i have had to change one front wheel bearing. and the transmission is slipping. would have lasted longer if i had changed the fluid and filter like i should have. i have beat this car into the ground and it is still going. i put 36,000 to 40,000 miles a year on this car for the last three years. so i will be putting a transmission in it and keep on driveing it. and i plan on driveing it till the body rusts away. i live in south carolina and there is no rust on it yet so i will be driveing this car for a long time

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  Reliable Car - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By ahhitsanathony - October 25 - 9:51 pm

  I bought this car with 134 k miles on it, it now has 174 k miles. It has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. It has never left me stranded. It does have a sensor problem though. If you dont let it up shift to 4th the check engine light comes on and when it shifts down to second thats the highest you can go till you turn the car off and back on and it resets. It is very annoying but if you know to let off the gas and let it shift youre fine. Its also really good in the snow but the v6 sucks on gas.

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  Perfect First Car! - 1992 Dodge Spirit
  By danilittrell - October 16 - 11:24 am

  I got this car a little over a year and a half ago, and It had just over 100,000 miles on it. Ive put on about 20,000 miles since then, and I havent had any major issues. Of course, since it is not 10 years old, a lot of the parts are giving out because of age, but other than that, it runs great. I have a V6 Automatic, so I dont have the best gas mileage. If I wasnt looking for a car with better gas mileage, I would continue to drive this car til it gave out (which Im sure it could go another 5-6 years easily.) It is true, TAKE CARE of your car and it will take care of you! Since Ive done that, the problems have been minimal! Love my dodge!

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  I ordered mine... - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By donpreuss - October 11 - 1:29 pm

  I ordered my 2013 Dart Limited with the 1.4 turbo with the 6speed dual dry clutch transmission and every available option from the factory. This car was actually test driven at the factory approx 30 miles to check on quality control. Well, the person who drove it didnt do a very good job in checking for quality. The alignment is off, the 8.4 audio/Nav system crashes at least once a day. Not very impressed with the Alpine sub woofer that you pay extra for. Dodge needs to switch to Bose. This car has a lot of get up and go, and very impressed with the fuel mileage. Love the dash layout options you get with the Limited as well. Hope factory works out the small "bugs" quickly..