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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  Unfortunate purchase - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By rostropovich - June 4 - 5:26 pm

  Ive had this car for almost 2 years, and have had problem after problem, regret upon regret. I have treated it like my firstborn, always hoping that after /this/ repair it will run well for a good long time, but no, not a chance. Got it for $2800 at 81000 miles, but put $4000 in repairs in the first year, including rotors, e-brake, sway bar links and bushings, control arm bushings, muffler, transmission mount, shifter cables, steering tie rod and lights. It never quite felt like it was driving nicely even after repairs. The story ends with the transmission failing. UNCLE!

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  Expensive repairs early - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By car_customer - May 18 - 11:58 am

  I love driving this car. I love the looks of the car, the feel of the car, the response of the car. However, I have had two very expensive repairs early in the cars life. I had to replace the entire instrument cluster at 54,000. The illumination system on the cluster went bad. That was $500. Dodge would not help. Then, at 64,000, the ENTIRE k-frame was found to be rusted through, rendering the car unsafe. Cost to repair was $1,400. Dodge would not help. There are 27 complaints on NHTSA for this same problem. This is a serious safety issue and Dodge will not acknowledge they have a problem. I know car parts are going to wear out. But these two parts are NOT typical repairs.

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  Bad Car! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By cardiqs - May 12 - 7:53 pm

  We purchased this car with 50K on it. It started to sound like a truck. Alternator clutch?! Here is the list. Alternator, Cracked Manifold, Battery, brakes, tires. light bulb 2xs. It started out dependable. Now it is sitting again, probably a 2nd alternator. It is a great car in the snow but dont push it. It will need something. Cant put a dog gate of any kind in the car due to the design. Open up the window in the rear without the front ones and the worst percussion noise ever occurs.

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  Postage stamp sized rear view - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By kovertoom - May 5 - 11:28 pm

  We bought the Dodge Journey because it was a great value, it was big enough for our family of six and it got better gas mileage than a mini van. The seats are very versatile, but with all seats up, the cars blind spot doubles. The rear-most seats combined with the middle seat, block more than half of the rear window and all of the side windows. And the middle seats are difficult to return to an upright position when someone has to get out from the back. The stow bins are so shallow and small that they are practically worthless. The car seats are not the most comfortable, mainly because the headrests are too far forward.

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  Great Concept. Bad build. Too heavy and sluggish. - 2008 Dodge Dakota
  By nclemons1985 - February 26 - 2:24 am

  I Loved Dakotas. I owned a 94 4WD 3.9L V6 Dakota. Really fun to drive. Great size. In 2004 I purchased a 2000 4.7L V8 4WD Dakota. I recently sold it with 170,000 miles. It still ran great. My favorite year for Dakotas. Last year I purchased a 2008 4WD Dakota with the 4.7L. I traded it in 4 months later for a new RAM. They upgraded the 4.7L to 302 hp yet it is slower than my 00 Dakota. The 08 is to heavy. Defeats the purpose of mid size or small size truck. The ground clearance is too low. The 4WD is stiff in addition the turning radius in 4WD is as bad as I have ever experienced in a truck. The truck is almost unbearable to drive off road. The suspension is too weak to carry the weight

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  Think again before buying this nightmare - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By estella2 - February 19 - 9:16 pm

  Dodge Stratus SE V6 2.7L. Bought this car in 2004 and within two years it needed a new transmission and battery. The battery is difficult to change yourself because its placed behind the driverside tire underneath the panel. The "recommended spark plugs" not so good, causes to many misfires. The anti-freeze reservior is of poor quality and needed replacing because it started to melt with the recommended antifreeze. The fule filter needed replacing twice. Very poor performance driving this car uphill not a lot of power uphill. With all the problems I had with this car I will never buy another dodge vehicle again.

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  Brand New Lemon - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By stacysmoon - January 21 - 11:53 pm

  At first this vehicle was easy on the eyes with an affordable Ralley appearance package. It was before I made my first payment that things started to decline. Initially, my tires were losing pressure quickly and then the front passenger tire blew on my way home from work. There are a lot of electronic issues with gas gage, dimmers, and lights. At 6100 miles engine malfunction indicator came on, defrosters/heaters stopped working, and engine overheated in -8 weather. Dealership states faulty thermostat and flush needed. Im not sure what else to expect in the future for my brand new car.

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  Good while it lasted - RIP my friend. - 2000 Dodge Caravan
  By wvuprof - December 27 - 8:48 pm

  Bought with 98k miles on it. Comfortable, easy to drive, no extraordinary maintenance or repair costs aside from new tires and regular oil changes for 2 yrs. At 136k miles, the transmission failed. I had it rebuilt, but other things started to go bad afterward (I dont believe these problems were caused by the mechanics during the rebuild). A small oil leak (not sure from where), a radiator hose blew out, washer sprayer quit, small stuff like that. Nickle and dime. A year later, the dashboard electric went out. No wipers, no speedometer, no fuel gauge. Despite the electrical problems and annoying glitches, the motor ran well. It was good while it lasted, but no more Dodges for me thanks.

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  Average at best - 1990 Dodge Shadow
  By pylon_johnson - December 18 - 3:28 pm

  I received what I thought was a cream puff...in 2003, I was given my grandmothers 1990 Dodge Shadow with only 27,000 miles on it to use as a second vehicle. Overall, it was pretty average and dull, though I will say it did get around very well in the snow. I had owned a 1991 Escort a few years ealier, and to compare the Shadow to the Escort, which were competing vehicles, the Escort blew it away. On the surface, the Shadow seemed better, with more horsepower, larger wheels, and more options, but where the Escort was peppy and fun to drive and great on gas, the Shadow was like driving a lawn mower, and was not very good on gas for a 4-cylinder with 93 hp.

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  Typical Dodge - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By bag2 - December 1 - 5:45 pm

  I rented one and wasnt impressed. It beats a Civic but not a Mazda 3