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:

• 

  Another Dodge lemon... What a pc of POO! - 1995 Dodge Dakota
  By Whammo77 - May 27 - 11:12 am

  I got this truck NEW & have always had problems with it. The motor runs good but has no power whatsoever (this is the "MAGNUM" v6 model). Having a towing package on this thing is a waste of money. The thing is slower than slow. A Geo metro 3-banger can outrun this turtle. My 4 cylinder Sentra looks and feels like a race car compared to this truck! But thats the good news. I now have 122,000 miles on it, and I am yet again about to put in another transmission! This will be transmission #7! No, I dont pull trailers. No, I dont go off-roading! No, I dont haul heavy loads! All this truck is used for is to drive to and from work! I baby the heck out of it! What a pc of dog poo!!!

• 

  I wouldnt buy another one - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By karen - May 27 - 1:07 am

  I purchased a 2007R/T in Feb. A manager was driving it. It has 6700 on it now. It. Making a chattering noise from the front end. At times it seems to get louder. Two dealerships called Chrysler and they know about the problem? But they dont what it is and they dont know how to fix it? They say it is safe to drive? How do they know if they dont know whats wrong, or fixing it?

• 

  Brake Disappointment - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By L. Weiss - May 23 - 4:36 pm

  I am completely dissatisfied with the brakes on this car - what junk. I had to replace the front brakes at 16000 miles at a year old, pads and rotors. Now at 27600 miles the back brakes needed replacement and I was told the front brakes need to be done again, too. Thats 3 sets of brakes in less than 1-1/2 years. This is unacceptable. I have had hyundais & a chevy tracker (80000 miles before doing brakes)and this is outrageous to me. I will never buy a dodge again -- I cant afford this kind of maintenance problem. I cannot believe this has happened to me. Im 64 years old, I dont drive like a hot rodder and I do not drive in a way that would cause the brakes to go this soon.

• 

  Bad choice - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By oldmanjob - May 23 - 10:31 am

  Bought it as a demo with 930 miles on it. Was in the shop for the first week of ownership. Replaced cracked roof rails, steering sensor and the ABS sensor. Took a week to figure out which sensor was keeping the ABS, steering stabilizer and traction control lights on. Quality control is awful. Should never had traded in my PT Cruiser

• 

  Automatic transmission - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By flagship - May 22 - 1:47 pm

  No quality in the product. Chrysler and Flagship care less in selling the product. Got problems with the transmission thus not fixing the problem. The extended warranty is a rip off do not buy it. I will tell every body is see to dont buy a Chrysler product. Is the first and the last. Good luck, Chrysler. Regarding Flag Ship will eventually go in bankruptcy

• 

  I had hoped wed stopped building boats - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By ebegbee - May 22 - 12:20 am

  Soft floating ride, hard seats, horrible blind spots, noisy engine, hard shifts. What else, horrendous ergonomics: cant adjust rear view mirror easily, it is too close to roof line. Waistline is too high, ergo cant rest elbow on door with window open. Cheap plastic interior, door mounted window switch bracket now broken. Awful cheap radio. Turn signal stalk too low on steering column, too easy to grab cruise control stalk by mistake. The most sensitive car to side winds I have ever driven, is it the steering geometry or just the aerodynamics of the bricklike shape? Need I go on, this is a sorry piece of automotive engineering rightly relegated to to rental fleets.

• 

  Dont buy it - 2004 Dodge Caravan
  By worst van ever - May 19 - 12:02 am

  i live in Puerto Rico and I have spend more than 5,000 dollars in it. It still gives me problems. I really dont know why people say they love it because mine has been really bad.

• 

  More time in shop - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By hammerdrop64 - May 16 - 10:02 pm

  About 15 days after I bought this car, the check engine light came on. I had to replace the EGR valve. Four days after that, I had to change the valve cover gaskets, it was leaking oil on the exhaust manifold. Two weeks after that was the worst problem, a bent valve. It would stick at times. I didnt wont to spend the money to have the heads reworked. Also, Dodge seems to have cheap plastics, especially on interior parts. I had this car about six weeks. I sold it for $800, I wont get another one.

• 

  Absolutely a must NOT buy - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Allen - May 15 - 7:06 pm

  I purchased, much to my present chagrin, a 2008 Dodge Caliber SXT. And I must say, I hate it. I bought it because I got it cheap and needed to get out of my 97 Tahoe, but Id of rather bought a used Gremlin now. First off: no anti lock brakes, thats an optional extra. But you do get a chintzy glove box that cools drinks (when the AC is on) and illuminated cup holders. Really? Thats my consolation, I get an icebox in a car and some lights instead of anti-lock brakes? Second: the engine and transmission fail me all the time. Apparently some former SUV owners like them here on the reviews, but real car people are used to better than this. The engine has no drive, and the transmission whine...

• 

  Not for a family with small children! - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Triplet Mama Plus 2 - May 8 - 4:04 pm

  Well first off the gas mileage is a joke, do not buy if you have any sort of commute to work or youll be averaging $70 every 4 days on gas, crazy! Second, I have 5 kids (6, 2, and 18 month old triplets) and getting them in and out of this vehicle is awful, such a pain. I cant even go anywhere because no stroller but an umbrella stroller would fit. The interior is falling apart without even harsh use. All in all if we didnt have but a couple kids and worked 5 minutes away then it would be manageable but we are getting rid of this Durango ASAP!