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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  Its been a great vehicle - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By DrivinTexas - August 3 - 10:11 pm

  Beyond some difficulty with the front suspension in the first few years, this has been a dependable vehicle. I really like the size -- it is big enough for dogs, garden equipment, and moving. Compared to the newer (bigger) SUVs it is pretty nimble. I was surprised by comments on fuel usage. On my last long trip I got 18.3 mpg, and because the throttle body needed cleaning, it wasnt even running that smoothly. Some efficient driving habits will probably drive up anyones mileage, because Im not doing anything special.

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  Bad Brakes - Recall Needed - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Builders - August 2 - 1:59 pm

  I gave it a 2 in Build Quality because of this. Breaks were oxidizing and the calipers would release, but the brake pads would not. So the brake pads were constantly rubbing the rotors. They said they have seen this issue many times before but Chrysler was not addressing the issue. My dealership treated me well, but this issue should be remedy. I called the recall department and they stated there were no recalls for this matter, but advised me to go to NHTSA.gov and state my complaint. They will not start an investigation into this matter until they receive a larger consensuses of complaints so if you have this issue please speak up so something will be done.

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  My First Car ans an awesome one at that - 1993 Dodge Shadow
  By ken - August 2 - 10:29 am

  I loved this car it was fun to drive all my friends loved it. For a small car it was powerful with a v6 3L engine. The only things that werent so great about the gas was the gas mileage but wat do you expect from a 16 to 17 year old car And theres little room. This car was amazing but about 2 weeks ago coming home my back right tire snapped off where the axle met the rim so i dont know if Im going to have it fixed because it might not be worth the money but it was an amazing car and was reliable until this one incident and i got the car from my grand father when it had only 46,000 miles on it in 08 and when i was done with it it had 68,000 so i used it well and it was a great FAST car.

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  Work Horse - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By small buisness owner - July 31 - 10:37 pm

  I bought my 3.7 L Nitro new and I love it. I am a contractor and this is my work truck! Ive pulled a 6x 12 cargo trailer every day for the last year and a half and this truck hasnt let me down. Ive had the driver side interior door handle break and had a couple of recalls taken care of, but with 69,000 miles Ive never had a major issue.

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  Good Car.... - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Gray - July 28 - 7:29 pm

  I bought the car from a friend 4 years ago back in 2006. So far no major problems. Everything works, no paint problems. Small coolant leak noticed a few weeks ago. I drive the car a lot. The gas mileage is great and the drive is pretty smooth too. My only complaint is the plain interior. Changed the rear rotors once. Thats the only major work we had to do. Overall, its a good car to have.

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  Its a good truck - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By rbc1965 - July 27 - 4:55 pm

  I purchased this truck new from dealer with 1.5 miles on it for $19,000.00 Cash. My Dodge is dependable. I crashed it pretty bad once and had the dealer fix it ($6000 for repairs). After 10 years it still drives like a new truck & has NEVER stuck me anywhere. I have owned A 75 Ford Courier, A 90 Mazda B2200 and this Dodge. The 1975 Ford was the best. The 2000 Dodge is second best. The 1990 Mazda was the worst. I have kept up the tune ups and oil changes and have never had a problem with it yet. The interior is a bit cheap with plastic parts(I broke the plastic Parking Brake Release Handle & Cup holder). Other than that I am very happy with the truck.

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  My used Dakato 2007 v8 - 2004 Dodge Dakota
  By mac - July 26 - 3:41 pm

  I bought this truck used and it had probably bee en in a rear end wreck but it didnt impact the car so i didnt care, it has a v8 4.7 and its so far been an awesome truck, i didst expect much but right now for how cheap it was its been a total bargain and its gone tons of power and looks great. The gas mileage is criminal but i use it to haul toys rarely and sometimes to and from work 5 miles so for me its ok, the v8 power doing 80 up hill towing passing the Nissans and toyatas going 45 is awesome.

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  Good work truck, good value - 2007 Dodge Dakota
  By crafty - July 25 - 9:43 pm

  Ive borrowed this truck from my uncle, sometimes driving it for a long distance. It has the 3.7 V6. I like how it looks and handles. It preforms good enough for me. Pretty good seat support and I kind of like how it drives. Fuel economy could easily be better. Overall, I think this is overall a good truck for a person who wants a mid sized pickup for daily driving and as a light/medium work truck. But yet again, it does have its flaws, like any other car. To sum up, I am pleased with the Dakota

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  Wondering - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Dana - July 23 - 10:19 am

  I have had my car for a year now and I am wondering why it fishtails when the car hits a dip or uneven payment? Is anyone else having this problem and how did you fix it. I have read the other reviews and it sounds like a lot of tire rods and arms have had to replaced. I think I need to have mine checked. I also have had to change tires since buying my car. I keep the scheduled maintenance. After reading reviews am worried about trade-in offers. I think I want to trade mine in. It scares me being so fishy. It makes me wonder what else is going on under the car with suspension.

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  Sucks Gas! - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By Rolle Bolle - July 19 - 4:02 pm

  To the Dodge Dakota Engineers, I would recommend this truck to anyone, but I wont because my 2005 V6 gets realistically about 11 miles per gallon. Ive been told by every mechanic that there is nothing more they can do to improve it. I would upgrade to a newer model, but after 5 years of record high gas prices, you never improved the gas mileage. Get a clue!