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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  29/36 mpg? yeah right! - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Johnnym909 - August 12 - 10:00 am

  I drive me neon sxt to and from work, all highway. At night when there is no traffic I set the cfruise control at 70, and the best gas mileage I ever got was 31 mpg! I cant believe dodge claims 36 on the highway; not even possible. Other than that, this car has been good to me, except that the trade-in value after a year already puts me $4,000 in the hole on my loan.

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  Piece of Crap - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Dodge in Distress - August 8 - 2:00 am

  I WILL NEVER BUY A DODGE AGAIN!!!!! We have replaced the transmission, the air conditioner, the power steering (fell out while sitting at a stop light), water pump and numerous other faulty mechanisms on this van. We have driven foreign cars for years, and have never had to replace much more than the oil and tires. Something electrical messed up the intermittent wipers. The child safety seat has broken twice. STAY AWAY!!!

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  Regret buying - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By kiwi35 - August 5 - 10:40 am

  If you havent owned a Big 3 car in years, this car will justify that. I like the looks and the mileage is okay but this is the first car that I owned since the early 80s that would not start up on a cold morning. It finally did start after a few trys and pumping the gas. I have the feeling from reading some of the other reviews, that I wont be getting I lot of years out of this car.

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  Would not buy another one - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By T.E. Akins - August 3 - 4:36 pm

  First inspection it would not pass. The tie rod was bad on less than 21000 miles. Tires worn out at 30000 and the noise and clunks from the rear. Now the transmission decided to quit working and no one has a clue. Its either 325 for some part or 3500 for transmission at 70000 miles I put over 250000 on a Toyota pu. Im going back to Toyota.

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  Forget Dodge - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By ctogie - August 3 - 2:00 am

  This was the very first Dodge I have owned. I thought the Van would be a good choice for my family, boy was I wrong. Nothing but Problems, the transmission out at 24k and then 90k. The air conditioner out at 55k and electrical problems at 45k. The valves made a bad clicking nosie since first week. The service dept says it would go away, never did. after out of warranty they watned to fix it for 3k. I told them where to go. Never,Never,Never again will I buy a dodge, dont you either.

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  Good truck but cheap interior - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Heather Jane - August 2 - 6:56 pm

  My husband LOVES Durangos, this is our 2nd one. We have 2 kids so traveling is nice, especially the DVD system, heated seats, cd changer, etc. We use it to tow a trailer sometimes too. One thing that irritates me as well as other customers is the poor cheap plastic design in the front for the driver and passenger. My sides have cracked and even broke/holes.This should NOT be happening and I firmly believe if enough of us get together and complain, maybe they will fix it. Its a long shot but, a very high cost for an SUV if its just going to crack.

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  2009 Challenger R/T - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By tuco21 - August 1 - 7:17 pm

  I bought an 09 R/T Challenger in February. The ignition module failed after 4500 miles. The car sat at the dealership for almost 2 weeks while they kept telling me that they could not find the parts. Finally they fixed it. When I got it back, it was scratched and the interior was filthy (of course this was the dealerships fault that I took to). Also on 4 occasions prior to the ignition failing, the vehicle was hard to start - it acted like the battery was low. The cruise control resume did not work smoothly (you could hit the resume button at about 60 mph and it would jerk its way back to 70). Anyway I traded it for a new GT Mustang last week. Too many heartaches.

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  Should have listened to the wife - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By firelieutenant16 - July 30 - 8:05 pm

  Love the look. Thats it. Got car with 70 miles on it. Have had it in the shop many many times. Cylinder 2 misfire 5 time, trans leak, both rear window motors replaced, 3 radios replaced, 3 sets of leather seat covers, air bags disable themselves, heat seat works on and off, rattle in the dash, brakes at 24000, warped rotors, E brake need to be replaced vibration in the front end at 45 to 60 MPR and 3 sets of tires. If you can get by all of that its a great car.

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  Continuous Headache - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By Mags - July 23 - 6:59 am

  I have had multiple problems with this car ever since I bought it. A few months after I got it, we had heavy rains and I discovered it leaks around the tires, the belts squeal when they get wet (going through a puddle on the road), and it smelled (probably from previous owner). The CD player is temperamental, the automatic starter rarely works, and I have had multiple transmission problems. Had to completely replace it this past spring, and now the gears dont line up quite right. Not to mention the alloy wheel rims will dent on the slightest hole, and rims were impossible to find because of the size. Cute car. Fun to drive. Not worth the headache!

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  Too many problems - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By mrsrob - July 22 - 7:06 pm

  I didnt experience any problems until almost one year after I purchased it. The car would just shut off at times while at stoplight, I took it to the dealer each time this happened and after the third attempt they were able to finally correct the problem. Next my brakes and rotors needed to be replaced, I couldnt beleive a car with such low mileage would need brakes let alone rotors replaced! Now the engine light comes on while Im driving, and starts flashing and starts riding really rough as if going to stall out. I pull over restart the car and it drives fine again. Not to mention the interior issues, water stains on seats and torn insulation that frames doors. Poorly made car!