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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  Lots of problems - 2011 Dodge Challenger
  By spedly - May 20 - 1:08 pm

  I bought my 11 SE model with less than 7000 miles on it. (It turned out being wrecked). I have had two recalls (which came after the problems started and the dealers didnt know how to fix). Just recently, my alternator died and I couldnt find an aftermarket one, so the mopar alternator cost over $500. The radio was not at all powerfull so I had to put in an aftermarket amp which may have lead to the Alt. breakdown. Lots of frustration and disappointment! The blind spot is huge and is hard to back up to park. On the bright side I love my car when it is running. Haha! I always get compliments on it and I think it rides better than the CTX Caddie.

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  What ISNT wrong with this vehicle? - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By bsk62 - May 19 - 1:00 pm

  I puchased my 2010 Journey used. All prior service records were in the vehicle and I was confident that I was buying a dependable vehicle. 2 yrs, 1 month later I have put over $1000 into new brakes, calipers, rotors and axle seal. Estimate as of today is for $3838. New intake manifold, instrument cluster, SKIM module, tune up, transmission flush, & computer update. Just replaced the axle seal. I lose power intermittently in the center console, steering column & doors, slow to shift, sometimes does nothing when attempting to start it, vibrates horribly at high speeds. It is serviced every 3000 miles and issues are addressed promply. Will NEVER buy a Dodge or Chrysler product again!

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  Expensive repairs early - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By car_customer - May 18 - 11:58 am

  I love driving this car. I love the looks of the car, the feel of the car, the response of the car. However, I have had two very expensive repairs early in the cars life. I had to replace the entire instrument cluster at 54,000. The illumination system on the cluster went bad. That was $500. Dodge would not help. Then, at 64,000, the ENTIRE k-frame was found to be rusted through, rendering the car unsafe. Cost to repair was $1,400. Dodge would not help. There are 27 complaints on NHTSA for this same problem. This is a serious safety issue and Dodge will not acknowledge they have a problem. I know car parts are going to wear out. But these two parts are NOT typical repairs.

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  Great value - this is for V8 Citadel with all options - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By zmra09 - May 18 - 10:24 am

  We had a 2011 Traverse LTZ that we were very happy with. Liked the dependability and the room. We were just looking for something nicer inside and with a little better ride and quieter. We looked at Acura MDX (too small even the new one) New Traverse and Buick (mild refresh not too exciting) Infiniti QX60 (nice, a little slower and would have been $10k more than our fully loaded Durango Citadel. From the first moment I drove the new 2014 Durango I was impressed by the handling how solid and quiet it was the ease of use of the Uconnect control system, and the performance. We got a fully loaded Durango Citadel with with 5.7 L Hemi V8.

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  Great Value 5.7 Hemi - 2012 Dodge Durango
  By ry207 - May 17 - 5:39 pm

  So when I was looking at a 3 row SUV, it came down to these choices, 4 Runner, Explorer, and Durango. Ill Open with what I liked about the Durano, plenty of space and a usable 3rd row. the re-design is quality and refined. 5.7 hemi has great low end power. Uconnect was easy, and displays friendly. For the same year 4 Runner or Explorer, with similar miles and features, I saved 5K with Dodge. If there is one thing, I will have to take points away, is that the 5.7 hemi is a gas eater, but I knew that going in. For the other reviews that talked about the transmission and shifting, I can see what they are talking about, but for me it recovers quickly and should not be compared to a sports car.

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  Bad Car! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By cardiqs - May 12 - 7:53 pm

  We purchased this car with 50K on it. It started to sound like a truck. Alternator clutch?! Here is the list. Alternator, Cracked Manifold, Battery, brakes, tires. light bulb 2xs. It started out dependable. Now it is sitting again, probably a 2nd alternator. It is a great car in the snow but dont push it. It will need something. Cant put a dog gate of any kind in the car due to the design. Open up the window in the rear without the front ones and the worst percussion noise ever occurs.

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  LOVE our 2007 Durango!! - 2007 Dodge Durango
  By reagle3 - May 11 - 8:45 am

  Purchased 4 years ago from a friend who had updated with high performance additions, fun to drive. Previous vehicle was Suburban, mpg and higher mtnce/tire costs expected on full size SUV. No mechanical issues Dodge replaced gas cap due to recall. Towing power was more than adequate when pulling fullsize Uhaul trailer. Have to trade - either a bent valve stem or rod issue at 114,000 miles - even tho we used high octane (91) gas the last two years and synthetic oil - as far as we know. To be safe, use 93 octane and only synthetic oil. Never use ethanol even with flex fuel engine. Would buy it again! Tend to drive vehicles into ground - over 200k will miss doing so with this vehicle.

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  Worst Vehicle I Ever Owned - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By mbus489 - May 10 - 8:44 pm

  Purchased used with 34k in 2009, I have a 06 Dodge Stratus and its the best car I have ever owned. Where do I start, engine is doggy and slow to pick up, bad gas mileage, no rear leg room, plastic on seats by seat belts broke, developed a lifter tap at start up (60k miles) even with proper oil changes, brain went at 70k ($1,200) cant keep rotors on it, drivers door does not seal cant hear yourself think over 40 mph, if I lock it into 4X4 it binds klunks and moans, when I take it out gas mileage drops significantly and it pulls to the right for 2 or 3 days (since day 1), now at 101k the check engine light comes on then goes off but no codes, squeaky front end, I could go on and on.

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  A lot of car for the money - 2011 Dodge Charger
  By gtfo - May 8 - 10:22 pm

  I bought a brand-new 2011 Dodge Charger 3.6L V6 Rallye Plus, and it has 29,300 miles. There were 3 recalls: 1. Front-door handles - handles seals failed to block out the rain, causing a short-circuit, making passive-entry feature unusable. 2. ABS/Stability Control fuses - potential overheating of the fuses/fusebox, and not work. 3. Halogen (not HID) headlight wire harness - potential overheating of harness, and light not work. All recalls done free. Repairs took 2-4 hours each. But, Ive experienced NONE of the 3 potential problems. Comfortable, appropriate power, good handling for big car, reliable, good car overall.

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  Postage stamp sized rear view - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By kovertoom - May 5 - 11:28 pm

  We bought the Dodge Journey because it was a great value, it was big enough for our family of six and it got better gas mileage than a mini van. The seats are very versatile, but with all seats up, the cars blind spot doubles. The rear-most seats combined with the middle seat, block more than half of the rear window and all of the side windows. And the middle seats are difficult to return to an upright position when someone has to get out from the back. The stow bins are so shallow and small that they are practically worthless. The car seats are not the most comfortable, mainly because the headrests are too far forward.