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:

• 

  Nothing but problems - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By diesel580 - September 7 - 10:00 am

  I have a 99 Intrepid with 65k miles. Ive had nothing but problems with this vehichle. So far Ive had 2 window motors replaced and a clamp bite through a hose causing an oil leak. This car loves to warp rotors. Now Ive shelled out $1,400 to have a new Rack and pinion replaced and I still have problems related to steering. Dont look to Dodge to stand by their statement of "dependability". If this is the new Dodge, I think this will be my last Dodge.

• 

  Too many things going wrong - 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By peechka - August 21 - 5:52 am

  134,000 kms. I have had the power steering whine and the first ps flush lasted about 18 months. Just had second ps flush done. Several parts in front end have been replaced -- making noise but not affecting handling. Just replaced leaking rad & original battery. Tranny now appears to be having a shift problem at low speeds forward & reverse -- when maneuvering into/out of parking spot. If this problem is big $$$ the van is going to wreckers. This was my first brand new vehicle -- "Made in Canada" matters but I doubt I will buy another Chrysler product (had numerous tranny probs with a hand me down 96 Intrepid

• 

  Interior squeaks & noises - 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By shirley - August 20 - 4:36 am

  I purchased my van 2 months ago. This is my 5th. van and probably wont get another one now that children are grown. I do notice a rattling on the driver side door or where the seat belt retractor. I couldnt pinpoint exactly where the rattle was coming from but I had the dealer check my seat belts & they couldnt find anything wrong. The interior in my 2006 seemed to better constructed. And the seat belts buckle make a squeaking sound.Im concerned about their structural integrity.

• 

  Dodge-it Not a good buy!! - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By KD - August 18 - 11:09 pm

  Bought this car with 16,000 miles on it for wife to drive back and forth to work ( about 60 miles daily round trip). At 38,000 miles the radiator cooling fan went bad and Dodge would not help with that repair (bad electronics). 40,000 miles later; 78,000 miles, the lower ball joints failed. There was a recall on certain SXT models for the same failure but not on mine according to Dodge--cheap parts. The car now has 92,000 miles on it and the upper control arms and traction bar are bad and another score for cheap parts. Will be getting a new vehicle and it will not be anything MOPAR builds--am looking at Nissan. Stay away from Dodge products is the best money saving advise I can give you !!! UP DATE---Have sold this vehicle and not looked at another Dodge or MOPAR product. Bought a 2014 Nissan and have put 55,000 miles on it and have done nothing but routine maint. on this vehicle. There will never be another Dodge in my garage. Not sure if I were given a MOPAR vehicle that I would keep it.

• 

  I love it BUT! - 2000 Dodge Caravan
  By Syl G - August 17 - 11:39 am

  I bought the Dodge Caravan new and it worked well for a while. It has needed brakes replaced twice. The car engine light came on suddenly without warning late at night, and needed the ignition changed. The worst problem has been the past year with losing power. Scary on the highway. Then it will work well again until a most unpredictable moment. The car has been to the dealer and to non-dealers. Computers cant tell the problem. The oxygen sensors and accelerator pedal were changed ($2100. The problem continues sporadically. Recently, loosing power more often. IM really discouraged. Scary being female and working predawn and night shifts.

• 

  Used car - 1997 Dodge Intrepid
  By silkynjoe - August 14 - 6:40 pm

  Not real happy right now with car problems two issues so far less than month. I love the style. Or should I say the teens in neighborhood love it. Already real nervous. Have learned a lot of people have problems with bushing going out right away.$200 total for parts only. Water pump already going out. Would love manual. Oil came up to over flow already that makes me nervous. Used 4ways first time made blinkers stop working. Found out bad wire on battery so its fixed. Would I buy another one. Dont know too many people complaining already never ckd out details before buying

• 

  Stay away from the Nitro - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By squig29 - August 7 - 2:45 am

  I have had my Nitro for a little over a year now & absolutely hate this vehicle. Here are the problems I have had so far: park brake does not hold vehicle on slight incline unless you give it that extra little pull to the last notch, park brake boot zipper splitting 5 times dealer glued it closed & say that was chryslers fix, it split open the next morning), truck completely shut off while I was driving, roof rails lifted up, pass seat squeaks, a/c isnt very cold, cant roll up pass window from driver side, unlock switch actually locked all doors, seal on rear pass window replaced, tire press dings in cold temps, seat belt warning when no one in pass seat key fob issue when vehicle running

• 

  sxt - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By maxsxt - August 6 - 7:37 am

  Only bought this car because we needed reliability and room for our newborn, which it excels at! Besides that the gas mileage of the 2.0l and CVT is horrible, as bad as my last v8. The CVT is very smooth, great for a sleeping baby. However, it causes a frighteningly slow throttle response time, especially noticeable when pulling out into traffic. Also has bad blind spots and makes a horrible drumming noise when you roll down a back window going any over 30 mph

• 

  Gas Mileage-Hah! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Alan Sanders - August 1 - 8:37 am

  Advertised mileage with the 2.0 CVT with sport stick is 31 city/39 hwy. On a 1,100km trip we used 104 litres of gas for an average of about 25 mpg and this was mostly highway. Seats 4 comfortably, but only space for 2 big suitcases. OK little car, but a gas guzzler. Struggles going up hills, feels way underpowered.

• 

  gotta lotta problems - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By shouldaknownbetta - July 28 - 11:28 pm

  We bought this vehicle second hand from a lot. The gas mileage, according to the upper display, is abysmal. We have had many problems with reliability. We have had the PCM, (primary control module) replaced. This was done under the factory drive train warranty. We continue to have intermittent "Check engine" lights, fluctuating tachometer readings of 1000 RPM, without actual RPM changes, and miserable gas mileage. Our local Dodge dealership is unable to determine the cause due to "no codes" being registered. While this may be a good SUV in the eyes of some, mine sucks. For the record, I bought mine in 2005 for $16,400.00, The following year, it wasnt worth $7,400.