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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  Nice Car - If You Can Get It Started - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Dennis Schulmeister - January 14 - 6:45 am

  For some reason, after passing the 50,000 mile mark, the 2009 Journey decides if and when it wants to start. Dealers have numerous guesses - most of which make no sense - but no one seems to have found a permanent solution. Dodge doesnt seem to care if the owners are satisfied or not. They have known about this problem for several years and have offered no ideas. The dealers will tell you that their computer has determined that your battery is bad - even if you just spent several hundred dollars replacing it. In most cases it isnt the battery. For some reason the anti-theft starter lockout system engages and the starter will not operate. Another problem (in my estimation) is visibility. The windshield pillar/outside rear view mirror location combination allows for a significant blind spot where whole cars can disappear. The very large mirror (great size!) housing should be suspended from the top instead of the bottom. Mirror would still provide excellent vision to the rear of the car and it would substantially decrease the size of that blind spot. Bottom line is that the car is above average in almost everything including the frustration it causes the owner because of the unreliability issue. I suspect the resale value will come up quite a bit if the starting problem is ever solved. THANKS DODGE FOR MAKING A VERY NICE VEHICLE THAT BECOMES USELESS AFTER 50K MILES!

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  Dont buy it! - 2014 Dodge Dart
  By B - January 13 - 7:48 pm

  I have a 2014 SXT and its a death trap. It shuts down in the middle of the road going above 45 no brakes no gas steering wheel locks. Mine has been in the shop for a month and I got it back today with the same problem. Had the pcm update and has gone down hill from there. Very disappointing.

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  98 Dodge Intrepid - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By Scott B - January 6 - 5:25 pm

  This car has to maintained often, if not you will find yourself with serious problems. It has a nice ride and is a overall great car when it chooses to be. This car has many flaws and I would not recommend it to a friend because you will end up putting more money into then youll every purchase it for.

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  think again - 2014 Dodge Charger
  By melvin - January 5 - 8:31 am

  I purchased 2014 sxt plus in January 2015 In just 1 year the car has left me stranded twice. First time the battery and the key battery had died and couldnt be recognized by vehicle had to get it towed to service. Second time January 2016 car just cut off completely engine light came on in the middle of the road early morning on my way home from work.

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  it ended to soon. - 2010 Dodge Caliber
  By Anthony - January 4 - 9:26 am

  There is a problem that causes these to shut off while you are driving on the hwy., my niece had the same problem, something about a cooling sensor keeping the transmission from overheating. And this should have been a recall issue.

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  Total let-down. :( - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By Zoomn - January 4 - 6:54 am

  This car has been plagued with issues from week one of ownership when I was left stranded in an intersection two hours from home. Over my first year it spent over 45 days at the dealer for various repairs and has one electrical concern with the audio system that not only remains, but has no apparent fix available in the foreseeable future. The sad part is that its a really nice vehicle to drive and has some nice design touches, but between some of the dealer experiences and all of the problems I simply cannot, in good faith, recommend it.

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  Excellent catch!!! - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By rodris@mail.ru - January 4 - 5:30 am

  I bought my car with 90,000 miles on it and today it has 132,000 miles. The repairs are new battery, new engine serpentine belt, oxygen sensor, regular synthetic oil changes and ceramic brakes. The car runs like a champ!!! Excellent buy!

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  DODGE A DODGE QUICK - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Shortbody - January 3 - 8:16 pm

  Do not buy used trust and believe all negative comments (its real). Had it 45 days and the Throttle body light came on. No acceleration, car shaking and wont hardly move. Car had poor accelaration before the light came on drove as if it were a manual shifting car. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY! paid cash for the car, wish I had not!!!

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  Service & Maintain daily or DIE - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Dale Clark - January 3 - 5:03 pm

  If your not a ocd car person get your wallet out. Its down hill quick once something goes wrong. Its like everything relys on everything. Condition is everything. If its been beat it falls apart litteraly ! 2.7 is a pocket rocket . mine is at 200000k and the water pump has given up. Putting it together now. Be warned repair here $585. Not cheap.

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  Very dependable - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By Jackie - January 2 - 8:28 am

  I have had my Nitro for 8 years. Replaced front brakes once and water pump once . Other than regular oil changes no problems. Good investment. Paid for for several years. Think Ill keep it. Life time warranty.