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:

• 

  A solid pickup and nice to drive - 1999 Dodge Dakota
  By JBsDak - March 19 - 8:58 pm

  Only owning this truck for a year, I cant really say how reliable its been before me, but it feels like its been well maintained, has 100K miles now. It is a great vehicle to drive, it feels like a bigger vehicle than it really is and very comfortable and plenty of power. I have had to put all new ball joints on it but that is one of the common problems with Dakotas, the gas mileage is pretty poor, about 15 mpg but it has a 5.2 L V8, you want great gas mileage buy something else, though I understand the newer V6 gets close to 20 mpg. It would probably be smarter get the V6 as the V8 is more power than most people need. Anyway I love this truck and would buy a new one if could afford to.

• 

  Quiet, very Quiet - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By sherian4746@yahoo.com - March 17 - 7:09 pm

  I just bought the Journey because it was the most reasonably priced cross-over out there and I have been nothing but pleasingly surprised at the quality. It is the most quiet ride I have had in any vehicle for a long time. It looks great and is a blast to drive. Only downside is that I cant find any aftermarket wheels to fit. Id buy it again in a heartbeat!

• 

  Not bad, but explore the alternatives - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By kevinap2 - March 15 - 10:26 pm

  This is no doubt a fun car to drive, especially for a family sedan. However, Ive had to do a lot of work to it. New trans (I bought it at 53k, it now has 79k), new head gasket, new water pump, brake switch, all 4 power window regulators, an alternator, a weather strip on the top side of the windshield that came loose and flopped around, the blower motor resistor, and an intermittent rough idle that 3 new sets of plugs and two new sets of wires never fixed and is apparently unexplainable. I also have a control arm making noise right now. That said, I do enjoy driving this car... just not the frequent trips to the shop.

• 

  2.7lL V-6 SXT - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Avenger08 - March 14 - 1:51 am

  Bought this car for my wife, traded in my 2004 chevy classic. Car has good features like sport appearance package with fog lamps and a spoiler, moon roof and climate control, tire pressure monitor and compass all really nice, just wish it had abs brakes and traction control for Illinois winters. Two biggest complaints are 1. very hard to see out the back window which makes it difficult in parking lots. 2. Transmissions shifts funky if not allowed to warm up for 5 minutes even during the summer. y wife took it on a 5000 mile trip and averaged 32 mpg, but city driving usually results in 15-18 mpg and normal highway driving is about 27-29 mpg. would buy the charger next time.

• 

  Loved my Durango - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By Happy Owner - March 11 - 2:58 pm

  First I wasnt a fan of the Durango I only purchased it because the price was right and it was 4x4. I have to say the vehicle was great, I never had any major problems with it and I would have kept it forever had I not have totaled it. Keep up the regular oil changes, etc and you will love this car and it will be good to you!

• 

  ASWESOME - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Tink92 - March 10 - 7:50 am

  Just bought it. i dont know what these babies are complaining about my brother owned it before I did and it never went through all the high numbers these other peoples vehicles have. Maybe if they were to take care of it correctly they wouldnt be throwing away so much money.

• 

  I hate my Dodge Charger - 2007 Dodge Charger
  By Tina - March 7 - 4:39 pm

  I bought my Charger new in 2007. Since then I have had to replace a sensor in the transmission. I would lose power and would have to pull to this side of the road, turn the car off and restart it before it would work correctly again. I replaced the front ball joints before 58,000 miles. My blower motor only works on high and my rear defroster no longer works even after we replaced the fuse. I LOVE the look of the car but cant wait to get rid of it. Needless to say, my next car will NOT be a Dodge.

• 

  Dont hit anything - 2003 Dodge Caravan
  By Phavens - February 27 - 8:52 pm

  My dodge was working fine - did have to replace brakes pretty often - but was for the most part satisfied...until it slipped on the road due to snow - and hit a drain - which totaled the car. TOTALED THE CAR! one jolt - and the entire underside was busted to pieces - so i question the strength of the engine. Ive read other reviews saying the same thing. So if you never get hit nor hit anything, you might be okay...just be really really careful.

• 

  Automatic Woes - 2009 Dodge Charger
  By Ray - February 27 - 12:41 pm

  I have a drone from the transmission at 1500 rpm and under a slight load (4 & 5 gears. When I change to manual mode it goes away. Shifts just fine otherwise. Chrysler will not fix the noise so I have contacted a lawyer to help resolve this issue. By the way I drove a 2010 R/T and it had the same noise.

• 

  This is so aggrevating - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Never Again - February 26 - 3:51 am

  The biggest, most complicated issue was eventually finding out that a "rattle" I was hearing from the engine area was actually a weld seam that came undone between the engine compartment and the firewall of the dash. My vehicle was in the shop for almost a month while the engine was completely taken apart and rebuilt. They welded the seam together and put everything else back. Luckily that started happening before the warranty ran out. Since then, various parts of my engine have made noises belts, cooling fan, etc. My exhaust manifold has been replaced twice already. Now my car is "chiming" while I drive, and the oil leaks--go figure! I do not suggest this vehicle.