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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  Horrific Brakes / Cheap Interior - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By Steveman - November 19 - 3:52 pm

  The truck has been back to the dealer 5 times for the brakes. They have replaced the front rotors twice, but re-surfaced (worthless) them the other 3 times. Every time they treat me like Ive been abusing the brakes, and theyre doing me a favor by fixing them again. Ive called DCs 800 number, and theyre worthless, referring me back to the dealer. For the record, Ive never even made a panic stop with the truck. I try to "baby" the brakes at all times. For the record, Im a Kenworth owner/operator, pulling very heavy loads daily, and know more than the average driver about "saving brakes". Ill never own another Chrysler product. This is the 2nd time Ive been burned by them.

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  Great Car - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Wolfman in AL - November 19 - 10:00 am

  This is an exceptionally FUN car to drive!! It does handle like a sports car. I have put 11K miles on it in 4 1/2 months, and have had NO problems, most of this is Hi-way driving at 75+MPH and Im getting aprox 27+MPG. The interior is well laid out and has great ergonomics. The road noise at hi- way speeds is a little loud (but the stereo makes it disappear ;) ). Overall GREAT CAR

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  What an SUV should be! - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By MIGY - November 19 - 10:00 am

  Powerful, fun to drive really roomy and has everything you should expect from an SUV. Wish gas mileage was better but you have to pay the price for power.

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  Great Vehicle, Great Price - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By Joe in Tucson - November 19 - 10:00 am

  We looked around and considered a new Dakota to replace the 92; then my wife saw the Durango and drove it. It was love at first site; she says this is the most delightful vehicle shes ever owned. Plenty of power and room, comfortable to drive. Very smooth shifting, enough creature comforts, appears to be well built. The $4500 incentive doesnt hurt either! Overall a great SUV ended up being too close in price to the Dakota to NOT go with the Durango.

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  Not my best purchase - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By cfmeme - November 18 - 11:10 pm

  I an the only owner and I have put in a new motor and 2 transmissions,and many other major repairs. The van looks good but not dependable.

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  2.7 Engine-Watch out - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By stackumup - November 18 - 3:23 am

  I really did like my Intrepid but as many others have experienced the 2.7 Engine started to flutter when accelerating, then a ping, next a knock, and then advice from my mechanic-after a temporary 300+ fix was to get rid of it ASAP. They said I was one of the lucky ones to get 99K on it but it would not last much longer-these engines have blown at 15k and Dodge blames poor maintenance-BS- and wont cover it-I am amazed no lawsuits have been filed

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  Suprised - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By iggy - November 17 - 10:20 pm

  Was suprised at the performance of the Neon. The fact that the rear windows arent power doesnt bother me at all because I have a little one that could hit the down button a lot easier then she could roll one down manually. As far as gas mileage goes, I probably average 30 mpg and I drive more city than hwy, doing almost 3000 miles a month. For a nice car, but low payment, a Neon is well worth it.

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  Stratus V6 sedan - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By chuck diggs - November 17 - 4:24 pm

  Have some brake issues such as warped rotors and a little shakey on stops. Other than that the car has been a good car with no other problems.

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  2006 Dodge Magnum Hemi - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By Michael - November 16 - 1:14 pm

  Fastest vehicle on the road today besides the Charger RT Hemi. I have both cars and this one handles as good as the Charger. The Mercedez, BMW, the stang, Nissan, or any other car on the road cannot match this car or the Charger for performance, style, speed, or quality... Ive tested all of the above and more and these two cars are the Kings of the road... I blew a vette and 2 stangs off the road and as far as the Mercedez goes, no challenge...

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  Severe Braking And Engineering flaws - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By Mike - November 16 - 9:34 am

  This vehicle has sever braking issues which is a direct cause of poor engineering. Chrylser still has no resolution to this problem as of yet. There are dozens and dozens of documented cases of the same problems with most or all of the 05 models. Until something is done to remedy this, and the transmission problems, and the engine idle problems, and the airbag issues, I would NOT suggest that anyone buy one of these trucks. The consumer is getting screwed big time with this truck. And take this from a die hard Mopar nut, who owns 8 Chrylser products. I STRONGLY discourage ANYONE from buying this truck.