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:

• 

  Viper GTS Coupe - 2002 Dodge Viper
  By Scott17 - August 14 - 2:00 am

  Car is a thrill to drive non stop attention great car for the money. The only negetive comment...inside of vehicle get way too hot

• 

  Better than a SUV - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By kvll - August 13 - 2:06 am

  Just the leather package and sunroof on this SXT AWD. At 6000 miles reliability has been good. Found random squeaks that will appear for a while then vanish for a month - one was the rear cargo cover when it was extended. Its a great freeway car, speed control even downshifts to keep the speed constant. In town poor visibility can be a problem for backing up, same as a Pacifica I drove. Im up to 18 mpg in the suburbs driving gently, get 22 hwy. In hindsight, I would have got the protection group, cloth seats, better radio/speakers. This is a very solid, versitile car for active people. I got it despite the styling, but some of you may like it.

• 

  Durangos are good vehicles - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By mike fonte - August 11 - 2:00 am

  Durango has good pick up and engine power when needed. It handles quite well and is compact enough to fit in tigh places. Interior is some what compact. The fold down seats are a plus with the third row it seats 7-8 passengers.

• 

  02 R/T - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By Dougzilla04 - August 9 - 2:00 am

  Overall, a decent truck. When it stays out of the shop i love it. but it has spent a lot of time there. My truck has about 32,000 miles on it now and i have to take it back for its second set of ball joints. In 2003 its spent about 3 months in the shop for mechanical and engine malfunctions. Dodges customer service was terrible. At four different dealerships i was not allowed to get a rental car paid for which i think was wrong considering how little i got to drive the vehicle. I know a lot of people that have Dodges and dont have the number of issues that i had, but after this truck i will be going back to toyotas and/or nissans for dependablity reasons.

• 

  a very good dependable suv - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By nolona@mdah.state.ms - August 4 - 2:00 am

  The dodge durango is an excellent built suv, the comfort and options are great and the feel for the road is on time with stff but firm handling. the fuel consumption is sorrowful in this day and time, approximately 16 mpg city and highway combined. The additional seating is a plus with options as a luggage compartment. Highway long trips are enjoyable to take with the road handling ability of sure footed big enought but small enought to be enjoyable enought. I would buy this vehicle again.

• 

  Great SUV! - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By paul1707 - August 4 - 2:00 am

  Purchased new in May 02. It was a dealer demo with 3K miles on it so I saved about $7K off the MSRP. Since then, I have been very pleased with its reliability. It is only a little over 2 years old but it has 70K miles on it and still runs like new. The only repairs Ive had outside normal maintenance are brakes at 64K miles and a new battery at 67K miles. It has been an outstanding vehicle, much better than the 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee I traded for it. I was hesitant about owning another DiamlerChrysler product but took the chance and I am glad I did. However, the resale value is very poor and that will probably keep me from purchasing another Dodge.

• 

  Gas mileage and Road Noise - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Craig - August 2 - 8:43 am

  I purchased a 2008 Grand Caravan SE in February. I took it on its first road trip over Easter. The comfort was great but the road noise was horrid. You have to have the radio at the #16 volume to hear it. This could have been improved for a few dollars more by Chrysler. The gas mileage is awful! With gas over $3/gallon and maybe $4 by summer it will cost me over $300.00/month (another car payment). Chrysler could have built a more efficient engine than this one. If this keeps up, I will be forced to get rid of it this year. I have two kids which require car seats so unfortunately, I need something bigger than a car. Can anyone give me some gas savings tips.

• 

  02 Durango - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By av8r - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Overall a good vehicle. Truck-based SUV handles rough terrain better than a car-based. Finally got needed face lift in 04 but the truck got heavier and has sacrificed power and some convenience (cannot get cass player anymore) Also, new seats are hard as a rock.

• 

  Nice Car, just happy I leased! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By jb - July 31 - 2:46 pm

  started leasing the car in july 08, from there the trouble started. first had an issue with the ac. brought it in, fixed it no problem. then the trouble with the steering when turning left started, Im assuming the same problem with many journey owners. brought it in 3 times, although it has gotten better it is still there. Now, for the past month and half, theres been a burning smell coming out of the hood. brought it in and service tech said that when i got an oil change they must of spilt some oil on the manifold and that it should burn off in 2 weeks. this was a month ago. besides all of this, we enjoy the car. Im just happy we leased it instead of purchasing it.

• 

  Fast fast fast - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Paul544 - July 31 - 2:00 am

  This car is fast. Its rating of 214hp is way low. This thing moves out like a big V8. Fun to drive and race. The worst thing about this car is the front seats. Unless you have one skinny ass, you just wont fit. I am working on ways of "bending" the hip huggers down because it is downright uncomfortable to drive as it is now. But other than that this car rocks!!!! Cant wait for the upgrades to hit the market. I think Dodge has only scraped the surface of this cars real performance. SMOKIN!!!!!