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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  Luv the power - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By My 2nd Dodge - May 26 - 9:47 pm

  This is my 2nd Dodge. I do not have the Hemi, and I feel there is no need to really have it. I wish it had the radio and other controls on the steering wheel like my Monte. I use the manual shift at times when I need that extra power in tight places. Great on gas for the power it has. My favorite color is the Black. I have had one problem with the car, and I have had it into the Dodge Dealer 2xs and they still dont have it fixed. The right side rear window motor keeps going bad and now that it is out the service agreement Im not really sure who to trust in fixing the problem. I wish it came with a sunroof also. Great looking car for it being a 4 door, I never thought I would buy one.

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  Keeps on Goin! - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By RedneckDixie87 - May 26 - 4:15 pm

  This was my first car and I love it its 2008 and I dont want a new car although we are having some problems with it now which is expected it is 11 years old but it gets up to speed fast and drives great. Its comfortable is roomy and with gas at $4 a gallon its great on gas! Havent had to replace much only thing is the paint especially the green ones like mine i see have the rust spots.

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  Excellent Vehicle for the Price! - 1991 Dodge Stealth
  By DA_MiG - May 26 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Stealth from an individual for 3000 bucks. After 2 months, Ive only had to replace the starter which was the original. The car has 250,000+ miles, but the engine and tranny both have less than 30k. She has some get up and go and excellent cornering capabilities. I plan on having her for much, much longer and upgrading her until my supply runs dry! She will be in some shows before long!

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  careful of 4.7 engine - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By disappointed - May 25 - 10:47 pm

  I liked the 4.7 until I found out that by the time the check gauges light comes on, it is too late. My Dakota is sitting in the driveway with a blown motor. This all-aluminum engine is VERY prone to overheating, which will quickly ruin it. Turns out the water pump is very fragile too. Not sure whether the water pump or the head gasket went first. This is with only 76,000 miles on it. Suggest carefully looking at the 5.9 engine, even though it has a little less power and less mileage.

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  Love my Charger SRT-8 - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By 2007 Charger SRT8 - May 25 - 9:18 pm

  Just got my SRT-8, great muscle car that handles and rides so well. Great styling, the HEMI absolutely rocks. The distinctive rumble when you step on the gas, yet ride quality is not sacrificed. The best part is that you get a great muscle car that you can take the family in. My wife loves it as well. Nice features, UConnect, navigation and Sirius radio are wonderful options.

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  Northeast Driving - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By YanksSck - May 25 - 7:15 pm

  I inherited an 03 Dakota 2 years ago. I live in the Northeast and not having 4WD pretty much just doesnt work out. It gets stuck every time there is more than 3 inches of snow on the ground, and slides all over the place in any snow or ice (which is pretty much 3 full months a year). Piling weight in the back just doesnt seem to help. The fuel economy is terrible for a 2wd vehicle, my count is about 18 mph highway at best but i have got as little as 8 city. The Truck would be fine in a snow less region, but if you live in a cold climate look elsewhere. You can get much more traction power without sacrificing too much in MPG.

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  Noisy ride!! - 2007 Dodge Caravan
  By terry - May 25 - 10:28 am

  This is our first minivan. I love the roomy interior, the styling and the seating is comfortable. However, it is the noisiest car I have ever owned. Something, which I believe is the passenger sliding door, is rattling. But the dealer does not hear it. When you drive on a bumpy road it feels as if the car is going to fall apart. We have had it in to have the brake drums replaced due to noise and now it is making the same noise from the front. I still really like the van, but I hope the dealership can find the source of the noises and rattles and fix the brakes once and for all. It only has 6500 miles on it, we bought it brand new.

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  Bad Reviews? - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By larry s. - May 25 - 9:35 am

  Cant understand the bad reviews on this car. The 5 speed manual is plenty quick yet, some say performance aint good? I get 30+ mpg on highway. Brand new the car cost me $11,000. Not many cars were cheaper in 2003 (except junk cars like a Yugo)! I have 58,000 mi. on it, highest cost item to repair was $320 for front end bushings. No new brakes, yet one post says brakes are poor? I also have a 98 Neon Sport with 73,000 (60% highway) on it, no new brakes yet!! With gas prices at $4+ a gallon, Dodge dumped the Neon for a mini SUV thats $7,000 more, lower mpg, boxy looking?? Theyre building very low mpg muscle cars and trucks that cost $1,000s more in gas a year?? Bring back the Neon!

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  I like it!!! - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By DanL - May 25 - 8:40 am

  Bought with 23,000 miles and have been on 3 road trips with it. Mileage is great for a larger V6, performance is smooth and ride is quiet. The trans shifts smoothly and the car handles a lot like a smaller and lighter vehicle. Mileage on trips has been around 27 with in town driving around 19 or so.

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  47k mile review - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By teejay - May 24 - 5:26 pm

  Well after 47k miles I thought I needed to write another review. So far this truck has performed like a champ. I do perform my preventative maintenance without exception. I changed the transmission fluid to synthetic @ 36k miles and the rear differential fluid to royal purple synthetic at the same time. I just changed my sparks plugs and cleaned my throttle body. I also put new ceramic breaks pads on @ 40k miles. I hope to get 200k out of it. I also use Mobil one synthetic oil every since 10k miles.