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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  Run. Run hard, run fast. - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By gxbrxnth - September 16 - 9:50 pm

  This car is a nightmare. Overheating, electrical issues, I swear this car has a mind of its own. It chugs gas, eats brakes, decides if it wants to accelerate or not, and what is so bad about downshifting? You have to jam the gas pedal into the floorboard, and maybe then (and thats a very strong maybe) it will start to pick up speed. I am not sure what Ill have to do to get out of this car, but at this point, any risk is worth it.

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  Ive driven better..... - 2009 Dodge Caliber
  By rlfeen - September 14 - 4:27 am

  I am the second owner of my Caliber. It currently has 136k~ miles on it. Roomy car, love the exterior. Interior is nice, however the design hasnt aged well. A TON of plastic. Plastic is everywhere is there are NO soft touch materials except the headliner and seats. HORRIBLE suspension. Replaced lower control arms, ball joints, you name Ive replaced it. Luckily I bought a GREAT warranty. Drives great on the highway. Smooth and quiet. city driving is okay, hate the CVT especially in the city. Feels like it takes for ever to get up and go. (it is a larger car so I guess this is expected). Paint is still pretty good. I have black so it shows EVERY flaw.

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  Everything that could go wrong, will!!!! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By mommaturkey - September 10 - 4:42 pm

  I purchased my 2009 Journey SXT in July 2008 and have had problems ever since. I have wierd noises coming from the back by the exhaust pipes, the car will not start sometimes until I move the shifter in and out of park, the brakes are horrible (having to replace them every 12,000 miles or so) and now the sound I had in the front is now a blown out motor mount. This car has been to the dealers so many times and they could never figure out any of the problems. Once it is paid for, I am selling it!! No more "US" made cars for me!! Oh and I get shocked every time I get in and out of the car!!

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  I love this Car.....! - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By beecoolbreeze - September 9 - 4:53 am

  I have a 2003 SE with the 4 speed automatic even though I couldnt choose auto in the model type so I put manual and I love it. I bought it with 44,200 and It has 47,655 miles on it without any problems except oil change. The car is structurally and mechanically sound. No problems at all.

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  SRT8 - Greatest Supercar on Planet Earth - 2013 Dodge Charger
  By hbtmd - September 8 - 6:44 am

  I now have about 5,600 on "White Lightning". I still look forward to every day that I can jump into this awesome machine and drive anywhere at all. I frequently have people at gas stations, parking lots, and drive-throughs comment on how gorgeous she looks. Turns heads everywhere. I still LOVE the 6.4 liter Hemi with 470 hp. What I love almost as much as the power is the safety-tech features. The Blind spot warning and back-up assistance with cross traffic warning is AWESOME!! They have worked flawlessly and prevented at least one accident so far.

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  not a compact - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By michaeldart - September 5 - 9:44 pm

  First, this is not a compact car. It has more or similar interior room and trunk space as the Honda Accord coupe and the Chevy Malibu. It is a midsized car at a compact car price and with compact car fuel mileage. I almost bought a Focus, but the Dart was better equipped and had more space. The Focus just cannot accommodate adults on a long trip, the Dart can. Anyone who says the Focus interior is superior to the Darts is blind. I own the SE with the manual, cruise control, and Uconnect. The build quality was excellent, no bad panel gaps, paint, everything worked. I have had it for 10 months, 2 long trips, 9,000 miles, and only oil and filter changes.

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  1999 Dodge Neon highline AUTOMATIC - 1999 Dodge Neon
  By samanthawade - September 5 - 4:21 pm

  I just want to start off by saying, this car has been very great since Ive had it. I have had it for almost 2 years. It is a 1999 and it only has 65,000 miles as of right now. The only problem that has happened since, is a leak in the break line, which was a very cheap fix. The car has great MPG and trunk space. I would recommend to an elderly woman or new driver! The only thing I cannot stand about this car is the size. ITS SO SMALL. I am not an extremely large person, but I am not tiny. It is very uncomfortable to drive. I am in the market for a new car because I cant handle how small this car is. I do not recommend this car to anyone who is a little overweight.

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  2013 1.4L Turbo - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By cuhll - September 3 - 11:19 am

  I now have 17000 miles on this Dart and have had it in the shop 3 times now with Turbo issues. They havent been able to fix it yet. I am on the edge of returning it. I love the car, if they could fix the turbo issue I would keep the car, but I am very frustrated with Dodge right now.

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  High hopes Big disappointments - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By metro21 - August 29 - 9:28 pm

  Bought it brand new. 2 years and 36k later: Good: Nice design in and out. Looks amazing when clean. Smooth powerful V8 Hemi. Tops in towing. Actual useable 3rd row seating. Bad: Exterior build quality is complete junk. The front bumper pops out and is now cracking like its going to fall off. The exterior mirror housing is frayed and already replaced only to have the same problem return. Tail lights feel loose and move when touched. The drivers door is not aligned with the rest of the body. Car has failed to start once- apparently a known issue with Dodges- failing TIPMs (Google it for more info.). Hemi spark plugs have to be changed every 30k miles. Recommended gas is 89.

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  JUST BAD - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By jack246 - August 22 - 3:19 pm

  OK I bought this vehicle for my wife and it has been in the shop 4 times in 5 months. 1 started on its own and ran all day in the parking lot using a tank of fuel 2 AC will come on by itself 3 doors wont unlock 4 wont start (at the dealers when they said it was ready) I took it to the dealer to be fixed and they finally just said "it must have a ghost" I ended up getting rid of the thing with only 5000 miles on it. this is my 5th Dodge that I own. 2 Durangos, 1 Ram, and a Challenger. then this thing. I called the complaint line and they just said SORRY. after spending around $100,000 total for all the Dodges I bought I thought that they would help me out.