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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  A very good car. - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Joe - September 2 - 6:20 pm

  I had a PT Crusier that was a very good car. But I need a up grade and saw this car. Drove it and said this is the one for me. Everyone tells me that I pick the car that is for me and they love this one. Its a very nice care. I cant wait. Road trip.

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  Nice American Option - 1997 Dodge Stratus
  By greenroom1988 - September 2 - 9:22 am

  The Stratus is a nice car and is the family beater until my sister gets her license. We got it for a cheap 1,500 and it has 160,000 miles on it yet it pulls almost as hard as my Integra did. All the features work and they car held up to abuse from the previous owner.

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  Love my Nitro - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By kixx1185 - September 1 - 11:16 am

  I bought my Nitro a month ago and I love it. I was a little nervous when I read some of the reviews, but I have not had any problems that were reported. When I got home I noticed that I could not put my passenger side when down or up on that side, but the drivers side I could close and open it so I just took it to the dealer for replacement and have had no problems since. Even if I do wind up with transmission problems I have unlimited powertrain so I am not worried at all. I only got the base model but with automatic and I love it. it is not limited at all.

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  Love it - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Chris - September 1 - 2:23 am

  I bought this car for my son and myself to drive. Its been a great car and gets great mileage. We bought the 4 cylinder and am totally happy so far. We have around 10,000 miles on it now and it gets right at 30 miles a gallon which you have to love! We get lots of looks because its sporty and its Sunburst Pearl Orange. What a beautiful car! For the money it is a fun, economical car.

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  Wow - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By tj leahy - August 31 - 3:01 pm

  This car handles like a dream. I have to look down at the speedo to make sure I`m not going too fast. It is very quiet inside at any speed and is wonderful on a long drive.

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  I love this car - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By HappyOwner - August 30 - 11:42 pm

  I have been so happy with this car! Ive had absolutely no problems with it, I love the looks of it, and it has zip and great handling. The car has close to 140K miles and so far (knock wood) I havent had to do anything special except change the oil every 3000 miles and fix the brakes once. I think it was really stupid of Dodge to stop making this model, but given that they have I hope to keep my car forever!

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  Great Car - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By Dave - August 30 - 1:23 pm

  I purchased my Stratus used Jan 2001, since then I have put 250,000 miles on it. I have had very few problems and have put a total of 4000 into upkeep and repairs over the last 6 1/2 years. Even with all this mileage I still get 25 mpg highway. Yes it does need some more work but what vehicle wouldnt that has been a real work horse for 42,000 miles a year.

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  Its got a Hemi - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By burgermeister - August 29 - 6:34 pm

  This is really a fun car to drive. Ride and handling are great. A terrific highway vehicle. When you step down on the gas, it goes. Mileage is about 22 MPG on the highway, 19 around town. I stand 6 5" and I have plenty of head and leg room, front and rear. Has a big trunk, and rear seats fold forward to accommodate long items.

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  Good while still new - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By TK - August 29 - 8:28 am

  I bought the Stratus barely used and overall it hasnt been a bad car. I have not had a lot of major problems under the hood. However, the air conditioning has been a constant problem since about 60,000 miles. It is repaired and then goes out again soon after. This last time, I took the car to 3 reliable/well known mechanics in the Chicago area who were all unable to determine the cause of the problem. I suppose their could be worse things- as the car runs, but it is very frustrating not to have air constantly. I have come across many others with dodge vehicles who have reported the exact same prob. with ac and have also had difficulty wih getting it repaired.

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  Wish they still made them! - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By goldintrepid2002 - August 28 - 5:50 pm

  Ive driven intrepids for years. The first was a 1995 se model. I love the safety and security of a larger car, and finally found one with the handling and performance to match. When the time came for a new car, I knew I wanted to try the second generation intrepid. I put over 200k on the 1995 model, so I had no doubts about buying another one. So I went with a 2002 Intrepid se. The performance and handling were drastically improved, which was suprising sice they were already fabulous. Not to mention the sleek new exterior, and finally, awesome headlights. Dodge made all the right improvements to this car. The only complaint I have is that they were discontinued after 2004.