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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  Ooops I did it again. - 2015 Dodge Durango
  By Mark - October 18 - 2:31 pm

  Only other vehicle I have had this kind of trouble with in my life was my last Chrysler product, a Jeep Grand Cherokee 20 years ago. I swore then that I would never buy another Chrysler product. The design of this SUV is great. Love the way it drives, ergonomics and gas mileage. Smooth, quiet, solid, predictable ride and handling. The gas mileage exceeds expectation: 18 under hard city driving, 20 normal city driving, 25 around town and have been able to go over 30mpg with a mix of suburb/hwy relaxed driving. Have not read the manual or watched the CD provided but find the controls intuitive. Bluetooth pairs with everyone in the familys phone quickly though sound quality playing music is very poor (not sure why). Best logical/practical operation of controls than any car I have owned. Now the bad: plastics and chrome interior surfaces are scratched easily. This is more wear/scratches appearing than my Kia with 75,000 miles or my VW with 100,000. At 6 weeks old a few thousand miles this is unsustainable. Loud squeak in the drivers seat and what sounds like a phone on vibrate going off in the front passenger dash. This is over certain roads so cannot be reproduced at the dealer (of course) so may never be remedied. Check engine light came on so back to dealer, unfortunately dealer took two weeks to get into due to so many Dodge recalls. Broken fuel line was fixed but oil change was over $62 or twice what I pay for other three vehicles I own. Spent all day at dealer so lost day of pay = $300. Considering I have never needed a repair call for Kia or VW after 75k miles am disappointed. Better brakes requiring less pressure would go a long way. More bite would really shrink this SUV and be more in line with its responsive characteristics. Too much pressure required to stop vehicle and I find the vehicle beginning to creep forward at stop lights requiring more pressure. If GM buys Chrysler they would have a great matchup. Dodge design team deserves A+ and GM could bring a lot of quality control and better materials/brakes to the equation. Reviews about getting into third row of Durango are poor but big reason I bought this is that I have adults using these seats and found the Durango to be the easiest ingress egress over, Ford, Acura and Kia. If Dodge can shed 300lb+ using this engine and new structure they would go a long way to dominating MPG + performance in this segment. As noted in other reviews, transmission clunks in lower gears if you accelerate, lift off, then accelerate again (I dont know if this is going to worsen with age). LOVE the large gas tank and dont know why other non german SUVs dont incorporate them.

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  Overall Decent Car - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Brian - October 16 - 12:46 pm

  Owned my pickup since 2009. Overall pleased, enough to keep it anyway. It will go a few years without needing any major repairs, and then several things will need work in short order. Ive replaced fuel pump, exhaust system, distributor cap and associated parts, window wash pump, and brakes twice. So not bad, but then I have a load of small problems: check engine lights been on since 2010 (I was told its due to a minor transmission issue that might cost a lot to fix with minor payoff), the ABS and emergency brake lights come on when I take a highway ramp (but no effect on driving or braking), the ceiling lining started to come loose two years ago, rust is bubbling the paint over the left rear wheel well (seems to be common for this model year), and most annoying of all, the springs supporting the drivers seat broke loose of their moorings which causes the seat to sag and the metal frame parts to poke me uncomfortably. And there doesnt seem to be an easy way to repair the seat and its attached to the passenger seat & center console which will make replacement a major hassle. On the other hand, I think it handles great, the brakes do not disappoint, the engine is fairly quiet and smooth, and Ive driven it on several road-trips from 3,000 to 5,000 miles at a time without complaint. It has a light rear end, which can be a danger in rain or snow. Ive found that tires with good traction will overcome handling problems in the rain, but if you live where it snows much, I would recommend 4WD. Basically, if you need a no-frills reliable vehicle and dont mind minor problems that crop up but wont interfere with driving function, you will likely find this truck to be acceptable.

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  Sad to see it go - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By juan perez - October 12 - 11:23 am

  Bought this car New, in 2012, loved the color and interior, the 20in rims look beast. The Car drove like a beast, even parked, it looked tuff. high way driving the best.. passing cars, it was man and machine as one. I really took care of this car being my first ever major purchase, so very few hard drives, dealer service oil changes, reg car wash and vacuum,, mostly weekend family trips. until 30k, first service sparkplugs +/-$300. After that I started to notice more, Bluetooth had a hard time to sync with multiple devices hooked up, transmission shifting got jumpy, One rim cracked twice then another, took it to dealer and not there problem but I could buy a set of factory rims for $$$$. to repair $100 each time. guess which way I went? then at 60k sparkplugs again? another $300.. then I couldnt get Dealer to fix my driver side airbag light on dash under warranty, oh, but after warranty expired.. now they want to fix it for $$$.. then the battery died, couldnt jump start the car, had to buy a booster. Battery replaced new from autozone $200. wife took car to dealer, they charged her $800 for service and the airbag light.. that ends up coming on again right before she drove it home???? Might be normal spending for some but not for me, having a Toyota Tacoma base pickup, that I bought also new in 2010.. now having close to 100k and only service where oil changes.... So I drove my beast Charger R/T to the Toyota dealer and drove off in a 2016 Tacoma TRD 4x4 Offroad.. Maybe in 10yrs ill buy a 2012 charger r/t , by then they should be preety cheap..

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  Should have been a great car - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By david francis - October 8 - 10:43 pm

  Great engine( when it does not smoke at start up) great everything, except for the stuff thats not great! Engine smokes at start up sometimes, dealer told me its break in, well Im at 5000 miles now and it still does it sometimes! Dip stick is useless, if you see oil on it, youve got too much oil in there, how dumb is that? You add 7 quarts only and ignore the dipstick. Oil usage, wow! the PCV system on the engine blows, I mean blows oil into the intake(see the blue smoke comments all over the web!) Rear suspension noise, traded a 12 year old explorer that rode quieter than this thing, harsh and loud. Stereo, has a serious bug that means the bass settings are just random numbers depending on where you have the volume set, dodge cant or wont fix it. Its a super car, thats been built so cheaply its awful, $46k is a lot of money, only 5000 miles in I should be really happy, instead I cant wait to get rid of it, and thats a real shame.

