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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  Do Not Buy This Car - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By stacysmoon - March 8 - 6:40 am

  I bought this new car because I wanted reliability as my last car was ten-years-old and I have a new baby. Since I purchased it a tire blew, the electrical has issues, the thermostat was faulty causing me to be overheated and stranded, the hose connecting the radiator is deterioating and leaking red coolant, and who knows what will happen next. I have had it six months and have been in the shop every month since. If you have money to waste this car is pretty enough, but dont rely on it it work.

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  I would buy elsewhere if I were you. - 2014 Dodge Dart
  By rmeese5 - February 17 - 11:52 am

  There are not enough characters allowed on this to describe my distain for this vehicle. Engine malfunction light came on in 200 miles. It is a faulting oil pressure sensor, they replaced and the light is still coming on. They are waiting for a software update that they "hope" will fix the problem. Computer sometimes prohibits the car from accelerating over 4000 rpms. No fix. They dont know what is wrong. Again hope for a software fix. This is a real safety concern to me. In cold weather the battery light dings and flashes on the dash annoyingly, again they hope a software updated can fix it.. We are now going through the lemon law process. I refuse to pay over $18k for a broken new car.

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  What a lemon - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By natpat1 - January 27 - 5:18 pm

  I have 27,000 miles on the car and the engine is being replaced. The engine light came on for no reason and the dealer couldnt find anything wrong with it. Shifting is the worse. I thought it would settle in, but sometimes you dont even know the gear you are about to shift into. You get lost. I cant put a regular car mat down on the driver side because the shift pedal catches the mat. The service departments are really there to go above and beyond the normal problems. They have had my car for on month and want me to pay 10 days or more on a rental, while Im payinng the car note and insurance on a car I cant drive because they are so slow in fixing it. Customer Care gets no where

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  My first car, lemon - 1997 Dodge Intrepid
  By carnube - January 12 - 5:07 pm

  I bought this car used in 2010. I dont remember the exact millage but I believe it was over 150XXX. The AC didnt work, the turn radius was horrible, and there was a cassette stuck in the cassette player. I used to ask my passengers to try to get out for fun. 7 months after I bought it, it started overheating, got stuck on the side of the road a couple times. Had to replace the radiator and it cost about $500. Month later, the transmission went and I decided to junk it.

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  Not what I thought it would be - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By duster29 - September 27 - 9:35 pm

  I just wanted to say I have always been a mopar fan... I am a proud owner of a 71 duster... When I saw the new Dart I knew it was a car I wanted to buy... So I did... The first 6 months the car was everything I hoped it would be and more.... But after I reached 20,000 miles on my car I have had numerous problems with it.... The radio screen give a bright white flash and and shuts off then reboots atleast once a week and the dealer has tried to fix it once... The clutch sensor has failed three times and now the engine is shuttering so badd it feels like Im driving on a blown tire... Each time I turn the car in it takes anywhere from 7 to 14 days to get it fixed...

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  I HATE THIS CAR!!!!!! - 1998 Dodge Stratus
  By cj95 - September 20 - 5:43 am

  my stepbrother has owned a 98 for about a year and is constantly bringing it to me asking me to fix this and that, the things rides like a hotwheels on concrete, you can feel every bump in the road, and when you hit the throttle first of all, it feels like your going no where and second the pathetic, noisy 4 cyl can wake the dead! I hate dodge! Ford all the way!

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  Run. Run hard, run fast. - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By gxbrxnth - September 16 - 9:50 pm

  This car is a nightmare. Overheating, electrical issues, I swear this car has a mind of its own. It chugs gas, eats brakes, decides if it wants to accelerate or not, and what is so bad about downshifting? You have to jam the gas pedal into the floorboard, and maybe then (and thats a very strong maybe) it will start to pick up speed. I am not sure what Ill have to do to get out of this car, but at this point, any risk is worth it.

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  JUST BAD - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By jack246 - August 22 - 3:19 pm

  OK I bought this vehicle for my wife and it has been in the shop 4 times in 5 months. 1 started on its own and ran all day in the parking lot using a tank of fuel 2 AC will come on by itself 3 doors wont unlock 4 wont start (at the dealers when they said it was ready) I took it to the dealer to be fixed and they finally just said "it must have a ghost" I ended up getting rid of the thing with only 5000 miles on it. this is my 5th Dodge that I own. 2 Durangos, 1 Ram, and a Challenger. then this thing. I called the complaint line and they just said SORRY. after spending around $100,000 total for all the Dodges I bought I thought that they would help me out.

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  Glad I leased it - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By checkfirst - August 4 - 12:23 pm

  Worst vehicle Ive operated. I am only happy I leased it and didnt have to keep it. Bad news was I broke my lease early because it was in the shop for major repairs too often, LEMON. New brakes and rotors after 9500 miles, really. Check engine light twice came on for camshaft issues, really. The last and final time before trading it in was it lost one of the cylinders...REALLY! Too many major problems for this SUV as well as the poor fit and finish of exterior panels. Cut my finger on the rear door edge plate. I had to sand it smooth so not to do it again. Traded after only 28 months and less than 23,000 miles. Very happy w/my new 2013 Toyota Rav4.

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  Disappointed - 2006 Dodge Dakota
  By proquestioner - August 3 - 1:03 am

  Owned the 4.7 V8 Magnum version of this vehicle for three years. During that time, we poured $8000 in repairs alone into it. We should have bailed ship at the first sign of trouble. Money pit. Rust issues and strange structural issues galore. Other than that, it was a great truck for hauling around nearly a ton of stuff and a daily commuter. Comfortable, simple clean design interior with nice Alpine stereo. 4x4 really came in handy during winter and extreme rains. V8 was responsive and sturdy. Took a massive loss with this vehicle though. Wouldnt recommend this particular year for the issues associated with it. Check owner forums to determine a good year to buy.