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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  Good in the snow not in the show - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By Ken - January 4 - 6:46 am

  When I initially purchased this vehicle I did not care for the interior, however I kept telling myself it is for the wife! And this was her choice! interior is low grade plasics that retain dirt! sheet metal is thin! almost that of a 70s japenese import and seats are extremely uncomfortable! exterior body style is on target, resembling its older more durable sibling the "Charger",

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  NICE BUT...get something else - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Aghast - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Dodge has done something with this 4wd that I just cannot understand-All this money poured into the new design and an underbody skid plate that is lower than anything under the vehicle and FLAT! READ- It acts as a shovel- not turned up in the forward portion and only about 6 inches off the ground-UNBELIEVABLE! Dont think about taking this thing off road- you will high-center in a second on even the slightest rutted roads!

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  2001 Dakota quad cab 4x4 4.7 v-8 - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By mattew heddings - December 29 - 5:30 pm

  Truck has awesome power from the 4.7L v- 8, but you sacrifice gas mileage, I originally got 11.6mpg in town was able to increase it to 12.5-13mpg by adding an AFE cold air intake and a spacer ring on the throttle body to atomize the gas better. 3 of the 4 power windows quit working and truck only has 71000 miles on it, Dealer wants $250- 270 dollars a door to fix. seems it should be recalled.

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  Horrible Blind Spots! Bad with Car Seats - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By cwgrlup726 - December 17 - 8:43 pm

  The A-frame on the Durango is horribly placed. It causes a huge blind spot for the driver. They say it is for better stability during a rollover accident, which you will definitely need because you cant see where youre driving! It is also an extremely tight fit for carseats. If it will be placed behind either of the front seats, you will need to pull that seat very far forward to make it fit (which doesnt make for an easy ride up front.) Not a problem unless you have 2 kids in carseats! My Durango depriciated $25,000 in 2 years! Never again will I buy one of these and I am making sure everyone I know hears about it.

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  I have a love-hate relationship with my Scat Pack - 2016 Dodge Charger
  By voice3 - December 17 - 8:45 am

  Ive owned my Scat Pack for approximately 6-months and have 3200 miles on it so far. Heres my pro/con assesment. Pros: Driving this car is incredible (I always look forward to driving it and the power is exceptional), I really like both the interior and exterior styling, ride comfort is very good (if you like a firm ride), highway gas milage is surprisingly good, tech features like blind spot detection and adaptive cruse control work very well, great overall family car. Cons: Build quality is poor (body panels are a bit off - the hood fit is particularly poor, white body paint doesnt match bumper color, a few interior rattles even with just 3000 miles), dealer service is the worse Ive experienced anywhere (Major World Dodge in NYC), side mirrors are too small and have blind spots no matter how they are adjusted (definitely get the tech package with blind spot detection), hard to see the front of the car over the scoop (Dodge does not offer front parking sensors). Despite the shortcomings of this car, I would not trade it for anything else in its price range because the driving experience is very very good and I like the styling. I just wish Dodge had better quality control both for its cars and dealership network...

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  I hate that I brought this car!!! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Tabitha - December 13 - 7:13 am

  I purchased this car because I wanted something larger but with great gas mileage. The transmission is shot and I have only had the car for TWO years. :-(

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  NEVER EVER AGAIN! - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Apache - December 13 - 12:50 am

  Ok I was so happy at first - never owned a car this nice......never judge a book by its cover they say....it has been in the shop for brake sensor recall, warped rotors X3! MIGIG crashed. Now its sitting in the driveway the past month pending Lemon Law for the rotors. Us brakes and rotors people got to find each other and DO something about it. We paid alot of hard earned money for this vehicle! Everyone else - dont buy one....just say NO!

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  Sad Experience - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Mikep - December 11 - 5:45 pm

  Weve owned the Durango for roughly 2 years and it only has 54,000 miles. Overheating is very common and now the head gaskets are blown. Itll run $1,100 to $1,600 to repair. Save some heartache and dont go Durango. However, if you enjoy sitting in the 3rd seat while it cools down, this may be the gas guzzler for you.

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  Nice, but MPG is really bad - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By socaljoe - December 11 - 5:44 pm

  Bought a 2006 Stratus SXT for my girlfriend. The car looks nice, rides really comfy. For a car thats a 4cylinder, the miles-per-gallon is really bad. It has worse gas mileage than my 03 Silverado V8 with 7" lift kit. The Stratus only does 16mpg in the city. Took it back to the dealer to have it checked and couldnt find anything wrong. Service guy told me that 16mpg is not out of the norm on this car. Even people from Dodge forums say the same about gas mileage on this vehicle. Will trade this car in soon for something thats not a Dodge

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  Big and versatile - but tall - 2001 Dodge Ram Wagon
  By BB Gun - December 7 - 3:06 pm

  Bought new in 2000 for family of 6. 12 passenger with 360 cid, tow package and rear air. Has never let us down. nly had to replace front bearings once at 69,000. Chronic squeaky brakes. Otherwise mechanically rock solid, but the interior trim is poor quality with seat foam degradation, door panels coming loose and trim screws loose or falling out all over the place. Rode hard when empty, smooth when full. Love the versatility, better than any SUV. It was invaluable when building my deck and toting big screen TVs home or for friends. One downside is youre always on the call list to help people move. Glad we had it, but now that the kids are grown, time to get a smaller vehicle.