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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  my srt - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By apoczen - March 21 - 10:00 am

  The srt-4 in my opinion is the best bang for the buck car in many ways. Performance is that of something priced in the high 20s low 30s such as the evo and the sti. Also the exterior has a very appealing look that a lot of lower priced cars lack. The last thing the interior on this car suddle but sport.

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  jus a plain lookin neon but fast - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By coronaman21 - March 21 - 10:00 am

  very quick, but the one im driving im having problems with. accelerater sensor but its under warrenty so nothing to worry about.

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  magnum info - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By akgerb - March 21 - 10:00 am

  Sluggish acceleration Awesome looking Makes funny noises Problems with alignment Gets a lot of attention and look Roomy; love the trunk/backspace Kind of regret getting it Love the night interior lighting

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  grand caravan - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Barb B - March 21 - 10:00 am

  I would love to have automatic headlights.

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  Pretty good Car - 1995 Dodge Stratus
  By Billaaf - March 19 - 2:00 am

  Just wanted to give a rating, not go into details

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  Help, They cannot fix it - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By Ronda - March 19 - 2:00 am

  First, let me say I love this car with two exceptions. My first problem is a very high pitched squeaking noise when accelerating and it goes away immediately when letting off the accelerator. The car has been in the shop 3 times with 3 different answers. Shop #1 told me that they know about this but cannot fix it. Shop #2 told me it was the steering pump and they replaced it, but that didnt work. Shop #3 told me there was a recall and they replaced the power steering fluid, of course that didnt correct the problem either. My other concern is the huge drop in value of this car. I have every option on my car and it has dropped half its value in 6 months, that seems a bit excessive.

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  Great for Singles Too!! - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By SuzyQ - March 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Intrepid E/S with all the xtras. It is my first car and I love it!! It is fun to drive, roomy for friends and family. Gas mileage could be a little bit better. The car is extremely comfortable, very easy to handle. Rear visibility and car length makes parking difficult -- but easy to get over considering that this car is so great. I was hoping to get a BMW or Infinity I30 for my first car. I have absolutely no regrets!!

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  good economy car - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By Zarkov - March 18 - 1:03 pm

  I bought this car from a family member and have been happy with it. It hasnt been in the repair shop in 7 years except for routing maintainance. Totally reliable. It developed a leaky trunk but I fixed it myself in about 10 minutes. It also has an oil leak (116,000 miles). The Neon has lots of power and a relatively good handling and comfort. Over 30 mpg.

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  Very nice for the money - 1997 Dodge Dakota
  By bmwbiker - March 18 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this truck for four years and I have not had one major mechanical breakdown in all that time. I have the V6 w/ a 5-speed so it gets easily 24mpg on the hwy and 18 in town. It has enough power to tow my Harley and also enough payload to move heavy antique furniture on more that one occasion. It has a shell and a bed extender which make even better.

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  97 ES - 1997 Dodge Stratus
  By jc - March 18 - 12:07 am

  Great bang for the buck. Large interior is very comfortable.