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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  Should have bought the big warranty! - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By TimfromCA - May 23 - 3:16 pm

  Loved the new van at first - until the first transmission went (at only 50k miles). The replacement trans was bad before it even left service! Had probs with sqeaky seats, noisy struts, computer went out at 110k - and the brakes... Brakes dont have nearly enough stopping pwr due (I guess) to poor design. Went thru at least 7 pad changes and 3 sets of rotors in 135k. Lastly, the paint clear coat started disintegrating last year - apparently I wasnt the only one to experience this, just take a close look at the late 90s Green models and Im sure youll see what I mean.

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  great off road truck - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By johnny69 - May 23 - 2:00 am

  so far so good 14000 miles no problem.Brakes are starting to show ware.

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  Dakota Standard - Great Truck - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By boblonben - May 23 - 2:00 am

  Driven 150 plus miles daily . no problems no complains

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  Wonderful SUV!! - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Holly Winn - May 22 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my Durango for 3 years now and I have not had one single problem with it. If they are maintained properly and on schedule, it will run like a champ. I am selling mine now only because I like to have new cars every 3 years. I would recommend it highly.

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  Great Truck - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By uncle buck - May 22 - 2:00 am

  This is a fun truck to drive. It gives you a sense of power driving around town. The styling is distinctive, the patriot blue color is different and the handling off and on highways is superb. It is without a doubt the best truck that Ive ever had, including full size trucks. The reliability gives not doubt that this truck will last me a very long time without any problems.

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  02 V-8 Dakota - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By Marklom - May 22 - 2:00 am

  Overall the truck is great. I did not want a huge full-size truck, but wanted a V8. I love the looks of the truck and it handles real well. It has plenty of power for a mid size truck.

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  53000+ miles on dodge intrepid96I have t - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By intrepidone - May 21 - 2:00 am

  I have 53000+ miles on this car and I enjoy driving it because, it has very good acceleration, solid rode feel, body seems all together and well built. The only thing I do not like is the road wind noise and tire noise over bumps. You can feel the road , like old pavement that is pitted, versus new pavement. Other than that I think I have had good luck with the car. I am getting a new a/c compressor put in , the first one. I had the a/c charged once in the last 7 years. I had one battery installed, and a water pump. I also had two new tires put on about 10/15000 miles ago, but , the other two are still good.

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  2000 and newer are the best - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By sandy budach - May 20 - 2:00 am

  never had to have roadeside,stalls or anything.

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  Dodge Viper SRT-10 - 2003 Dodge Viper
  By Moora - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I think the 2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10 is a wonderful, fast, viper-like sports car (I hope Dodge hears about this). Its also extremely reliable. Its interior is wonderful with the gauges vertily in a curved line. Just a work of art!

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  Love This Truck - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By jtdamask - May 18 - 2:00 am

  I dont know if we have just been lucky or what but we have had zero problems with our Dakota. It is fun to drive and performs well.