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:

• 

  2015 Dodge Charger rt road&track package - 2015 Dodge Charger
  By Guadalupe cisneros - August 2 - 12:46 am

  Im having a lot of problems with suspension noise and braking car just have 2k miles I need to take back too dealer ship Im pissed off never thought that I would have this problems with a brand new car and also a lot of brake dust

• 

  disappointing first car - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By Aaron.pat. - July 28 - 10:52 am

  Being a college student, I figured that I needed a car of my own. I looked around dealerships close to my location snd found my neon for $2,000. It ran smooth...for about 20 minutes. It broke down before I even got home. Ao far, I have owned this vehicle for 3 months and ive only been in possession of it for around 6 days total (due to breakdowns and long repair times). So far, I have put $1500 into fixing it, even took it to the best mechanic in town (really expensive) and it still broke down in a matter of 1 day. If you are looking for a reliable cheap car, GO FOR THE CIVIC!

• 

  2 words..... Electrical Problems - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By Rats - July 27 - 3:06 am

  Our Dodge Durango Citadel is a beautiful car. Comfort and performance wise it is the nicest vehicle we have ever owned. Unfortunately the fun stops there. Dodge has several recalls out on this vehicle that they dont have the parts to fix. Our car currently wont start due to a recall issue and the dealership has no idea how to fix the problem because there are no parts to fix the issue. Imagine owning a 50000 dollar vehicle that wont start and has an unfixed brake booster recall. That is the Dodge experience.

• 

  Buyer Beware! - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By L Falcon - July 22 - 3:58 pm

  The 2013 Dodge Durango looks nice from the outside, BUT inside...the acceleration is mediocre for a 6cyl, air condition takes a while to cool, uncomfortable front seats, a 3-row seating arrangement inside should always include roof racks in my opinion (no roof rack). Most important thing is that this Dodge Durango has had 3-4 recalls since it was purchase in 2014 and every time Dodge has not moved quickly to make the necessary repairs. Their standard answer is always..."the part is not in yet". All the recalls mention possible crash if the issues are not repaired however, Dodge seems to not care about the safety of their customers. It has taken over 6 months for parts to finally become available for each recall and they have not bothered to contact us when that happens. I will not be buying another Dodge ever again.

• 

  Lemon - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By Angela - July 10 - 10:27 am

  Loved how sporty the car drove during the test drive but after just a week of owning the car (purchased brand new) it was in the shop for overheating problems. A month later it was in the shop again for overheating problems and now for a third time its in the shop for overheating and lack of acceleration. Definitely not a good experience with Dodge thus far...back to Toyota I go!

• 

  Done with Caravans - 2006 Dodge Caravan
  By weicht - June 3 - 8:59 pm

  I hate Caravans! I bought it used with around 36,000 miles. Around 50,000 miles had to have a position sensor replaced. Now I have 136,000 miles on it and the transmission went.

• 

  Worst car I have ever owned - 2014 Dodge Charger
  By zenchargerguy - May 11 - 8:42 pm

  Worst car ever, 2nd charger owned, 1st one died at 20k miles, transmission blew up, 2nd one, 2014 has horrible off gas odor that makes me sick and the car impossible to drive. Chrysler says the car is "operating as designed and that I am out of luck. Do yourself a favor and buy literally anything else but Dodge.

• 

  Will never buy another dodge car again! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Racheal Morrow - March 15 - 11:01 am

  I bought my 2009 dodge journey in August 2010 and in November 2010 is when all of the problem started. I was on the highway with my family and the car completely shut down on me and it would not start back up until it was placed on a flatbed being towed. Flash forward till 2013, my transfer case exploded on me and then in January 2015 my transfer case exploded a second time. In Feb. 2015 my drive shaft broke, and now in March 2015 my power train module has completely stop working. Called all of this in and the dodge warranty people was very rude and nasty to me. Since the end of January I have spent $6100 and still have a boat load more to spend. This shall be traded w/I the next week!

• 

  Thanks to the 2013 Dart Aero I will never buy another Dodge - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By winphreak - February 22 - 10:23 pm

  Had to have TCM reprogrammed and replaced several times, transaxle seal replaced, transmission valve body replaced. Still have issues with the transmission. Currently, reverse does not work and the car can barely go over 40 mph. The car has been at the dealer more than 5 times now for transmission problems. I wish I never bought this death trap. Starting a lemon law claim with Chrysler. Hopefully they offer a 100% buy back like Ive seen a few other customers report.

• 

  WORST CAR I HAVE EVER BOUGHT!! - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Marjorie Crawford - February 20 - 4:11 pm

  I bought this car used with 150,000 8 weeks ago. A week after I bought it, the check oil light came on. I took it to the shop and the oil pan was stripped and the transmission was leaking. The warranty covered a rebuilt transmission and new oil pan. The dealership had it for 3 weeks to do the repairs. Now 2 weeks after I get it back, the heat in the car goes out and it is only blowing cold air. I take it back to the dealership and they tell me it will take them a week to run diagnostics on it. I bought this car 8 weeks ago and have nothing but repairs. DO NOT buy this car!!!