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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  2012 dodge journey rt - 2014 Dodge Journey
  By Don Stafford - March 10 - 8:24 pm

  will buy another.Love this vehicle 8.4 inch screen with Nav is so easy to use . Other vehicles I tried had too mant buttons ride is great and leather finish are top of the line quality

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  Best car ive ever owned - 2014 Dodge Dart
  By webb429 - March 10 - 8:43 am

  I bought a 2014 dart rally in august 2014. at 13000 miles No problems at all. Runs great gas mileage around 38 to 40. plenty of leg room. I enjoy driving this car. Chrysler has been never ending on the emails to make sure Im happy with the dart. I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  TOO many problems - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By James Robert-Massaro - March 8 - 9:52 am

  From the first day I have had problems in and out of service radio,alarm,remote start,and the TRANSMISSON has never worked right bangs, shifts terrible awd does not work right and what do you say when all you hear is the comp.doesnt show anything even though I have driven this car for 36,000 miles wish me luck filed lemon law and there willing to hear me maybe someone will listen

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  WORST CAR EVER - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By Alex Foreman - March 6 - 10:27 pm

  This car couldnt be any worst, $1500 in repairs, and a problem everyday. tie rod ends, brakes sounding like a train, rough idle, rough transmission, leaked oil and transmission fluid, cracked dash, bad bushings, motor mounts, uncomfortable ride, wheel hub assembly, brake cylinders, AND WORST OF ALL AT 45 MPH THE AIR BAGS FAILED THE FRONT END WAS GONE NEVER AGAIN DODGE!

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  Nice family car for most parts - 2004 Dodge Caravan
  By Halldor Geirsson - March 3 - 4:41 pm

  I had this car (model 2004) for 5 years and drove 64k miles on it (56-110k). The car probably had some prior frontal damage before I bought it, which may have propagated into some of the maintenance issues I ran into. We had to replace a number of things (radiator, alternator/battery, window motor, rotors, tail light, etc) and had the check-engine light on for most of the time, due to some emission codes which could never be figured despite a few tries by the local dealer and another garage. But the great thing about owning a Dodge in the US is that spare parts are easy and quick to get and we probably only lost a couple of days when we would have needed to use the car. Overall likable car.

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  My Biggest Regret!! - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Thai Tran - February 28 - 11:56 am

  I purchased this car brand new when initially introduced to the market in late 2012. I purchased this car under emotional stress due to the Sandy storm which completely flooded my Audi, totaling it. So the decision to purchase the Dart was more impulsive and out of desperation. Fast forward 3 years later, im now having problems with the engine and the engine light comes on sporadically throughout my ownership. Im not getting the fuel efficiency that is proudly advertised by Dodge. The fuel cap gets stuck and doesnt open during cold weather. When the weather gets below 30, my car has trouble recognizing my FOB key, with issues that causes it not to work reliably.

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  First Dodge product, overall we love it! - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By Mary Samler - February 26 - 12:42 pm

  My wife and I purchased this 2014 Durango R/T in Nov 2014. We absolutely love this vehicle so far. We wanted a 3 row SUV and deemed this best in class. The 3rd row is actually usable by adults unlike some competitors. We have had 1 issue so far, which is currently ongoing, the SD card reader sometimes wont recognize the card is in there and I have to do a soft reset of the Uconnect to get it to work. This has happened twice for no apparent reason. Other than that, all is good. I have mostly owned Toyotas of all kinds in my life so it takes a lot to impress me and I am impressed so far. If this vehicle remains reliable in the long run, I will consider another Dodge again.

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  2013 Dodge Dart - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By Amber Brown Baldwin - February 26 - 10:54 am

  Purchased my Dodge Dart brand new from the dealer in December 2012. I have had it in the dealership twice now for severe issues. The latest reason my steering wheel locked up, radio and dash controls went black after all the lights on the dash came on with a service steering wheel error popped up. Once I came to a stop realized my steering wheel was not in my control, radio was still black. Heater turned up all the way, unable to turn it down or control it. Parked the car and now its going back in to the dealer! I paid a fortune for this car. If I had been going faster than I was I would have been severely injured in a wreck when my steering wheel locked up. Would not buy!

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  Almost 14 years and counting - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By Paul J Tabone - February 23 - 9:41 am

  My truck is a 3.9 with an A/T. Mileage has never been that great but I knew that going in. Ive always been a Mopar guy and this truck doesnt disappoint. I admit that I dont drive it often In nearly 14 years I barely have 60K on it, but those miles have been good ones. I use it for work and play. It has hauled heavy loads distances or taken me on vacations in all kinds of weather and has always been a comfortable vehicle. The only thing it may be lacking is a few extra horses for the hilly bits, but for the most part the V6 has been adequate for my uses. I am happy with the way the truck handles on the open road and well as how it takes the twisty bits, and that with Goodyear Wranglers.

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  Thanks to the 2013 Dart Aero I will never buy another Dodge - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By winphreak - February 22 - 10:23 pm

  Had to have TCM reprogrammed and replaced several times, transaxle seal replaced, transmission valve body replaced. Still have issues with the transmission. Currently, reverse does not work and the car can barely go over 40 mph. The car has been at the dealer more than 5 times now for transmission problems. I wish I never bought this death trap. Starting a lemon law claim with Chrysler. Hopefully they offer a 100% buy back like Ive seen a few other customers report.