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  Why doesnt the engine last long - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By JR - October 6 - 6:28 am

  I own a 04 dodge durango 5.7 slt 8 cylinder yes it burns alot of gas but i love my truck problem also they rott very fast ..my main problem I jus got an engine 2 yrs ago cost over $2,500 now i need another very absurd and these warranties dont last more than 6 months to a year..Most people keep telling me just junk my truck its not worth it shakin my head

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  Beauty runs skin deep - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By Wayne Wease - September 19 - 9:51 pm

  I bought this car used from a local dealer,Ive had nothing but problems with the way the transmission downshifts.I found out that the transmission was replaced a few thousand miles before i puchased it.It had 35,380,dealer never told me nothing .It feels like the engine is trying to run at higher rpms and the brakes dont want to stop correctly.I got no satisfaction from the dealer and tried another,they downloaded new software and told me it was not covered under warranty or any extended warranty that i purchased seperatly.I paid the amount and it still did not take care of problem,service told me to give it time to learn my driving habits,it never got better.Since then my big screen that controls everything has locked up twice,they had to do updates on.I had problems with drivers side window and i could go on and on.Iam very disappointed in this vehical and have only had it for 10 monthes.It does run down the highway nice and is a good looking car.I wish i had some help in resolving these issues.I would look over other sedans if i were you.I will probably trade it after the new year.

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  One word RECALL! - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By John E - September 16 - 11:58 pm

  Ok so for starters this car wasnt my first choice. I previously owned a 2008 V6 Ford Mustang and it was great while it lasted but unfortunately it was its time with over 140,000 + miles on it. I was in need of a car because that was my only transportation at the time. I ended up buying the base model Dodge dart with the black top package. In my opinion it definitely has the looks its a great looking car and a good size not too big or small. Especially how everything is black on black and also has tint so it looks awesome. But I was kind of bummed that I didnt receive the black rims instead I received the charcoal colored wheels. The interior is nice, good materials nothing really cheap looking it looks good inside and out. But now the bad parts! Well first the control stick was frustrating when I test drove it I didnt pay any attention to the fact that their is only one control stick on the left side of the wheel. It was annoying but I eventually got used to it. The biggest problem the TRANSMISSION! Wow the transmission is awful but I should have known coming from Chrysler that this would be an issue. The car jerks at times when I slow down or excellerate. It shakes pretty bad right in between the process of stopping and excelleration. When I start the car it shakes when Parked. And the dealers answer for this was that the car is "warming up". Very very poor excelleration but once it gets to a certain rpm its decent. It has this horrible lag when you try to speed up. And the answer I received for this and the shaking and jerking was "the computer is trying to learn your driving habits" thats bull dodge! I have had transmission issues with my mustang before so I know exactly what a bad transmission feels like. And now Im proven right. Just recently saw articles saying 2013,14, and 15 models are being recalled for faulty transmission surprise surprise! And the gas mileage for being a 4 cylinder isnt all that great definitely not what they promise anyways. I regret getting this car but Im stuck with it at least for a bit. I would avoid it just dont bother please dont make the same mistake I did.

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  Warning Lights - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By TSK - September 11 - 12:00 pm

  Had my 2008 Dodge Charger SE for about 3 years n now Im approaching 100,000 miles, Im having problems with the Electronic Throttle Control warning lights. While driving for a certain amount of time, that light n the traction light comes on. Have changed several things n those lights still come on. Read several reviews n others complain of the same problem. Why isnt this a safety recall because I dont like driving a car that no one can fix.

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  Totally Disappointed - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By Devin - September 9 - 4:12 am

  At 50,000 miles on it. Its leaking puddles of water onto my passenger floor board. Took it to my mechanic, and he said the whole dashboard is gonna have to come out. Ive been through two sets of brake pads. Im starting to believe I have a very horribly built car.

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  2015 Dodge Aero Dart - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By JLB - September 8 - 9:12 pm

  When I bought this car, it seemed nice. Traded in a 2010 Dodge Charger because I wanted better gas mileage and safer winter driving (it was rear-wheel drive - in Denver CO). I agree with the review where take-off is sluggish and 6 gears are too many - like it cant decide which gear to be in and the drive can be choppy. I complained to the dealer about the poor take-off acceleration and he said it is to save gas. Its like the car is telling ME when I should go. Very frustrating. Once it gets going over 35-40 mph, it does do very nicely, handles nice, and is relatively quiet for a small car. The turbo is great. The air conditioner has a cheapy fan sound that is inherent in Darts per the dealer, and the brakes are always squealing, which two dealers say is due to the metal they are now using, but "it helps it stop on a dime". I just have to "keep the brake dust power-washed off", which I would have to do every other day. They say its on all cars after 2005, but I dont hear other peoples cars brakes squealing as I drive. The Aero is rated at 32 mpg city and I get about 27. Not the gas savings I was expecting. As I drive stop-and-go a lot, this car is VERY frustrating to drive - I am constantly telling it to "GO!" when I give it gas from a stop and hills are worst. But, on the open road, I did get 53 avg mpg! But, I am on my 3rd check engine light since 2500 miles (car now has 4700) and they cant find the problem because of how complicated theyve made everything. I would run this car off a cliff if I could. I have had Dodges for 20 years since I worked for Chrysler at one time but Im done now. This is NOT a worthy replacement for the Neon and I wish I had my Charger back!