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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  Heater Core Needs a recall - 2012 Dodge Avenger
  By Frank - December 5 - 1:42 pm

  This car performs well. There are a few things that needs to be address before the avenger can be a really neat ride. The Heater core seems to be a major issue with this vehicle. Especially if you live in cold areas. The Heater only blows warm air on the driver side of the vehicle and cold air on the passenger side. Dodge is well aware of this issue but has not done a recall on this placing the cost to repair this problem onto the consumer. Even then there is no assurance this problem will not return since the problem is in the faulty part. The cost can be anywhere from $900 to $1300 to repair depending on your area mechanics. Cold air in the winter renders this vehicle useless during the winter season. My vehicle is currently parked now and I am seriously consider trading this vehicle in for another one. Mostly because I refuse to pay to fix something that is flawed and Dodge knows that it is. Making you feel like you purchased a lemon. Not right Dodge, not right... I need a vehicle I can drive year round and not for 6 or 7 months out of the year. In Kansas it has really cool down in the temps. So its looking like this vehicle will be parked November- March, and thats if the weather is not crazy cold in March. So with that said I encourage anyone having issues with their heating system in their dodge avenger to speak up and be heard. Not sure what it will take to make Dodge do a recall on this issue. For me, Ill be looking to trade this vehicle in if Dodge refuse to act by January.. Maybe someone in Florida or LA can use a ride that cools pretty well in the summer months, but they better not take a trip up North during the Fall.

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  Viper RT/10 - 1994 Dodge Viper
  By Joey - December 5 - 1:06 pm

  Only buy if youre looking for a fast, collectable, low production number vehicle. This is a bare bones street legal race car! Enjoy!

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  Great car fun toy - 2015 Dodge Challenger
  By Danny Milillo - December 5 - 7:38 am

  Hats off Dodge this car is just fun to drive and looks great mine may not be a Hellcat or R/T its still has that 70 s fun factor with modern ride and handling . Great car thanks Dodge.

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  rt classic auto - 2014 Dodge Challenger
  By t grobsmith - December 4 - 11:57 am

  Have owned my RT classic for three years and have over 9,000 miles on it. The car is great looking black with red side stripe. Rides very comfortably and I average 27 mpg highway at 70 to75 mph. The 5.7 motor also runs on regular gas as apposed to the larger motors that require premium gas. The interior is very good quality, red and black leather. The dash board some complain about being out dated, but looks similar to the original 70s. As I wanted to stay looking like the 70 challenger I went with the classic with the polished mags , and dont mind the older style dash. Car runs great goes when you want it to and can be used as a every day driver. Only complaint is the exhaust isnt load enough.

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  Awesome, reliable car! - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By Dave - December 1 - 8:09 pm

  This car has been awesome. Bought it 8 years ago with 99,000 miles. It now has 186,00 miles on. Unfortunately, it is now hit the end of the road. Motor and tranny are still strong, but as a northern car previously, it is rusting out. Sad to see it go. Love this car. It has been so reliable. Very little maintenance. Replaced the rear brake calibers and emergency brake cable after we got it. That was the most work we put into it. Will probably replace it with another Stratus.

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  dodge journey - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By Jen g - December 1 - 6:41 am

  I have had my journey for a month now brought with 30,000 miles. Have not had any problems with it others then its a 4 cylinder so take off is like a old lady running after a bus with a walker lol other than that and my music from my phone like Pandora wont play without an axillary cord its such a shame I wont keep this long about a year and Im moving on to the car I wanted. Its a nice SUV all the bells and whistles its just a dodge there not built to last long

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  Honest Opinion - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Vinh - November 30 - 10:01 am

  Overall this car has served me well. I bought it brand new back in highschool ,in 2004 for 11k thats including taxes. When I first got it the O2 sensor needed to be replace which isnt a good sign around 20k. Luckily it was still under warranty. Since then there has been no major issues until now but right now at 220k its expected. At the moment, the reverse cable probably has to be replaced or at least one of the pins or bushing. The drive shaft also needs to be replaced which is normal for the a vehicle with the amount of mileage this car has. Both issues occurred around 219-220k. I had to replace the CAM sensor at 110k and oil switch at 185k. Changed the battery twice .Other than that no major issues. I have drove this car from -CA-TX-MT and CA-FL with no problems. I hit a deer at 40mph with only hood, fender, bumper damage, but nothing was damaged under the hood. The car gets good MPG on the highway but not too good mpg for its class in the city. I usually get between 35-44 on the highway and 25-29 in the city. Since its high mileage the values have been 25/35 unless I go on a long distance trip. The interior looks good the only thing a bit worn out is the arm rest and front driver seat.Acceleration and handling is also good and I do like the tow capacity this vehicle has. Overall I got my moneys worth but at this point its time to move on.

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  Love that RT - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By Wobe2002 - November 30 - 5:21 am

  Bought it in 2011 w/ 56,000 miles on it, never needed more than regular maintenance on it. Gas mileage leaves a lot to be desired but hey, its a 5.9 L V8, what really do you expect? Inside and out its a real looker w/ great performance. Luxury inside and out. Great safety rating as I can attest to, not much can be said for the Toyota Corolla. Still drive it today as a daily driver w/ absolutely no problems up steep hills in deep snow, also no problems pulling a 33 camper up steep hills. All around great vehicle as many other 4x4s will tell you after being pulled out of the snow.

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  Durango R/T AWD does everything! - 2015 Dodge Durango
  By Patrick Krook - November 29 - 1:38 am

  We were looking for a family hauler that had a luxury sport presence, also fitting to drive clients around in. This beauty does it all. Handled the 16" blizzard with gusto in regular AWD or 4Lo. Electronics are intuitive, and can be customized to your liking, from full on "nanny" to utterly silent. Handles two iPhones in the car at the same time without issue, Bluetooth phone or USB media input. Built in Detroit, fit and finish rivals anything out of Germany or Japan. Looked at an Audi Q7, cost $10k more equally equipped and the regular maintenance would be four times as much. Ill update this as well continue to drive and enjoy!

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  Alternator and PCM failure 2011 Dodge Durango - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By Mayra L - November 27 - 9:39 pm

  2011 Dodge Durango the alternator and PCM go out and they did not cover under recall. All of these Dodge vehicles need to be covered regardless of amps. I will never buy Dodge again!!!!