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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  nightmare nitro - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By kroyman - August 1 - 7:46 am

  Bought my nitro r/t June of 07 had only 2 months before I started having problems first the suspension was making noises the dealership acted like it was no big deal tried several things to fix didnt get it right until the third visit they said it was a body mass dampener as soon as I got the car back from the dealer a multitude of things started to act up plastic wheel coverings creaked when turning power steering pump making whistling noise had it back to the dealer twice on that they told me it was inherent to the vehicle and to contact Chrysler customer service instead I contacted lemon law atty. This vehicle has other problems as well drivers side window, a/c, time without my car 36 days

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  Not so Happy - 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Robideau - July 28 - 2:00 am

  Major problem: At 42,000 miles, steering rack went out. Very dangerous to drive because steering would stick in a turn. Cost $700 to fix, just barely out of warranty (36,000) and less than 2 years old. Also, fuel injector went out at this time also, $300 to fix. Had to replace battery at 2 1/2 years. Minor: Interior moldings frequently come apart. Dont think there should be this many problems!

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  Miss my Town and Country - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By randy - July 26 - 11:23 pm

  What a piece of junk. Brakes already replaced twice in less than 2 years, replaced all coolant hoses as they have rotted out. Gas mileage only 18 in city, and if we are real careful 22 on highway. Noisy and uncomfortable ride, cup holders a pain to adjust in front. We have said many times going from the Town and Country to this is like going from a Cadillac to a Chevette. Cant wait to get rid of it. Never again Dodge, or should I say "Dodge it."

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  Eight defects in 4.5 Months - 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By huntercrew - July 15 - 2:53 am

  This is our 5th Grand Caravan and second 2014. The van is a disaster. 9 times in for service. Heating stopped working properly, U-Connect mic didnt work, U-Connect doesnt stream properly, car lost power, cars MIL went on while losing power but the computer didnt "recognize the error", all the dashboard controls have flashed, burning rubber smell , and the low tire pressure goes on and off at will. The vehicle has recently been in the service department for 18 days straight, they keep saying they "cant replicate the problem". Chrysler says they are just going to have to "release" the vehicle and have our family drive a death trap. Warranty and service on these vehicles are worth nothing.

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  Oil Burner - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By doug - July 9 - 10:46 pm

  I bought this vehicle new. What a mistake. After 20k it burns over 1qt of oil every 1000 miles, which Dodge says is NORMAL. The sunroof wont close if youre going faster than 20 mph. Again Dodge says this is normal and that you should have to pull over and stop to close your sunroof. Its a piece of junk. Dodge has turned me into a Honda/Toyota lover.

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  lots of little problems - 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By sports mom - July 4 - 10:00 am

  We went for the top of the line fully loaded, have had nothing but problems. dont always act up when you take it to the dealership. Dealer has been great. atleast everything is on warranty but what happens when there is no more warranty. problems with tranny, electrical, computer, slider motor & chain, ect...

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  Garbage - 2007 Dodge Dakota
  By JB - June 29 - 2:39 pm

  I leased this on a 27 month lease because the price was so good, and it is the best looking 1/4 ton by NA manufacturers. I basically choose this based on looks. Big mistake. Ive had both front wheel bearing replaced, distributer cap, computer, brakes, emissions pump, etc. The engine would just all of a sudden have no power despite revving high. These problems could be over looked if I was able to get the posted mileage of 20 city and 29 highway. I get 16 highway and about 14 city. I should be able to sue Dodge for the difference in gas mileage because that is ridiculous. About half the posed mileage! Im buying a Toyota as soon as a get rid of this junk bucket.

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  Piece of garbage - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By piece of garbage - June 17 - 2:12 pm

  Since I have owned this car I have had nothing but problems. My ck. Engine light comes on all the time. I have had the fuel injectors cleaned a lot, it always comes up with two codes. I have put over $2000 on repairs into this bucket. My door handle broke off also. To tune up this car, it costs $500 each time. No matter what I do the check engine light comes on. The ball joint broke off the axle, luckily I was only parking or the garage said if I was driving it at the time of the break, I and my children would have been killed. I feel Dodge should fix this car for free because obviously there should have been a recall about why the ck. Engine light is always on. The ball joint thing was a recall.

