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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  100,000 Going strong - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By Tom - March 31 - 11:58 am

  I bought the car new. It has 100,000 miles now. Used Mobil 1 since new. Never touched the motor. Blew the tranny differential burning out on ice (on accident). Differentials dont like one tire on ice, the other on the road. Paint is still shiny. Runs like new. The 2.4L has plenty of pep and gets 30mpg highway.

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  Decent at best - 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By KMB - March 31 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my van used with 29,000 miles on it. At first I thought it was great we got a great deal etc... well now every 15,000 mile it needs breaks, acceleraton is slow when the air is on. The tensioner belt has squealed since the 2nd month of ownership, problems with the rack and pinion sterring, had the ac fixed ($1200). Now the transmission is starting to have problems. I call to make an appt and one dealer is a month behind to get it in, another is at least 2 weeks. I will NEVER buy one again. Thinking of buying an Odyssey.

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  Its Ok - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By J Durango - March 31 - 10:00 am

  I have eth hemi, and it has plenty of power. But after 5K miles, the dealer still cant find annoying front end vibration and pull. It pulls my boat likeits not back there, very good ride aside from front end vibration

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  Night mare - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By MA - March 31 - 5:41 am

  This is the worst I could have ever owned. I have tried my best to spread the word to my friends about not to buy Dodge caravan or their products. Bought it used, computer went out, Dealer did not know the problem, so he replaced fuel pump, car wont start again, then they replaced computer, total cost about 1500$, then starter, then key console, then brakes, then power windows died, other than those, tiny problems like brake light, wiper not operating keep cropping up.Interior is cheap, absolutely scary to go out on highway due to reliability. Beware of the computer. It acts weird on my van.

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  Love this Wagon! - 2011 Dodge Caliber
  By Shannon Altmeyer - March 30 - 6:41 pm

  Its size and comfort are perfect for what I was looking for. Bigger than a car, yet smaller than an SUV. Im Im love!!!

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  Super ++++ - 2007 Dodge Durango
  By Steviegene - March 29 - 10:51 pm

  We have had this Durango for a few months and absolutely love it. We needed to tow about 6500lbs to it was a great choice.

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  Van was great for the first 7 days then. - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Johnny - March 28 - 11:50 pm

  Bought this van with 6800 miles on it. Had it about 8 days and the check engine light came on. Dealer said that I had water in my gas so put in a gas treatment and a spark plug. The check engine light came on before I got home so took it back and dealer said the injector was bad so changed it. Drove 2 days and the check engine light came back on so dealer kept it for 2 days and said that the injector wasnt seating properly because of deposit builup. They now want to "pull the head and see whats going on in side". So, runs bad, poor mileage, check engine light on, starter doesnt engage on cold mornings and now heater randomly blows ice cold air.

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  Black Beauty - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By Heater - March 28 - 3:26 pm

  I call my car the bad yammer-jammer. Young and old continuosly give me the thumbs-up.

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  We love ours! - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By TJ - March 28 - 12:25 pm

  We bought this Durango used with 65000 miles last January. It worked great in Kansas averaging roughly 20mpg while using AC. We now live in Colorado and this vehicle has been a dream. In snow and ice the AWD works great. We average 18 mpg up and down the mountains and around town. When we makes trips to Denver from BV we get 22mpg and got 24 on one trip. We did replace the plugs at 80,000 miles and they were fried. We used Bosch this time and have never had any other problems even with Colorados 85 octane fuel. The rear seat is a little tight for adults, but great for kids and the third seat is great for extra passengers. Sound system is great too. Ride is good for SUV and extremely quiet.

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  Dodge - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By Blackwell6832 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  Great car.. ne of the best I have seen made.