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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  Not a happy camper - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Jdarthz66 - September 5 - 2:00 am

  Needless to say I have had my Neon SXT for A month and so. I have been to the dealer close to the 4th time, Same Issue. Go figure. I have received the worst customer service from the dealership. then they expect you to give them good reviws on the customer review letters HAHA. Main Issue has been the fuel gauge. DOES NOT READ Correctly. A few rattles which I really dont care. Lets see if i can get it replaced. By the way I agree with the Trunk lid Review, it feels like it is gonna break your rear window.

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  Loving It for The Most Part - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Diane - September 3 - 7:56 pm

  It is making a strange baffling noise that is coming from the exhaust system. My dealer-ship has tried its best to fix problem, now need to wait for Dodge to fix. Noise gets on your nerves at time. Radio should be where ac/heat unit located, more detail on dash and interior.

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  Excellent car - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By lonasindi - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my car for a few months, and its been a blast. Its reasonably quick and handles very well with the sport supsension package. I did have a mishap with getting my oil changed. The technician must have forgotten to put more oil in. The exterior styling is very nice, and the interior has clean lines and is very comfortable. The back seats are big enough to seat adults. The white gauges are very sporty. The engine is a little whiny sounding, but its not too bad. Shifts are smooth and consistent. Not a bad performer.

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  Dodge surprise of the century - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By Dodger - September 2 - 12:23 am

  Excellent power, serious fun to drive. You cant find anything better than this unless you spend $10k more and move up to the $30k range to get a Evo or STI. I simply cant think of a car under $30k that can beat the performance of SRT-4. If you are tight on cash and want serious performance, this is your choice. If you are loaded and dont want to park your M3 around the train station every morning, SRT-4 is the only car that you can enjoy driving (and the thrill) and wont feel too bad to find a scratch on it after you return from work.

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  Drivers door design - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By Jack Fremont - August 31 - 2:00 am

  The trim panel on the drivers door protrudes about 2-3 inches into interior of drivers side. As a result there is no even or smooth space to rest your left leg. You constantly hit this small protrusion. I drove 100 miles and my leg was very sore. I had a 1999 Caravan that had the switches higher on the panel. As a result we had a nice smooth door. Very poor inside design--should have been caught

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  1996 Intrepid - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By Jym Sparks - August 29 - 2:00 am

  Good all around car. Good in snow and ice. Very dependable with just general up keep. Have had some problems keeping the brakes in check and have replaced them multiple times. It seems to be alright now. Also the engine is loud when you jump on it.

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  For the price you cant beat the Neon - 1999 Dodge Neon
  By Derek0302 - August 28 - 2:00 am

  I love my 99 Dodge Neon (DOHC). Best car i have ever owned....No problems so far with 130k miles....I only replaced the timing belt (wasnt in need of it but thought b4 it was I would replace it) Great cars thinking about buying a SRT-4...Keep up the good work Dodge

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  Pretty decent vehicle - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By justin - August 26 - 1:16 pm

  The most trouble ive had with this vehicle is with the reliability of it. Ive been to the service department about 4 times because suddenly the front suspension made an ugly deep, vibrating noise when the steering wheel was turned left or right. They somewhat improved the problem, but it still makes that noise every now and then. The transaxle makes a high pitched noise that sounds like a cricket chirping, and i was told that there was nothing that could be done about it. Other than that, I think that this a good buy for the price.

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  newbie - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By dkochersperger - August 25 - 5:43 pm

  The Stow and Go seating is fantastic. Luggage space is excellent. DVD player is good. Performace needs to be enhanced. Gas mileage also needs to be improved. Chrysler Corp makes the best of usable space.

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  Enjoying my Caliber - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Valerie Mollard - August 25 - 4:06 am

  I purchased my first Caliber back in 4/06. It was white and the only one available on the lot as they are sold so quickly. So I bought it. I kept returning to the dealership until I saw a red Caliber in Oct. and traded my car on the spot. It cost me a over $1,000 plus more money to trade than I thought it would, but I believed that since this would be my last new vehicle purchase it had to be the color I wanted. The red is such a hot, beautiful red (pearl), I drove off with it that very day. I have only one complaint. The steering wheel does not shift up and down enough. It hardly moves at all. A little larger trunck space would be great.