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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  Dynamic Dodge: A Fan is Born! - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By 1atomic - January 22 - 7:29 pm

  Im a new fan of Chrysler & Dodge after this recent purchase. The very best 4X4 out there. Incredible on boulevard or back road. As a former Cadillac Escalade owner, I saved over 20 grand for an even better SUV. Nearly bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland, but waited for the Durango to gain extra seating capacity & cargo room. Elected the 5.7 liter Hemi V8 w/ AWD edition in Citadel trim. Loads of creature comforts as standard w/ few options at extremely reasonable prices. Absolutely no unsightly panel gaps. The new 11 is superior to everything in its class. I am pleased to have ordered my Durango w/ every option & all available packages - not possible w/ a Range Rover, Cadillac or Lincoln.

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  Nickies Nitro: I Luv My Truk! - 2008 Dodge Nitro
  By gabroad - January 16 - 2:43 pm

  Bought my used Nitro 6 months ago and still in love with it. I drive alot have already added 22k miles and its still going strong. Though not too pleased with the quality of the cloth interior (seats will pick up water stains) I threw on some seat covers and kept it movin... Plan to invest in new seat coverings this summer. Overall, I am very happy with my truck and love its sporty look, spacious interior, easy handling and fair gas mileage.

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  The Best Car Ive Ever Owned - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By miss_m - December 27 - 12:01 pm

  I went to Dodge to get a new-used car as a Christmas present for myself and after not getting approved for a couple of cars that I was looking at, they had approved me for the 2001 Dodge Intrepid with only 75K miles and a 2-yr warranty. At first, I was not interested. Boy, am I glad that I took a second look at it the next day! After all, I was tired of driving my 1996 Pontiac Bonneville with no heat or air conditioning. With living in the desert, a/c and heat is a must! Besides, after putting about $1,300 worth of new parts and labor into the car, I was tired of dealing with my Bonneville. Im so happy to be a new owner of my 01 Dodge Intrepid!

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  I wish Chrysler still made them8-( - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By jaidee22 - December 26 - 5:50 pm

  I bought my 2003 Neon SXT in May 2003. I still drive it every day - it has been the BEST car I have ever had. Aside from normal maintainence, it owes me nothing. 132,000 and still going..LOVE my car. Still gets 33-35mpg, faithfully. And NO RUST. I wish they still made this car. I have been looking for another one and cannot find one...huuummm wonder why?? Because they are keepers, thats why!

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  2011 Dodge Charger - 2011 Dodge Charger
  By jaymo1 - December 26 - 2:44 pm

  I just picked up a new 2011 Dodge Charger. Wow! Incredible vehicle! Great MPG 29.5 MPG from DC to Baltimore, fast (292HP), easy to use 8.3" touch screen controls heated seats and you can pause and rewind live music (Sirius) playing on the radio, handles the rough roads in DC and Baltimore like a very expensive car, old school power steering - you can make a U-turn with one hand, very quiet interior, black headliner. The racetrack/LED rear lights look very nice at night. One of the best vehicles that I have ever driven! 10 out of 10! People keep stopping me at red lights, gas stations, asking me how much it costs and how I like it. Pretty cool for a base medel, entry level vehicle (27H)

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  Thank you, Dodge. - 2009 Dodge Avenger
  By gutterballgt - December 25 - 8:11 pm

  My Avenger may well have saved my life yesterday. Christmas Eve, and an old man with hearing aids nearly caused a head-on collision with me by veering into on-coming traffic in an ill-timed attempt to make a left. Between my seatbelt and the airbag, I barely felt the collision (I managed to swerve enough to clonk into his rear quarterpanel as he turned) and am not sore at all today. Plus, this car is built like a tank because, despite the harsh hit, only the front end was damaged. Not sure how much yet (it being Christmas, the insurance companies arent out for blood yet), but I know its not nearly as much as it probably should be. So thank you, Dodge. Thank you for my wonderful car.

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  One of the best cars ive ever owned - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By smleno1mkiii - December 18 - 4:11 pm

  This car has been in my family since 2000, it only had 17,000 miles on it when my parents bought it and has had no major problems the whole time we have owned it, The car has since been passed down to me it now has 191,000 miles on it! the only things to go wrong with it are as follows, driver side window motor at 30,000 mi covered by warranty,alternator at 70,000 mi 300$, timing belt at 152,000 but that was my moms fault as she didnt know a car had one of those, shortly after was when I acquired the car and the only problems it has given me is the starter at 181,000 and the rear transmission speed sensor the starter was about $120 the sensor was only$17.50 great car I would say.

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  GET YOU SOME!!! - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By camik - December 15 - 12:20 pm

  I absolutely, 110% LOVE this car!! I have driven other sports cars in the past but they never had enough room! This Charger is fast AND its very roomy! I keep seeing people complain about the gas mileage...Ummm...hello! Why did you buy a V8 if you wanted good gas mileage?? Its not meant to get great gas mileage, its meant to go fast and look awesome! :) My entire family loves this car and it turns all kinds of heads! I would highly recommend the Dodge Charger R/T to anyone looking for an awesome sports car!

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  Dakota Quad 4.7 V-8 - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By robmir1 - December 12 - 10:30 pm

  I have a 2001 that I purchased in 2009 and it had 138,000 km I drove it only on occasion but now it is a 4.7 automatic daly driver and I have to say that it will handle what ever I make it do!. Wow My truck takes better care of me then I do of it... go figure? I believe that this truck was built on the right day of the week as it is not a lemon. And it is true about what day of the week it was built! Anyway I would buy a Dodge in a heart beat again and again.

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  Still Runnung strong - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By Anonymous - December 7 - 2:00 am

  Got this car in 2000 used with 70,000 miles on it have done regular maintenance oil change lube job etc, in 2003 serpentine belt broke, 2005 transmission replaced 2009 water pump gone replaced, after all that the car is very good strong ride comfortable and now going into 150000 miles the car is still pulling strong.