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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  They shouldve Dodged this Neon! - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By Matthew - December 15 - 11:47 pm

  I can honestly say that this has to be one of the worst cars Dodge ever built. My fiancé and I bought ours when it was 10 years old, it only had 90,000 miles on it though. Ever since it was bought, it has nothing but problems. The owner before us was an old lady who had pasted away. She treated the car like it was her first born child so I know the issues didnt come from her driving it. The transmission is terrible. It slips, backfires, and sometimes doesnt even go into gear. The engine has terrible power and constantly leaks oil. The coolant tank leaks. The electronics are terrible. Interior lights dont work anymore. Interior is cheaply made. The dash has bubbles all over it. The back windows leak whenever it storms which makes the inside of the car soaked. The engine is extremely loud, it sounds like you have all the windows down whenever youre driving it. The car vibrates, shakes, and knocks. Headlights have terrible visibility. The only thing thats decent in this vechicle are the speakers. It has a great, stock sound system. The reason Im writing a review on a 14 year old car is because theyre cheap to buy now but I honestly wouldnt waste $500 on this car because youll end up putting 10x that in repairs. Stay away from this car. It shouldnt have ever been made.

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  horrible money pit - 2005 Dodge Stratus
  By Jocelyn mary - December 14 - 1:18 pm

  This car has caused me nothing but problems!! The wheel barring for this car are smaller then usual and have to be replaced every year! Struts are gone. Already replaced timing belt long time ago! Exhaust and under carriage rotted and replaced a lot!!! Dont Ever buy! I plan to bring mine to a demo derby next fall!

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  Highly Impressed - 2015 Dodge Charger
  By NOMJR - December 11 - 10:53 pm

  I didnt know what to expect, but my time and money was well spent. I highly recommend this vehicle for your next purchase.

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  Jazz Blue Beast - 2014 Dodge Challenger
  By Jason - December 10 - 6:59 pm

  I love my Challenger! I special ordered a R/T base with some options (HID Headlights, Sound Group II, Sunroof). Power from the 5.7 is adequate, but it isnt exactly fast considering how heavy the car is. I solved that little problem with a ProCharger, now it moves with authority like an SRT8 (490 wheel horsepower), but without the insurance costs. Its big, roomy, and for the most part, comfortable. Enormous trunk. I do have a hard time finding a comfortable driving position for long drives though. The car would benefit greatly from either more telescoping in the steering column, power adjustable pedals, or moving the shifter (6spd) back farther toward the driver. The car rides like a Cadillac. Optional HID headlights work very well, and are bi-xenon, so you get both low & high beams in HID. Optional mid-level stereo (Sound Group II) is absolutely amazing. You can crank any type of music up to full volume with no distortion. The first thing youll want to do is toss the 18" "green" low rolling resistance Michelins in the garbage, and get a set of proper tires to keep from roasting rubber. Then, youll need to get a Barton shifter to keep from constantly missing 3rd, and to eliminate the ridiculous throw from 4-5. A skip shift eliminator or programmer is also mandatory. I didnt buy a manual transmission to be forced to shift from 1 to 4!!!!!!! Bluetooth "works", but takes quite some time to pair. And quite some time again when it un-pairs right after you get out on the road! And dont bother turning off the incoming SMS message alert... no matter how many times you turn this confounded feature OFF, it still breaks into the music for EVERY single text message. A new aftermarket head unit is in my near future. The voice recognition sucks. If you need to call "home", good luck. Im not sure how the engineers who designed the voice recognition system talk, but I have tried every conceivable way of saying "home", and the car simply refuses to call home. There is an option that allows the car to learn your voice. Its a joke, dont bother wasting your time. I love the retro styling, but it does make for some LOUSY outward visibility to the sides. Lane changes are basically floor it and pray you can get ahead of whoever may happen to be in that ENROMOUS blind spot. If blind spot detection had been available in 2014, Id have ordered it for sure. If you get the 6spd (of course you did, who buys an automatic muscle car?!) do yourself a favor and get the resonators removed right away. It makes the car sound like it should have from the factory. There is no drone on the 6spd (autos drone and sound like crap when MDS kicks in, youre better off leaving the stock exhaust in place)

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  Please Read If Your Interested - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By sydney - December 8 - 9:12 pm

  My brother bought the car in 2013. He gave it to me for the past year. within the past year and a half no its had 3 transmission problems. the electronic screen has blacked out multiple times. the breaks make a weird chugging noise. and now theres ANOTHER recall on the breaks. the had been 3 recalls in the past 5 months. the people at dodge are extremely disrespectful. they over priced this car that keeps having the same issue over and over again. the only good thing I have notice is its very good on gas. but its not reliable enough to go on a trip because something always happens.

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  Overall great car - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By orangehogger2005@live.com - December 8 - 9:03 pm

  I bought my Nitro off the lot brand new. It now has 103,000 miles and still running strong. Radio quit working at around 30,000 miles and the entire thing quit working around 50,000 miles. Sound does sound good, though. In about a year the plastic at leading edge of the roof rack rail lifted up due to ice expansion . Right after 100,000 miles the throttle control module and map sensor went out and cost around 800 dollars to repair. I find this to be a normal wear and tear issue. The exterior paint looks brand new. Reliable and good in the snow and ice here in Chicago. Interior spacious and I find it comfortable. Ive had it for 9 years now and NEVER regretted buying this product, which is the first Dodge Ive bought. Overall I LOVE this vehicle.

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  2005 Dodge Dakota SLT Quad Cab 4WD (3.7L) - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By Bill Smith - December 8 - 10:42 am

  I have owned this truck for 5 years now. Picked it up used threw brand new set of michelins on it and was set. I like the truck due to the high feeling in the truck even though its not. I got the 6 Cylinder not expecting good performance and better gas mileage. The 4WD works terrific and the motor is in great shape. One thing i have noticed with these dakotas is the right rear fender rusts. The only money i have put into the truck is oil changes, brakes, sound system, and gas. i enjoy the truck like you would want to. Now to the negative side. The trans has started to act up like a year ago. It slips every now and then but is not bad atleast yet. 6 months ago i put this substance to help the trans and i havent felt it slip yet. I dont have a v8 but my point of view if your going for a v8 just get the full size. i can still tow my trailer and have tools in the back. Now it would be nice if i could get the long bed. I may have a long bed fabricated in. Ive seen a review complaining about gas mileage. What do you expect with a v8?

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  2013 srt8 plum crazy purple - 2013 Dodge Charger
  By dmitri - December 7 - 9:33 am

  great car could be a little bit nicer shifter bezel and instrumentation, actually gets great mpg on Highway driving, great sound system Harmon Kardon, and definitely get some good all season tires if driving year round.

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  Love my Avenger! - 2012 Dodge Avenger
  By Brenda Coleman - December 6 - 9:13 pm

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  I like this Durango more than my last - 2014 Dodge Durango
  By D Calvert - December 6 - 5:19 pm