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:

• 

  Great Disappointment - 2007 Dodge Caravan
  By stu - March 13 - 11:30 pm

  This is the 5th Chrysler/Dodge minivan that I have owned, and the worst of the bunch. Good design intention, failed execution. Radio does not get local stations, transmission had to be re-programmed, (that would fix tranny problems also in these reviews) drivers door re-aligned twice, overhead console loose, failed cup holder, weatherstripping falling out of driver & passenger window and hitting people in head, failed resistor in blower control. Must say dealer is absolutely great, but manufacturer built a lemon for me and will not own up to it. E-mailed Dodge web-site, called them, and still no satisfaction. It seems like they want to drive their customer to other makes.

• 

  Fustrated - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Im fustrated - March 13 - 8:02 pm

  We bought the Nitro in August. Has been in the shop a few times for pulling right. Its had two alignments and still pulls. Today it shut off on me. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone elso.

• 

  Ok car with bad brakes - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By Jake - March 10 - 4:14 am

  We drove this car for 5 years and put about 75,000 miles on the car. All in all it was a pretty good car. One issue to watch out for is the front brakes wear very fast. When we sold the car it had 102K on it and We had put 4 sets of brake pads and two new rotors. I checked the drums at about 90K and they were less than 1/2 worn. We never had any major issues with the car other than a shift solenoid going bad. The engine is pretty weak and the MPG is less than average.

• 

  Bad Decision - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By Steve in Omaha - March 7 - 1:55 pm

  I bought this truck because it was my best bang for the buck and it was safe for all the kids. It was and it is. The truck has really disappointed though. Cheaply built, I have rust already, chrome door handles are falling apart. Strange dash lights go and off. Cruise control works, then doesnt. And dont do like I did and get one without traction control. This thing fishtails in snow like a 68 Camaro (whether in AWD or 4WD). On top of all that, the resale value seems to be tied to some sort of very heavy financial based anchor. I like the Hemi and it always starts, so theres the positive. I should have spent 8k more and purchased a GM product.

• 

  Hate my van! - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By M. Sackett - Omaha - March 6 - 1:06 pm

  This van is always in the shop for repair! Its had 7 service visits in 11 months: 1) The ignition key receiver failed, resulting in a tow the 1st month. 2&3) Hard drive on stereo was replaced twice. Chrysler also sent out software upgrade to fix addl problems with system. 4) Tail gate assembly latch was replaced when it locked shut and I couldnt even open it manually. 5) Side sliding doors, which never shut properly electronically, had to be adjusted. 6 & 7) The heater in one of the seats quit working, so had to replace the heating element. In addition, indicator lights are unreliable. Recommendation: Dont buy this vehicle! We spent $30,000, and wish we had our old van (worth $1,000).

• 

  Its an okay car. Poor quality. - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By linndzee24 - March 5 - 2:20 am

  I have owned this car for a few months and overall I like the car. My main problem with the car is the interior. Just plain water stains the seats and with two small kids that is not a good thing. Also, I have had problems with the check engine light coming on. I read the book and it says if the light goes off after a couple times of driving the car its ok. That doesnt sound right to me. The light did finally go off though and I havent had it come back on.

• 

  Lemon - 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Suzer - March 2 - 2:00 am

  We had nothing but problems with this vehicle since purchasing it. I have a file about 2 inches thick of service invoices. Fortunately, everything was covered by the warranty (when it ran out, we ditched it). Daimler Chrysler would not admit it was a lemon. The worst part...not having a car. Problems included: Steering column replaced 3 times, steering wheel clock spring replaced 4 times, windshield wiper motor, air conditioner fan motor, both power window motors died, horn malfunctioned, sliding door pad short (which caused doors to lock and unlock while driving at various speeds), ignition cylinder housing locked up twice, and the list goes on.

• 

  Transmission problems make it unsafe - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Mike Brown - March 1 - 3:40 pm

  For the first few months that I had my new Avenger, I loved it. Then came the cold weather, and with it an unrepairable transmission problem. Less than 5 miles into any drive on a freeway, the RPMs shoot from the standard 2000 to 6000. And its as though someone downshifted to first gear. It takes all the power the car has to get to the shoulder. Once restarted, the car performs fine for the rest of the trip. Leaving it with the service department wont help as they wont be able to recreate the problem. And even if they could, since the engine light doesnt come on with a transmission error, the onboard computer wont register the problem.

• 

  average at best - 2006 Dodge Dakota
  By girzim20 - February 15 - 9:44 am

  had a problem with the radio as soon as i drove it off the lot. then afte a month of driving, as i was doing an oil change i noticed tranny fluid leaking. the seals had gone bad and i had to have a new torque converter installed. the vehicle had 6,000 miles on it at the time. fortunately it was covered under the warranty, but this has me concerned as to what else will go wrong in the near future. going over bumps, the truck looses grip of the road.

• 

  bad car - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By nomoreamericancars - February 8 - 2:00 am

  Anything that can go wrong went wrong with this car. VERY POOR reliability.