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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  Love my Durango - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By Mopar2008 - September 14 - 10:55 pm

  I got this Durango after my car was totaled in a hailstorm. I am very pleased with it. It has plenty of power when needed and is just the right size for me. So far it hasnt given me any problems. I am not going to complain about the gas mileage because I knew what I was getting into when I got it.

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  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By J. Garcia - September 14 - 10:54 am

  The Good: Good interior, lots of truck for the money. Fairly decent fuel mileage. The Bad: Ball joints were completely worn out. Replacing them requires chiseling and/or grinding steel rivets off. Cheap plastic interior pieces, not very well put together. The Ugly: Designed by an accountant. Control-arm bushings are not replaceable. The whole control-arm needs replacing at over $300 per. Rubber plug in the differential cover. Non adjustable clutch master/slave cylinder. Very notchy 5-speed, with completely wrong ratios for the 4 cylinder engine. Will not pull even a moderate incline at highway speeds in 5th gear. 50 year old pushrod engine design. Not even a crossflow cylinder head.

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  Reliable so far - 1999 Dodge Caravan
  By mike - September 11 - 5:25 pm

  I bought it at 56000 miles a little over 2.5 yrs ago and now it has 142000 miles and still going strong, except for the ac fan motor that went out about 3000 miles back which is a cheap fix and have only had to change the front brakes twice considering all the driving I do thats pretty good

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  Great performance and handling - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By Tracy Morgan - September 11 - 2:36 pm

  I loved this car. I had it for years. Timing belt broke at about 210,000 miles. Spent about $1300 dollars. Drove it a month and now it is smoking lilke a freight train. I want it fixed. I love the car. I drove a newer neon and the comfort, handling and performance was nowhere near as good as my Neon.

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  MY TANK - 2005 Dodge Magnum
  By WBE - September 11 - 10:00 am

  I LOVE THE BUILD OF THE CAR. THE INTERIOR IS BIG AND ROOMY. THE PASSENGER AREA IS RELAXING, AND THE DRIVE-SMOOTH

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  Love it!! - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Tress - September 11 - 10:00 am

  This is the first Chrysler product Ive ever owned, thought long and hard prior to purchasing and there just isnt anything out there that comes close to the Durango. I got the Hemi and for this size of an SUV the performance is amazing. I did encounter the small problems that come with a first year run vehicle but they were easily rectified and Im glad I went with the Durango.

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  A great car - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By ChrisSt - September 10 - 6:49 pm

  I bought my Neon new in 03 and continue to use it as a daily driver. Dont be fooled by nay-sayers who want to project the first gens problems on the second gen car. My car has been rock solid and reliable. It is as quiet today as it was when new, no squeaks or rattles. And its a steal on the used car market.

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  Nice car - 2001 Dodge Neon
  By Neons_rock - September 10 - 5:03 pm

  I have owned my Neon for about 2 months now and Ive never had any trouble with it. I bought this car with a bad transmission because it was really beaten and was in a wreck. I purchased a used transmission and it was good to go. Its really zippy and a great driving car. It is a little bit noisy but its a great deep fun car noise.

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  Thrilling! - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By WPA Girl - September 9 - 10:24 am

  I have the SXT. I cant wipe the smile from my face when Im driving. Im getting used to people turning to watch the car go by. I have a hard time passing in traffic because of people riding beside my car to look it over. Gas mileage is averaging about 23mpg for a mix of city/highway driving and goes to about 27 on all highway. It exceeds what I got in my PT Cruiser.

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  Love/Hate Relationship - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Diverdown - September 7 - 8:29 pm

  I bought this car to replace my aging Dodge Caravan and for the purpose of towing a recently aquired boat. Little did I know what I was in for. I love the fact that it is big, but not a monster. It can hold the family or carry lots of stuff and still fit in a parking space. Both the interior and exterior design are nice on the eye, but it drinks gas like it has a hole in the gas tank and has a lot of quirks that require attention. I have almost 97,000 miles and the leather has held up very well. The problems I have had which I have seen in other reviews is the speedo went dead, found out it was the rear a/c sensor. Eats oil with no idea where it goes, window regulators are sparatic.