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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  Will you be thumbing it? - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Phoenix - March 21 - 5:53 pm

  Love this vehicles design, space, and characteristics. Hate the fact that you might be left on foot! Going on my possible 3rd transmission job in 3 years. If I keep it! Like many before, front passenger window motor, bumper peeling/rusting easily, and now, faced with another transmission job! 2 people depend on this vehicle for work while other "Dodge" in shop (over 2 wks) with no luck on getting it going. I will not buy another Dodge or Ford at this point! Either its something missed in a recall or just wasnt caught by a safety expert that gives a da**. Oh yeah, front upper/lower ball joints both wheels, sway bars, bearings to keep from crashing

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  Power steering 2004 Dodge Dakota 2004 - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By TAJL - March 17 - 1:56 pm

  At 53,000 miles the power steering has gone out, I have been told it will cost between $450.00 and $1500. If both p/s pump and rack are shot. I feel with only 53,000 miles and all the problems I have seen on the Internet this problem should be taken care of by the factory.

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  Front end problems - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Bowtech71 - March 15 - 3:15 pm

  I bought the RT model in spring 2007. For the first 7 months, I could not have enough driving time with my car, it was great! lots of fun. But after 8 months, the 2 front shocks needed replacement. I couldnt believe it. Lucky, they where under warranty. I had them changed. Almost a year later, they needed changing again!! Then, afte the warranty ran out, the 2 front tables where finished, $300.00 each just for the parts! All this changed and know I think there is a rack and pinion problem, because it stills makes awful noises and one front shock is, for the 3rd time in need of replacement. I wish I could bring it back to the dealership and leave it there!! its everything but economic...

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  Still testing - 2010 Dodge Avenger
  By Dodger - March 13 - 7:14 pm

  I just bought this vehicle a few weeks ago and feel misled. I bought this model based on the 2009 booklet and model in showroom. The 2010 Avenger SXT DOES NOT have the options that come standard in the 2009 SXT. The ride is quiet. The satellite radio is great. I was told it would have "all the power" but it didnt come with a power seat! Will not buy another Chrysler Dodge product in the future.

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  Love/Hate - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Bought used hate it - March 2 - 1:25 pm

  Well I bought this car used.. I had one as a rental car and thought it was neat. The design and such. I use it to commute 90 + miles a day.. lets see it has been in the shop 30 days already waiting on a new transmission, which thankfully was covered by the warranty I paid for. Then needed new tires, it has less than 40,000 miles on it. Which I am glad because the new tires seem to make it a quieter ride. Now recently I am noticing shifting problems with my new transmission! UGH!!

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  A ONE TON PAPERWEIGHT! - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By laura - March 2 - 8:49 am

  loved my car until I reached the 79000 mile mark. My water pump failed allowing antifreeze to mix with oil which fried out all the bearings. Had to pay $600 just to cover the labor for the mechanic to get to the part. It will cost more to replace motor than the car is worth. I never imagined a car could fail so completely at this low of miles. Now that its fixed my mechanic says I should dump the car because their transmissions have a 50% failure rate. Nice work Dodge! You can be sure I wont be purchasing your product again.

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  Budget Wheels in KC - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Bill in KC - February 27 - 11:46 pm

  We bought our Neon new off the lot. I wish we would have ordered it out the way we wanted it, but all in all we did OK. We have taken this car on several road trips and found it to be excellent on the highway (except for a bit of road noise). Driving in snow is a bit of a challenge though. The trick is to keep excellent tires on the car! I find the engine weak, but reliable and I am always concerned by the clatter she makes when she starts up. To my surprise, a weak battery caused several sensors to go nuts and report three different codes. Thankfully, an excellent mechanic figured it out, replaced the battery and we are ready for another 70K in this little car!

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  2006 Viper - 2006 Dodge Viper
  By dehydra8td - February 21 - 7:44 pm

  Im sure there are good Vipers out there but unfortunately mine has seen the shop over 29 times. Chrysler Customer Service is not helpful and the district manager (Tampa) will not return any phone calls. I have a large book of service documentation showing all the problems this vehicle has and Dodge will not do anything about it. After dealing with their customer service for over year Im giving up and buying something else, they won! I know there are sometimes lemons and I can accept that. What I cannot accept is how Dodges customer service operates and the lack of responsibility they take over such vehicles.

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  Good Car until 85K - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By redbird - February 20 - 9:29 pm

  Bought it used with 30K, and didnt have any major problems until 85K...then it seemed like every month something else went wrong. It started small with a short in the radio which led to several blown fuses. Then the fan motor speeds and rear defrost began to fail. 90K, cracked head gasket. 100K transmission began leaking. Replaced shift pack, started leaking again at 120K. I drove it hard, but it didnt hold up like I expected. Traded it in at 130K.

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  How not to sell a car - 2010 Dodge Caliber
  By yougottabekidding - February 9 - 8:30 pm

  Ownership experience was limited to 1 hour. Although ordered correctly, Dodge failed to manufacture the car correctly by leaving out 1 of 3 options....where was the quality control?? Took car for initial drive and it overheated in less than 5 miles. After listening to salesman and manager attempt ever increasing levels of BS, we took our deposit and left.