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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  My 05 Dakota - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By mike Lovrinoff - December 6 - 9:19 am

  I purchased my Dakota almost 2 yrs ago I drive a lot of highway miles. I find the Dakota stable at high speeds, comfortable, and the fuel economy at sustained speeds of 75mph not bad at 21mpg. I have the 6 cyl engine. Its not the peppiest engine but does an adequate job. (the Dakota does tip the scales at over 4,000lbs) The body is tight, the ride is smooth, and the bucket seats are comfortable for a big guy like me. My only complaint so far is that the the dashboard and radio lighting is inadequate in bright daylight. I cant read the letters and numbers on the radio! Overall the truck really is reliable, comfortable, and well put together

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  Confussing models - 2005 Dodge Durango
  By oldsurfer - December 5 - 9:21 pm

  I had an 05 SLT last year tradeed for a limited. The limited has a lot better quality upgrades such as the leather is softer, the door panels are a thin softer material but still way too much plastic, rides real smooth. The models are too confussing. My 05 SLTcame with leather, 4.7, hub caps, no overhead console for gas and mileage read out etc. All SLTs should come with mag wheels and overhead readouts. The limiteds should come with everything. My limited is missing tow, dvd, nav, hemi, chrome wheels. Why is it called a limited?

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  Nice look - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By cm1212 - December 4 - 8:21 pm

  Ive had my R/T for 3 years. Only problem I had was bad rotors and my auto dimmer rearview mirror (just started disappearing) and the the wiring for the mirror is loose somewhere. But other than that its been a great car and looks good!

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  A car that will be missed. - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By Kyle - December 4 - 1:48 pm

  I have owned the Intrepid with the 3.2 V6. It was an excellent car, never any problems, always ran like a champ. I know people say this car has a bad engine. Thats only if you get the 2.7, so if you go with the 3.2 or 3.5 youll be fine. My Intrepid was a great car up until a couple of days ago. I had gotten into a small car accident where the front end went up the SUV in front of me. My passenger and I and the other cars were all fine. However the Intrepid is toast. It still runs and all but needs a new front end and radiator. I plan on buying an Intrepid that has a 2.7 engine that has failed and swapping it with mine.

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  paying for a car i cant drive - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By jeanniita - December 3 - 1:56 am

  the car started out great good gas mileage was noisy new tires still noisy should of knew something was up when one dealer offered free tires for life there is a part on the transmission that went bad and no dodge dealer knows how to fix they hook it up to machine try to fix but keeps messing up the car goes 20 mph so we cannot drive it and still making payments on it one dealer thinks maybe we should put in new transmission and maybe that will fix it at the tune of 3200 dollars so if you buy this car buy extended warranty would never buy another caliber

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  Has been an excellent buy! - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By stevcaro - December 2 - 7:48 pm

  Bought this for economical transportation. Has given us no problems and is great on gas. Had a new 2002 Altima that was more powerful, but as far as the rest, can not really tell much difference. Ride quality is about the same, road noise is less in the Stratus but that could be the different tires. Its not a Lexus, but for my money it a great car!

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  2006 Dodge Durango - 2006 Dodge Durango
  By Todd n DE - December 2 - 11:03 am

  I bought this truck and traded in my 2000 Acura RL because my wife is pregnant with our third child and we needed the room. The Acura was paid for and I did not want a big note, so price was an important issue. Since my late grandfather retired from Chrysler, we were able to get the employee price. We got an in-stock truck w/ every option available, except GPS. Shortly after purchase, my family went on a trip from Delaware to South Carolina. I am very pleased with the way this vehicle performs and rides. I also really like all the options.

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  Great! - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By Aj T - December 2 - 2:00 am

  Great best car of its kind!

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  Good car for the most part - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By MENACE/SRT4 - December 1 - 4:37 pm

  Well what can I say, is faster than I expected. For the price is worth it for the most part. I bought my SRT about 5 months ago. It had 27k miles on it. For the first couple months it ran good, but I started to notice oil leaks. I took it back to the dealer. It turns out to be the oil pan. Thats what they said the first time. Well Ive been to the dealer more than six times and they still cant fix that leak. Oil pan has been replaced twice. From what I hear these cars have oil leak problems. My SRT is at the dealer right now. Its the fastest under $20k but if you are thinking of buying you better get extended warranty..

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  Charger SRT 8 - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By jsdixon - December 1 - 1:50 am

  Just got the car and drove it about 500 miles in 3 days. I traded a Corvette for this car and am VERY happy I did. This car has more power, better transmission (5 speed auto), and a very easy to use navigation system. This is the best car I have ever purchased.