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  Some redeeming features but think twice - 2015 Dodge Dart
  By Dave in OH - June 7 - 2:54 pm

  Got a chance to rent one of these, and since my daughter will be looking for something used soonish for a first car, I thought why not try it? Nut shell summary -some stand out features, but would not buy or rent again. Cars should be made to be driven as job 1, not just looked at or sat in. The good? Appearance was nice in my eyes. And, the interior was not low rent by any means. Soft touch material and mostly decent switch gear feel? Check. Logical control layout? Check. Seats were okay, but not great. Still, given the price point? Color me impressed. A few quirks to note here which kept the rating being higher in these areas. 1) Front seats needs to go lower. While I can fit... I have to recline the seat and doing so blocks the speedometer. So I can either fit comfortably, or not see my speedometer between 50 and maybe around 80. Tilting/telescoping wheel hopefully is an option, so check if you are a all torso kind of guy like me. 2) Glare off gauge panel. Given the rest of the interior quality, the lack of a (more?) reduced glare gauge cluster covering seems a noticeable omission. Not cant read it bad, but still quite annoying when the light glare hits it. And, the mostly not so good. With the exception of steering, which really does hit the mark for this sort of car, driving dynamics were pretty bad. So the steering first. Somewhat lose on center but with good, but not too much road feel. Tracks well, not too much effort at any speed. Pretty much exactly what the doctor order for daily driver sort of car and maybe more. However, the engine was buzzy and lacked any ommph over 45 for the first few days Had to hammer it to even get up to passing speed in any reasonable time. After a few days the TCU and engine eventually learned that when I applied gas I truly madly deeply did want it at least _try_ to move faster than a dodering great grandma. Still even then, it remained rather poor, but at least not almost dangerously so, as was my experience the first few days with it. Engine noise and vibration were a constant unwelcome companion, especially at idle. Even the dash liner would visibly vibrate at times. If Dodge had not put so much effort into the interior it would have been buzzing like my old 78 Malibu did when it was cold. This is the lowest level of NVH refinement of any other car I have driven or ridden in in the last decade, or possibly two, which is quite a few cars from all price points. Brakes may have had a warping issue on this car so read as such, and not as directly critical of the car model. The rears gave a distinctive whrrr whhrr when backing down my driveway. I had to stop quickly once, and they actually clunked and the car lurched a bit while stopping fast. I assume this is not normal for a Dart, and did let the rental agency know. I would however worry about a car that did have brake issues as early as this, even for a rental. My adivce? Try some emergency stops and braking while backing down a hill to be sure if you are test driving one. Suspension. On smooth even pavement it was fine, and even a good ride. However, anything else gave varying degrees of jittery and busy. Absolutely no confidence in trying anything beyond 20% pushing it in this car. Given the brakes, and lack of oomph, that was probably for the better. Still a suspension should not communicate that it wants to take the car in all sorts of directions you are not steering in on anything but good pavement. If you live in an area of crappy roads like I do, make sure to try it out first and see for yourself if it suits. Fairly obviously, I have no idea if it corners fairly flat / has body roll, was not even tempted to try it. In short? VW, Mazda, Ford, Nissan, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai, GM... All seem to have better cars in this price range/category from a driving perspective.

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  Bad Trans - 2006 Dodge Dakota
  By pinski10 - May 27 - 12:07 pm

  I always like the Dodge Dakota so i bought this one Brand New. Since I have had this, it has been in the shop 5 times now. This time for the transmission that just went out @ 44,000 miles, and NO this year did not come with the extended Powertrain warranty. So I get to eat the cost of it this time. Other times it was in the shop for.. 1. Computer went out 2. Windshield Wiper motor 3. Bad Speakers 4. Ignition Switch