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:
Showing 341 through 350 of 11,324.00-
Junky as Junk can be - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
By cajunman - March 6 - 8:33 pmBought this van and had 14,000 miles. 3,000 miles later changed front brake pads and resurfaced rotors. Next at 35,000 miles changed front brakes and was told cannot resurface rotors anymore so if shaking appears need new rotors. Told by repairman all "08 having brake trouble. Terrible windshield whistling noise that no one seems to be able to find. Complained to dealer and was told too many people just venting so the brake issue is not a problem. Sliding doors needed fixing three times. Interior storage rattles too much and keeps opening. Bottom line is Dodge needs to fix everyones brakes. Making money off people no actually ripping people off is what it is.
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Belt problems - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan
By hahaharry - February 25 - 2:00 am5 year owner with 81,000 miles. Youre lucky to get 30k on the brakes. Ive had 4 serpentine and 3 ac belts replaced along with 3 belt tensioners ($220 job). Belt problems every 12 months. The battery goes about a year and a half. I worried about the amount of tranny problems others have had so I made sure I got the dealer to service it ($80)at every 30k and it seems fine. It has started to consume about a qt of oil every 4000 miles. The paint was wearing off in locations that the sliding door rubber stopper would hit when opened. Rust on the sliding door track from the door bearing. The headlight lens has a cloudy film on the outside.
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unacceptable - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
By Lee - February 16 - 11:26 amThis van has been a problem since birth, the plastic on the second row seats fell off, poor design. The tpms for the tires has needed to be replaced. The fuel milage is not what was promised but close. the vent system is not working properly aswell as there is incrediable heat in the drivers compartment all summer, need to turn on ac just to keep heat out. Headlights needed to be replaced high beam was useless
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Grand Caravan Lemon - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
By beast - February 12 - 4:00 amPurchased this vehicle new. Worst vehicle I have ever owned in my life. AC gone 6 times, airbag sensors 4 times, tie rods last 35000 miles, stow & go and all interior fittings are poor quality, steering rack gone at 80,000 miles, alternator gone at 35,000 miles, belt tensioner gone at 35,000 miles and the list goes on and on. Do not buy one of these vehicles. No wonder the North American auto industry is in trouble
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transmission - 2007 Dodge Caravan
By Tom Brown - February 10 - 5:28 pmI bought a 2007 Dodge Caravan on 07- 02-07. Transmisson was bad the day that I drove it off the lot. Have had it worked on twice by the dealership. Still have the same problem as day one. Chrysler can not fix the problem and like anything else you buy, if it dont work, it should be replaced. I get get mad each time I pull from my drive. Never fails that I get a hard shift. I did not buy the van to have this problem. I would like to know if Chrysler has plans to make repairs in the near future. Vehicle has learned my driving habits by now.
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Way Too Many Problems - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
By durk163 - February 2 - 12:56 amWe bought a van that the owners wife of the dealership drove with aprox 6,000 miles on it. It has been in the shop for replacement sensor for the door, AC would shut off so they replaced internal thermostat, sensor that would tell us outside temp was replaced, front passenger seat belt unreliable and arm rest fell off and was replaced, 2 tires replaced and the icing on the cake we needed to replace the brakes at 22,000 miles.I was told by the dealer that they have been replacing alot of the breaks on this car. What really is disgusting is that they want you to pay to replace the crappy brakes that they put in. I am sorry to say that I will be buying my first foreign made car in the fall.
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not so happy - 2007 Dodge Nitro
By cliff tate - January 26 - 7:45 pmslt with leather wife loves it i hate it many problems,trans howls in 1st, fuel economy same as v8 2000explorer (poor) seats collapsed cold air drivers left side roof rails replaced, parkbrake boot #5 radio replaced eating cds, head lites terrible(i replaced the bulbs now ok. i am proceding with the arbitration avalible hear in canada, hope the will take this dog to the pound.
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I dont like my Nitro anymore - 2007 Dodge Nitro
By RM - January 9 - 8:37 amI have had my Nitro r/t for 6months, I have had 3 recalls already, when driving on the highway and accelerating the gas pedal has stuck on 3 occasions, and will go to 95mph. I have brought this back to the dealership 2x already they dont seem to think it is a big deal. Yesterday I almost went right into the back of a tractor trailer - it is at the dealership yet again this morning. I wish I never purchased this vehicle.
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piece of junk Neon - 1999 Dodge Neon
By jimf - December 28 - 4:35 pmThis car has got to be a low point in US auto build quality. It is a piece of junk. DO NOT BUY ONE ! Ever !!... At 20K the head gasket blew which Chrysler refused to cover. The head lights frosted over within 3 years. The moon roof broke before the car was 2 years old. The center tail light seal failed thus filling the trunk with rain water. The power windows misaligned after 3 years making the doors very difficult to open. The power door locks stopped functioning on the rear doors. Now, with only 47000 very gentle miles on it, the rear main seal blew out putting a quart of oil on the road every 60 miles. Oh yes, the tranny will not go into 3rd gear when cold. Has done this for years.
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I should not have bought a dodge - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
By dodgesucks3 - December 24 - 8:45 amBought used with 36,000 miles. It now has 44,000 . Both auto doors went out about a week apart. Lift gate will not stay open. Power driver seat stopped working. Breaks are way under sized for the weight of the vehicle and need to be replaced. I get a slight shutter and wine when turning. It was hard to start in the cold weather. I do like the stow n go seats but they are a but of a chore to stow them. The value for it has dropped so much that I cant even trade it in. No one wants it including me!
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