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:

• 

  Friday afternoon off the assembly line - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By Ken - December 5 - 9:22 pm

  Nice truck, but at 31k the tranny would lock in 2nd gear (they called it limp mode) any time it went through a large puddle. Replaced 2 sensors several times to no avail. Dealer stopped covering the replacements after the third event. They contacted Dodge in 2007 and told if the sensors lose sight of the ground, they do this to avoid an overspeed. Told them to bypass the sensors all together, seemed to work. However, in 6 years it went through 2 wiper motors, 2 blower relays, the tail gate failed twice, seat broke once and it leaked (they tried to fix that twice). Guess it was the Friday pm one. Anyway, traded it in the day I got the title. Have a Tacoma now.

• 

  My first car was a disaster - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By acd88 - December 1 - 9:14 pm

  Needed a car to get to work and college. Bought a used 2003 Dodge Neon from dealership with 54,000 miles on it. Ran great for the first few months. Then it idled rough so I replaced spark plugs and wires. Ran good for a while. Had trans flushed at 62,000 miles and things went downhill. Radiator ruptured two months later. Trans fluid leaked out, coolant fluid contaminated the trans. Replaced radiator. At 68,500 miles had AAMCO inspect it. Said trans was good but needed to replace motor mounts.The day before Thanksgiving the transmission went(71,000 miles) Mechanic says the coolant fluid that got in the trans, destroyed it. Thought it would be an easy maintenance first car. Boy was I wrong!

• 

  Do not buy this vehicle! - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Nicole - November 29 - 1:23 pm

  Despite taking great care of my car, Ive had nothing but problems with it. My brakes have needed work on multiple occasions. Ive had to call AAA three times in the past 6 months alone due to the car breaking down and leaving me stranded, all at less than 55,000 miles. Dodge acknowledges there are many issues with the cars radiator, but they wont do anything to help you, even when the problematic radiator fries your transmission and needs costly repair work. My Neon has eaten 2 radiators in the past month alone, and Ive given up on it at this point. Avoid this car completely unless you want to spend $500+ each year on costly repairs that a reliable vehicle wouldnt even need.

• 

  OK if you like basic truck ride - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Golfnkappa - November 27 - 3:03 am

  This vehicle is excellent towing large items. When all seats are down there is enough room to carry large items The engine is excellant. My navigation system has been replaced once and now its not reading the disc again. Also the seats feel cheap along with everything else in the cabin. The only other problem is that both the driver and passenger side square piece breaks easily.

• 

  Second Dodge disaster - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By DG Rochester NY - November 19 - 9:14 am

  Fun to drive and looked good. Sold with 93,000 miles. Cheap interior plastic parts and carpet, door molds fell out of door, cheap leather on seats. Replaced power divers power motor. Window just fell to bottom of door. Transmisson died at 92K. $1,300 for tranny! 3.2 L engine ran OK but started blowing blue smoke. Cut my losses and sold. Second Dodge! Both were junk! Will never buy any other Dodge or Chyrsler again.

• 

  Nice at a glance- but look further - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By pete - November 2 - 6:20 am

  At first glance, its a lot of van for the money. I was most impressed with the Entertainment option. However, I had the van for 3 days and returned it. In 3 days of driving, the 3rd row video screen stopped working 2x, the pass sliding door would not close 5x (closed, then opened), overhead console rattles, remote for the DVD didnt work, music copy function didnt work on the radio, and the exterior panels are not even. Look at the gap between the hood and fenders. This van has a lot of nice features - a lot of features that will keep you coming in for service of intermittent problems Also, the van w swivel seats is not crash test rated, but others are 5 star. HMMMM

• 

  Sorry I got this van - 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Chris - November 1 - 9:06 pm

  I decided to trade my old van for the 2006 because of the stow n go seats. I am leasing the van with all intentions of keeping the van when the lease is up. I should have kept my old vehicle. I had complained twice about the odor I get when I turn on the defrost or a/c and I have been told there is nothing wrong. I had to have the back a/c unit replaced because of leaking, the part was on back order and had to wait 2 months which was during the hottest time of the season. The motor on the passenger side window had to be replaced, the window would not go up during a rain. Now the left passenger side door will not slide open when I press the button, I have to manually open the door.

• 

  Nice family van with several issues - 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By PeteK - October 23 - 5:36 am

  I got a chance to own this vehicle for a period of 12 months which gave me a chance to do a fair evaluation of this product. Let me state first that I do like this vehicle. I purchased one with the weakest engine, so I do sometimes wish I had spent more money and should have gotten at least the 3.8 L one. I had issues with the rotors at 7K which is a well documented issue with this vehicle and now at 11k had a problem with front wheel bearings going bad which is another documented issue. Otherwise, the vehicle is solid with several immaterial shortcomings. I will be looking to trade it in and get the 2011 year model for this brand new 3.6 L Engine and 6AT transmission.

• 

  nightmare - 2007 Dodge Caravan
  By w.a - October 15 - 8:05 pm

  Very upset. In 1 year must have been in service about 5 times. Air conditioning changed twice. Problem still continues. Radiator cap changed twice. Sill leaking, lost bracket that holds rack pinion boot, trans shift very hard at time,

• 

  Bad Transmission - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Kerry - October 13 - 10:30 pm

  We bought a new Caliber in April 08 and had to take it back in August because 3d gear went out. Took 3 weeks to rebuild the transmission. Two days later, back to tighten bolts and plug in sensor. 2 weeks later, dropping out of 5th gear. They drove it and said nothing is wrong. Still dropping out of 5th and am now afraid to put my children in for a drive.