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:

• 

  Lots of Water Interior Rear and Front Passenger Side - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By kwicklund - May 21 - 5:08 pm

  I replaced my worn out Aurora with 197+ thousand miles on it at the end of Feb 2012. I purchased a used Dodge Caliber 2007 with 74,221 miles on it. It now has 75,690 miles on it. I guess the previous owner left out the little bit of information where the back & front passenger interior side floor leaks , and not just a little, inches worth. Then it takes forever to get it to dry and then it starts to stink to high heaven. I have been trying to find someone who will guide me to the spot that causes this leak so it wont cost me a small fortune to get it fixed. I also have discovered several other problems as well.

• 

  Brake & frt suspension issues - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By ndh1998 - May 13 - 8:47 pm

  Bought this car in fall of 2010 for my wife who liked the style an size with approx. 38,000 miles. At 51,000 + I noticed the frt tires starting to wear abnormally and took it to the tire shop I use only to find the tire rods/ball joints were shot. Had those replaced & 2 tires. Brakes have for a long time squeal when going backing out the driveway and especially if they are wet. Then the decorative black trim around the outside door posts started to peel and come peal off. Dodge has said these are not under warranty so I would have to pay to fix the decorative trim & they could replace the brake pads but do not think this will stop the issues with squeaking.

• 

  2004 Dodge Intrepid Review - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By brooke6 - May 13 - 12:10 am

  I owned a 2004 Dodge Intrepid for about 9 months. It ran great. No major problems. I think all we replaced was the battery and we had a slow leak in our tires. One day my mom and i were driving home and a driver fell asleep and crossed the line and struck our Intrepid. Completly totaled our car, but it saved our lives. The cops at the scene said if we had been in a different vehicle we probably wouldnt have made it out. This car is VERY safe and i thank God that we had been riding in that car on that day. We got roughly 24-28mpg and it rides really smooth. Cons: shape of car makes tricky blind spots, and has long nose. Huge trunk space and easy handeling. Reccomend this car to anyone!

• 

  Traded my Acura for this and LOVE it! - 2012 Dodge Durango
  By snowskier68 - May 12 - 8:42 pm

  I traded my 2004 Acura MDX for this Dodge Durango Citadel and have no regrets whatsoever. This is my first-ever American made car and I am thoroughly impressed. First, it looks so fantastic that Im thrilled to walk up to and get into it every time. Once inside, Im greeted with comfortable seats and every amenity Ive ever imagined. It feels truly luxurious and I feel pampered. Third row is spacious enough, second row is great, cargo capacity is wonderful. The ride is smooth and quiet on the 20" tires. One small complaint: steering wheel makes a slight rattling sound at low speeds. Its somewhat annoying so I will have that checked next time I visit the dealer. I have put 3,000 miles on it.

• 

  Larger SUV for expanding family. - 2008 Dodge Durango
  By wilpwr78 - May 12 - 11:09 am

  We recently traded in our Jeep Liberty Renegade for a 2008 Durango SLT with the newly redone 4.7L V8. We couldnt be happier with our decision. The 3.7L in the Jeep was a gas hog (maybe due to my heavy foot) even on long 55mph drives the best MPG I could get were 18. What it lacked in efficiency it didnt make up with space. That is there the Durango rules. Plenty of power from the 303hp V8 on hand for passing slo-pokes. Havent put the 330lbs of tor que to use yet, but look forward to pulling with it soon.

• 

  Awesome Ride ... I Would Recommend - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By bluenitroqueen - May 5 - 12:19 pm

  Ive had my 2008 Blue Nitro for almost 2 weeks, It is an investment for me cause I hadnt had a payment on a vehicle in almost 6 months. I had a Red Jeep Liberty Limited 2002 that I paid off in January and was so glad to see it go. I had nothing ,but problems from the Liberty during the last 3 months I had it. When I saw the Electric Blue Nitro on~ line I wanted one. I set my mind to it and finally ran across one (that was blue with low mileage) and purchased it with no problem. The sound system is also a plus and I have sirius satelite radio for 3 months at no extra charge. Anyway check it out for yourself if you wanna know ... go test drive one.

• 

  Mixed review - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By teufelsdrock - May 1 - 11:55 am

  I bought my 2007 Caliber in March of 2006, one of the first ones in this area. I was initially worried because I had the stalling problem (sound familiar Caliber owners?) and I also lost the alternator at about 50k. That was an $$$ repair. I still own the car. It has 256,000 miles on it! I have had to replace the alternator again. Over the last six years, Ive replaced the tie rods (roads where I live--NE Ohio--are horrible) and one wheel bearing. I get 32 mpg on the highway (1.8 stick shift). The stalling issue just disappeared (did the computer self-adjust?). Car has the original exhaust system. So... two alternators, tie rods, a battery and 256k miles. Does this car owe me anything?

• 

  GREAT CAR! - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By santoactueel - April 23 - 8:32 pm

  This car has been great to me. I bought it used at 60k miles and I am the 4th owner. I did everything youre suppose to do when buying a used car. Spent the money on the Carfax (a $30 Carfax VS. a costly mistake), test drove it and asked questions like crazy to see any faults in the sellers description. The maintenance on this car has been wonderful and it is great on gas. I found out the Neons have a Mitsubishi. I do all the repairs myself, I replaced the fender & bumper from an accident the dealer wanted $1500 to repair it, but I found a new fender on eBay for $15 & new bumper for $50. All in all the parts are very affordable & I would definitely buy another one if Dodge still made them.

• 

  Not your grandfathers Dodge! - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By 2_skoops - April 23 - 2:38 pm

  I was in the market for the Charger SRT8. I had arranged a test drive of an SRT8 at a local dealer only to find out that someone had put a deposit on it. The sales person told me that he had an idea … “How about an R/T with the Road and Track package”. Well, I was there anyway so … OK. First are the looks. In the Road & Track trim the grill is flat black w/ the heritage R/T badge in red. The rims are 20” retro chrome fitted with 245/45-20 Goodyear F1 Super Car tires. Inside there is an 8.4 inch infotainment system. It integrates with the iPod/Phone through the Bluetooth or USB interface. The usual GPS, Sirius, CD/MP3, AM/FM that you would expect from a full sized sedan. 10 Alpine speakers, w/ Sub powered by a 550 watt amp. The ride is very quiet and smooth.

• 

  A good reliable truck. - 2006 Dodge Dakota
  By 06dodgedakota - April 10 - 9:38 am

  I have 130K miles on my 4x4, V6, 6 speed, 2006 Dakota. So far, (knock on wood), no problems. On road it drives like a car. Off-road, it does its job well. It handles central Oregon snow great. It also crawls up central Oregon buttes with ease despite its lower ground clearance. Not sure where the 20 MPG comes into play, but mine gets more like 15-17MPG, city/hwy respectively. My V6 feels under powered while accelerating to hwy speeds. I could rev it up to or past 3K rpms, but that cost money in fuel.