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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  2003 Durango slt 4.7 - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By gasguzzlr - December 14 - 1:41 pm

  We bought our Durango new in 2003. It had a couple of issues which were covered under warranty.The exhaust manifold was leaking due to 3 broken bolts.Also,the a/c unit had a few issues. Since then it has been a very capable and reliable vehicle.We have the required maintenance done at the proper intervals and havent had any issues since warranty expired. I recently got an enclosed trailer to haul 2 snowmobiles.I am pleasantly surprised at how well it tows the trailer. We live in Utah,and towing sleds requires going up hills(mountains). On grades over 6%,I have to put it in 2nd,but it still maintains 40 mph no problem. Overall,we are happy with this vehicle.

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  Great, Good Looking U.S. Car - 2013 Dodge Avenger
  By lameduck9 - December 14 - 8:36 am

  We bought this Avenger SE after looking at several others cars. We checked a few others that we liked the looks but they were 3K+ more. We loved the looks of the Avenger, outside and inside. I was surprised at the great ride, it was a little on the firm side which I prefer, like sports suspension. The 2.4 has adequate power for the average person but for the young at heart, the 3.6L has more than enough power for the amateur road racer. The 4sp Auto is standard on the SE, Dodge should dump it and make the 6sp. standard on all Avengers. Look for all the incentives for a great deal!

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  "2014 Dodge Charger R/T" - 2014 Dodge Charger
  By carreviewer99 - December 13 - 12:04 pm

  As many may know they use Chargers as Police Vehicles, Well i know why now, The Charger has Lots of power and if You want some Luxury it has that too! Heated Seats both passenger and driver, And REAR HEATED SEATS! did i also mention a heated steering wheel and cooled seats too?? To add the icing to the cake an 8.4-inch touchscreen display And BI-Xenon headlights and Race-Track style taillights which are LED, Yes there is more, Optional Beats Audio, My charger came with a ALPINE AUTO SYSTEM which was very good. Overall this vehicle was AWESOME coming from a Teenager! but the Reliability Reputation is not so good. 8/10.

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  Excellent Ride and gas - 2014 Dodge Charger
  By pegasus_rt - December 8 - 9:25 pm

  I traded my 2013 Dodge Challenger Rallye Redline, fully loaded, for a bright white 2014 Charger R/T, base model. I love this car. When I owned the challenger, I drove it like it had a hemi, on occasion. The charger 5.7 hemi, has so far gotten better gas milage than my 3.6 pentastar in the challenger. Handling is great, with regards to the size. Space is awesome. The 8.5 media screen is awesome. Acceleration is great.

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  Piece of Junk - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By thatguythere13 - December 6 - 3:39 pm

  I bought this car as my first car when I was 16 years old. Believing it was a great car, good size, good MPG, and being that I paid under $6000 with it having less than 30,000 miles I figured it would last me long enough to turn around and sell it for a decent chunk of change. Here it is, 6 years later, Ive vested well over a grand into it in monotonous repairs to a car with under 80,000 (as of today 12/6) should not be having. I think it may finally be back in working shape, but at this point I am sick of it. The amount of money Ive put in repetative repairs is enough to make me want to torch it. Neons have a history of being terribly built. Abide by that fact.

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  Typical Dodge - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By bag2 - December 1 - 5:45 pm

  I rented one and wasnt impressed. It beats a Civic but not a Mazda 3

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  210,000 miles in 5 years - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By november128 - November 25 - 9:44 am

  I bought an 05 Dodge Durango ST with 45k on it in June 07 for ~$19k. In that time Ive put on over 165,000 miles. I have had to replace all 4 tires twice, battery, headlights, alternator, gas tank (factory recall covered by Dodge), spark plugs, & air compressor. What finally did me in was losing the transmission about 2 weeks ago. Fixing it would run about $1500 and even then its no guarantee how much more the car has in it. The gas mileage is miserable but this car held on through the rough & tumble college years where it was routinely loaded down with people & stuff for long haul drives (1k+ miles). Nothing fancy but sturdy. I am sad to see it go and not sure what Ill replace it with.

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  0 - 220,000 in 8 years - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By supershel777 - November 23 - 7:01 pm

  Great vehicle! We have put 220,000 miles on this SUV and been back and forth across this country many times. It has performed flawlessly. We have done Nothing to the engine other than the exhaust manifold came loose from the engine. Great comfort and realiability! Lots of space for cargo. We are a traveling band and hauling sound equipment all over was hard on this truck but she just kept going and going and is still going!

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  Multiple Displacement System Ruins the Car!! - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By steve521 - November 20 - 8:13 am

  I had my 2012 Charger R/T Max for 17 months and sold it. The 4-6-8 cylinder system fights with the transmission in traffic. Its constantly trying to drop back to 4 cyl mode which cuts your low end torque in half, makes it downshift, then the other cylinders kick in while the engine races. Its totally confused! Build quality is great except, drivers seat power actuator moved jerkily and had to be replaced. Had radio replaced once and then rear channel failed again. Started smelling antifreeze inside the car at 25,000 miles, needs new heater core. Clunk in rear end when shifting gears in stop and go traffic. Over engineered and under built!!!

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  The Perfect SUV!! Love it - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By srs293 - November 20 - 12:12 am

  This SUV is simply amazing. We looked at the Tahoe, Suburban, which were both overly priced and pretty plain on the inside. We then looked at the Nissan Armada, which was comfortable but the gas mpg was 13. We then looked at the 2013 Ford Expedition Limited and it had very loud road noise. Then we found it! The AWD, 5.7 Liter RT Durango. Its fast, very comfortable. Has every option out there and rides soooo smooth. We absolutely love the SUV. Best in class by far.