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:

• 

  Dissatisfied - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By VERY Dissatisfied - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I am very dissatisfied with the car. We had trouble with it with a cam shaft cencor whitch ended up costing us better than $500 and now the timing chain went threw the engine and is goiing to cost us about $5,000 to fix. We only have 81000 miles on it. My old 96 Monte carlo has 194000 on it and only uses a court of oil between oil changes every 5000 miles. We changed the oil on the Intreped every 3000 miles and it is JUNK. I dont think that I could ever buy another DODGE produt again. JUNK JUNK JUNK

• 

  Must have been built on a Monday morning - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By take it to junkman - June 28 - 2:00 am

  43K miles on the van in alittle more than 3 years. Started having problems after 1st month. Not enough room here for all, but major ones include replacing HVAC control unit because temp. control was stuck in HOT position, replaced gas tank & most of pollution system looking for a vaccum leak. Power steering pump problems caused noise & vibration at all speeds. Headlght switch broke & lights would just go out w/o any warning. Most of these took at least 2 trips to the garage to fix. Latest problem, tranny let go last Friday. Saturday morn, dealer tells me I cant get loaner car Im entitled to w/ extended warranty until a tech diagnosis the problem.

• 

  Intrepid - not so - 1993 Dodge Intrepid
  By Rusty_Rails - June 20 - 2:00 am

  Bought this lemon new in 1993. Since that time it has been a continuous repair case. Computer has been replaced multiple times, fuel rail split and Dodge said that was unique to my car (I got the recall notice about three weeks later for the same thing), both power window guide on front windows have failed and needed replaced, needed valve job very early, seat fabric wore out quickly, motor / transmission mounts failed early and needed replaced, and the list goes on. I will NEVER buy any Dodge or Chrysler product again.

• 

  Hunk of Junk - 1994 Dodge Intrepid
  By Gary123 - June 15 - 2:00 am

  Do not buy this car. I owned it for three years and had nothing but trouble. I replaced everything at least once. Finally, I gave up and bought a small economy car...better idea.

• 

  Not the greatest car out there - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By chemsal - June 2 - 2:00 am

  The 2004 is a cheaper version of the 2002,2003. Dodge has cut some real corners on this car. The seats are shorter and not as wide as the past models. There are many other areas that have been cheapened from previous year models. This is a company car, so I do not purchase this vehicle. Free is a good price to pay for a vehicle. If it cost one penny more I would not drive an Intrepid

• 

  Good Looks, Bad Problems - 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Chris B - May 30 - 10:00 am

  I bought the van because I like the looks, but it didnt take long to find out that I bought a piece of junk. I have talked to other owners of this van and they all have the same problems. Here is a list of my problems: 1. I have had three sensors go out at $125 ea. (Car will not shift gears when the sensor goes out) 2.The driverÂ’s side brake caliper has been replaced 2 times and still doesnt work right. 3. Most of all, even though I had the transmission serviced every 35000 miles, It still cost me $2000 to replace it before the van hit 100,000 miles. On top of everythings else, these vans have such lousy resale values I cant even get rid of it.

• 

  Horrible mistake, pitiful car, refund!!! - 1993 Dodge Intrepid
  By IHATEINTREPIDS - May 27 - 2:00 am

  I HATE this car! Tranny went twice, oil block cracked, brake master cylinder failed, A/C went twice, struts, power steering replace, radio replace, drivers seat wont move, all fuel injectors replaced 3 times, fuel rail, 2 major electrical problems (headlights and tailights wouldnt work), door seals let rain, air in, all windows would fog up in winter and freeze over, constantly needed realigning, new brakes after 10,000 miles, routers reground 6 times, etc. Rarely went one month without spending over $100 to fix something, around $10K total in 5 years. Dodge should be ashamed they ever made this car. I will never consider buying a Dodge again.

• 

  I Hate This Car - 1999 Dodge Neon
  By kellyj - May 20 - 2:00 am

  Where do I begin with my complaints? You name it, and it has broken on my Neon. I have replaced the head gasket, the transmission, the sunroof motor (twice), water pump, and the starter twice and it is still not running at this current time. I would NEVER recommend a Neon to anyone that I know. I have had nothing but problems with this car. Most of the stuff was covered under my warrenty, but it is still the hassel of taking it to the garage every month and being without a car for a few days because it has broken down again!!

• 

  Do not Buy - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By dnacam - May 12 - 2:00 am

  day we brought it home the AC broke, took it back and they "fixed it" when passing an eighteen wheeler on the interstate it didnt switch gears and slowed down with the pedal all the way to the floor a pick up truck was approaching and almost rear ended me. When we took it in for this problem they said "oh, the computer was just off and had to be reset, Its common with these vans". Hope I dont have to pass anyone for the rest of my life while owning this van. Now to get rid of it I am upside down and I will NEVER buy another DODGE and I will pay 3 times as much for a toyota to keep from putting my family in another one of their vehicles.

• 

  Never Again - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By Kelly L - May 11 - 2:00 am

  I loved it at first, but then I hit 70k miles. YIKES!! Needed a whole new transmission for the tune of $3,600. Now the A/C evaporator has a leak - $1,100. Have had to replace radiator, water pump, thermostat, ball joints, etc. Has a minor oil leak - who knows where that will lead. On the positive, has great room for the 2 car seats and all of their gear, but am now looking into a mini-van, which is what we were trying to avoid in buying the Durango!! Poor gas mileage.