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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  Neon - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By web - July 13 - 2:00 am

  All I can say is that it is fun car to drive.It is alot more powerful, has very good acceleration in comparison to other vehicles in its class that I have test driven prior to purchasing this vehicle. It was alot more affordable too.

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  johns review - 1999 Dodge Dakota
  By musicman803 - July 12 - 2:00 am

  I am 17 and this is my first car, i love it, it rides great and the interior was well designed. Controls are right where you need them. I have had the truck for 2 months but it has come in handy. I was very lucky to find this truck in great condition and with 26,000 miles.

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  Good Car! - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By adam_gomez - July 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had my stratus for close to three years. In those three years I have had to change the front brakes three times, but not the back as of yet. I had a trasmission leak at 57,000 mile but it was fully covered under warranty. The car has never not performed, snow, rain, or shine. I would say without a doubt that thus far it has been 100% rliable.

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  Happy w/2000 Durango, its solid - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Jeff from PA - July 12 - 2:00 am

  no major problems in 3 years, great drive train and engine, heater/ac fan is loud, good stereo, great paint, dependable

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  Good till 75k! - 1995 Dodge Stratus
  By Jay-Dub - July 9 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used with 50k. It was purchased to make a daily trip of about 125 miles for one year until college grad. That year went well. The car was smooth and fit us well. Im 63" and this was the only small car that I fit comfortably in. There is something bad wrong with the electrical system. For a while the radio wouldnt work one day, then another day work fine, now it doesnt ever work. The check engine light has been on over a year, dealer cant find anything. Brake wear is horrible, at least once a year replacment. Rear end squeaks. The rpm gauge has quit working. Transmission started slipping at 85k. Cant wait to sell!

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  looking for new car - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By KLSGB - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Have only had the car for a year and a half and have had it in 4 times because of oil leaks and twice for air conditioner problem, with more miles on it it has also become a lot louder when driving

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  wish I could keep it - 1991 Dodge Daytona
  By tj in VA - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Fairly reliable, sporty looks, good handling, looks great with ES ground effects, looks stupid without them! I retired this car at 175K, since I now have a wife and baby daughter, and the backseat (what backseat?) is too small, and the car sits too low to the ground for my wife. Otherwise, it still runs great! Although My ES doesnt have the Overdrive Automatic(a historical trouble spot), the 3 speed auto transmission did die at 120K. I have the same trans in a 96 Voyager and, at 107K, its starting to hiccup in the same manner. just be sure you expect a trans problem. I havent had any problems with the 2.5L 4 cyl, except for injector/throttle cleaning and an EGR valve.

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  Durango Fan - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Mindemann - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Great vehicle - really enjoyed driving it. Very quick. Short turning radius. Very comfortable ride.

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  Good inexpensive little car! - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By dan_gen - July 6 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car new five years ago. It has been very reliable over the five years. We have only had to make minor repairs to the car. It still gets great gas mileage. Within the first two years we did have problems with the sunroof, but it was under warranty and our local Dodge dealership took care of the problem in a timely manor. Other than that...no major problems.

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  1993 Dodge Dakota - 1993 Dodge Dakota
  By Hugh319 - July 4 - 2:00 am

  My Dakota is a 4x4 extended cab with a locking shell over the bed. It is the 3.9L V6 and 5 Spd manual tranny. I have used it as a work truck for my Handyman business and as a 4x4 to explore reasonably tough 12 to 13000 Rocky Mountain 4 wheel drive passes. We have also used it to pull a 1500 lb poptop camping trailer over 7000 miles. That was a breeze! It has also been used in the business to pull heavily laden utility trailers. I once pulled our 3600 lb travel trailer for about a hundred miles to get it repaired. That was about 120% of what it could do well. that means that we were down to 2nd gear on a 3 mile 7% grade at about 25 MPH... Not fun...