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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  Never Ever Buy An American Car - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By Newton - May 13 - 11:21 am

  Picked my Stratus SXT 2.7L V6 in late 2004 when the line was coming to the end of its run, it cost me $17,000. For 40,000 miles the car was fine, but suddenly everything started to go - the transmission started leaking and a pump failed, the coolant bottle ruptured, the entire brake system had to be replaced ($1,500), and the AC went out. All this on top of the cost of having to run the V6 on pure synthetic oil because of that engines noted sludging problems. For a car thats only worth $5000 I seem to have put $2,500 into it this year alone, and all at just 47,000 miles. This is my third American car and I will never, ever buy another, they are the worst kind of unspeakable junk.

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  Good for 50k miles - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Bob - May 8 - 10:49 pm

  This vehicle is a maintenance nightmare. Go ahead and pull out the maintenance schedule and you will see what I mean. For example, plugs every 30k miles, axle flush ever 15k miles, transmission fluid every 30k miles, etc, etc, etc. This was a nice SUV for about 50k miles, but it has had problems with the steering and irritating clunking noise coming from the front suspension. The fuel tank has problems so it like to shoot fuel all over the place if you fill it up and allow the pump to automatically shut off. The transmission has started to slip and there is an idle problem that causes it to die. Has had this problem since about 30k miles. Just poor quality overall. We have the 4.7L Magnum.

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  Reliability issues - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Sky B - April 29 - 10:00 am

  We have a 2001 with only 16000 miles on it and have had nothing but trouble, nothing major yet, but plenty of trips to the dealer. Would not get another Dodge...

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  Watch out. - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Hatethisstupidvan - April 19 - 2:06 pm

  This was "leased" as a vehicle for my family to drive. I am a mechanic. What a piece of junk this thing has been for the last 3 years. In 45,000 miles we have been thru 3 sets of brakes, two sets of tires, cant seem to keep suspension components intact, the tie rod ends are junk, the ball joints make noise, it shifts funny, and the ABS system stopped working at 28,000 miles. I am fortunate that we didnt buy this. I feel sorry for anyone buying one of these used, as they are a money pit and a piece of junk. Otherwise the stow and go is great, it tows okay, and was fairly easy on gas. I still hate this car.

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  Runs like a champ! - 1991 Dodge Dakota
  By tice75 - April 18 - 5:24 pm

  I am the second owner of this vehicle, but it has been in the family since new. The truck was lightly driven for the first 13 years, and then Ive put on more regular miles (approx. 15k a year) since 2004. This truck is a rock and maintenance wise fairly inexpensive to own. The major work Ive had done on it since Ive owned it is a new drive shaft, new transfer case, and a new power control module.

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  shudder city - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Matt - April 15 - 11:16 pm

  Transmission weak point on the vehicle. variable line pressure and modulated converter clutch not a good combination. car shudders during cruise has new updated converter and flash. still shudders. Check engine light on again. Fuel economy is pretty good and 4 wheel disc brakes work well. 2.7 Engine would be better with a manual transmission

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  Money Pit - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Dodge sucks - April 6 - 5:00 pm

  I do not recommend this vehicle to anyone ... I bought it with the intention of keeping it for 10 years, therefore I serviced it accordingly at an authorized Dodge service shop. Without warning or indication the trans went out at 65k miles and again at 130k miles. I cant believe it cause I never tow anything, go off- road, or skip services. All in all it was a pile of crap from the get go - I called Dodge today to let em know IÂ’m unhappy - and since it is out of warranty - I have to pay for the repairs on my own. Lesson learned - Dodge is a big no no in my future. Sorry guys I really did give you an opportunity to help me out - perhaps you can rip another poor sucker off and stay in busines

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  Dont Do It - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By RI Jeff - April 5 - 7:40 pm

  Bought a 2008 Caliber with only 18k miles on it for $10000 figured I couldnt beat it. Boy was I wrong, within 4 months it was in the dealership five times, the computer would not hold the PCM/TCM update had it done 3 times. They had to replace both front struts, lower left control arm, the multifunction switch, airbag clock sensor. The transmission has been making a noise for a while, but they will not look at it because they do not have much experience with the CVT. My rear struts started making noises. The whole car feels and sounds like it is going to fall apart with only 24k Miles on it. Will never buy another Dodge EVER. Gas mileage was about 24 combined MPG, not as good as I thought

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  Decent at best - 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By KMB - March 31 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my van used with 29,000 miles on it. At first I thought it was great we got a great deal etc... well now every 15,000 mile it needs breaks, acceleraton is slow when the air is on. The tensioner belt has squealed since the 2nd month of ownership, problems with the rack and pinion sterring, had the ac fixed ($1200). Now the transmission is starting to have problems. I call to make an appt and one dealer is a month behind to get it in, another is at least 2 weeks. I will NEVER buy one again. Thinking of buying an Odyssey.

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  Night mare - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By MA - March 31 - 5:41 am

  This is the worst I could have ever owned. I have tried my best to spread the word to my friends about not to buy Dodge caravan or their products. Bought it used, computer went out, Dealer did not know the problem, so he replaced fuel pump, car wont start again, then they replaced computer, total cost about 1500$, then starter, then key console, then brakes, then power windows died, other than those, tiny problems like brake light, wiper not operating keep cropping up.Interior is cheap, absolutely scary to go out on highway due to reliability. Beware of the computer. It acts weird on my van.