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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  Dodge Stratus R/T - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By krazymon22 - May 28 - 2:00 am

  The only problem I had was when I first purchased the car. Made way too much road noise especially on cold start. After being at the dealerships service dept. for about 4 or 5 days they found out my engine mounts were loose.

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  Neon Good for the Money - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By silverneon - May 26 - 2:00 am

  I like my Neon. It is sporty and fun to drive. I have not had any major problems yet at 19,000 miles. Compared to others in its price range-- best buy.

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  the enigma - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By Biggie.E - May 26 - 2:00 am

  I like the body style.

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  Dodge Stratus First and Last !!!!! - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By firemedic - May 25 - 2:00 am

  Great car. Resale value sucks. Owned since new (3 years), financed for 6 years. Currently owe $5000 more than resale value. This should not be!

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  Awesome truck, horrible gas mileage - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By ej55555 - May 24 - 10:00 am

  I thought this truck was going to be the ultimate ride on and off road. And I was right! Handling like a sports car as I fly off the road into a field at 60mph and not even blink an eye, or even spill my coffee. Now thats excitement! Eat that Tahoe! If the gas mileage wasnt so horrible, it would be the ultimate SUV.

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  dodge durang - 2001 Dodge Durango
  By ig0tp00pies - May 24 - 2:00 am

  the dodge durango is quit fast....it beats all other SUV competition, its realy fun to drive and you can pass a car up pretty fast for the top speed is a whopping 132 mph!

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  Mothers Day present? - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Cowgirl - May 24 - 2:00 am

  I love the sound (motorand speakers), color (chili pepper red pearl coat), handling, and design. But, we bought the vehicle used with 38,000 miles. Within the first week it was on a roll back headed for the dealership (freeze plugs failed). The brakes have always been "touchy" and no one can find a problem. Gas mileage is worse than my husbands 5.7L. Z71 and Ive got the 5.2L. But, its never stranded us anywhere.

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  2001 dodge dakota - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By fly - May 24 - 2:00 am

  Great truck . I run the heck out of it and it keeps coming back.

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  Is a recall on the horizon? - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By mrbig - May 24 - 2:00 am

  I have had an 04 4wd club cab for a week.Immediately, I noticed an issue with the shifting, which was spotty.For those of us who have driven stick shifts, it felt like when one should have been in a lower gear.At lower rpms, there was a significant missing...after the automatic trans shifted into a higher gear.It was most noticable at 42-50 mph.Hopefully, this makes sense.I was told that 4 other vehicles had similar problems and that Dodge had to flash the computer and was working on the problem.Any idea when this will take place OR does anyone have any additional information??

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  noisy brakes - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By froggie - May 23 - 2:00 am

  Great car....just cant understand why the brakes are soooo noisy...sometimes its very embarressing to pull up to stop sign or red light...took back to dealer many times and they said this is normal..............