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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  Great Fun to Drive - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By MarNan - July 21 - 10:28 am

  One of the best cars we have owned. Great ride, a little hard, but very good none the less. Having just completed a 3300 mile trip and averaging over 23.4 miles per gallon was surprising. Granted we drove the speed limit using our cruise control and air conditioning only when necessary but performance was excellent. Long stretches of driving under these conditions on the interstate resulted in over 25 MPG. Rode a little stiff and driver seat a little firm for my liking but only minor problem compared to all of the other excellent features of this vehicle. Dodge has a winner in my opinion. Hope they dont decide to discontinue the model in the near future.

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  Durango - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By vegasdriver - July 21 - 10:00 am

  Very comfortable. Will turn better than many smaller cars. Mine is 2WD, it has gotten stuck on gravel shoulders. Stock tires squeal and slip on easy starts. Rear only anti- lock brakes are a bad engineering scheme, the truck skids easily.

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  The Best! - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By FASANI - July 20 - 8:13 pm

  Got the diesel version for outside the US market (I live in Chile, South America). Great car, beautiful, nice equipped, good interior and exterior nice. Not a single noise inside and I drive at least 10 miles a day on unpaved roads as I live in the farm. Great on mud and tried it on sand. The diesel engine is incredible. Fast and silent. Not a single problem. May be a little soft suspension, but thats good when you need it to drive on highways, as it feel as a tall car. Good rear seats space. I had many cars, including Grand Cherokees, Mercedes, etc., and this is different and great. I enjoy to drive it every day.

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  Pure Awesomeness - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By Mac - July 20 - 9:16 am

  This case has a rear spoiler and is SO sporty looking for a sedan. I am in college and wanted a car that was reliable, roomy, and good on gas. Didnt want a coupe! So sporty, smooth ride, and UNBELIEVABLY cheap. Great car, would suggest!

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  charge it back... - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By charge it back - July 19 - 8:10 pm

  This car looks as if its going to float with ease, and it is very deceiving! Very nice to look at then you get in it and Wonder "what have I gotten myself into". My 3 yr old pacts more Punch then this car. Maybe they should put the battery back under the hood (LOL) the gas leaves faster than the car actually goes! I wouldnt recommend this vehicle to my enemy! For what you pay its not worth it! Im sorry it is such a let down in performance but the compliments are great. Only if they knew. So to sum it all up the gas miles suck, performance is weak but hey I look good driving it. Guess thats worth it. Not! Let me even out the compliments it has great trunk space. So know its worth it. Not!

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  Dodge - Get better engineers - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Jim - July 19 - 8:02 pm

  After 1 1/2 years and 35,000 I have never had such a love/hate feeling for a vehicle. Good style and good ride, MPG ok for the size(19/23). Computer system, water pump, roof rails, wiper motor and switch have been replaced under warranty. Have had 2 recalls so far. Roof rails are cracked and rattling again(very poor design)and this will be my last visit under warranty. Not sure I want to own this Dodge when its out of warranty coverage.

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  Powerful economy car - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By jbiscuit86 - July 18 - 11:33 pm

  Very nice car for the price. It just goes to show that economy cars dont have to be boring.

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  Vroom Vroom - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Clay - July 18 - 6:27 pm

  Bought it used with 80,000 miles and it still runs like new. This 3.18 magnum v8 will melt the tires :-)... Fuel economy is around 18 average, which is quite satisfactory for a mid- size v8 truck. What can I say. The power is amazing

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  Broken - 1997 Dodge Stratus
  By broke - July 18 - 3:39 pm

  I bought this car in 2001 at 69,000 miles. I should have left it on the lot! I needed brakes every three months. I thought maybe I was just hard on the brakes but I asked around it seemed to be a common occurrence. I had 5 recalls on my car with in the first year of my ownership of the car. And between the hoses, air conditioner, gaskets, and brakes. I was broke

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  Blinded by design - 2008 Dodge Charger
  By Tamdive - July 18 - 12:00 pm

  This car is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Driving is smooth, but reminds me of driving a pickup truck. On the drivers side, there is a terrible blind spot. This one "flaw" has convinced me never to own one. Also, the high rear combined with a small rear window-makes it difficult to see out the rear window.