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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  Money Pit - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Wm T Vadney - September 18 - 5:13 pm

  Wonderful concept & design, if it was done right! Seems they put a truck chassis on a Neon body. Bought used in 2003. 1st year, ball joints & steering rack replaced @ 41,000 mis, (a common problem they said-steering still wobbly) & brake caliper bushings. ($1,100.00)-2nd year, ball joints again (recall) Now the transmission is gone. ($1200.00 - $2000.00) I figured a truck would be heavy duty. Ram tough my eye. Great design but the system that runs it is terrible. If it cant go it may as well be just an expensive lawn ornament. Even more deplorable is the Chryslers "sorry your disappointed" response and no action to keep a customer. Repairs paid more than paid on loan so far.

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  Great Grand Caravan - 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Eversole - September 18 - 10:00 am

  I spent the last several months window shopping for minivans on the internet, and my wife has recently visited the various dealerships, looking at the Windstar, Sienna, Odyssey, and the Grand Caravan. The selling point for the Grand Caravan is that the price is a couple thousand below comparable models, and the ride, general comfort, and power of the Grand Caravan is generally superior to the other minivans. We went out and bought the Grand Caravan (with only 7 miles on it), and added on the Added Care additional warranty. So far, this minivan has exceeded our expectations, and is a lot of fun to drive.

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  Take it to the Junk Yard - 1996 Dodge Avenger
  By JO - September 16 - 6:43 pm

  Bought the car new, hated it within 2 years, I finally had enough after 9.5 years and only 70,000 miles. Repalced tranny after 3 years and 30,000, it is going again. O2 sensor light on constantly for past 4 years, replaced virtualy every sensor including $600 part of manifold. Pieces of the door panel starting breaking off 2 years ago. Struts, ball joints and bushings gone at 50,000. Rack and Pinion gone at 60,000. Final straw, the control arm snapped, droping the car, mechanic suggested getting rid of car quickly, it is literally rotting away.

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  Should have asked a driver part 2 - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Acajin - September 15 - 9:00 pm

  My original review was on Jan2/09. To date this has been a good vehicle. It performed great during our northern winters and now has 14,000Km on it. The only problems so far (besides my original review) is the panic alarm has gone off a few times when I use the key fob to unlock the doors. You need to manualy use the key to enter the vehicle and start the car to turn the alarm off. Very annoying for the neighbors at 4:30 am. This is a fun vehicle to drive and is very quiet. No defects other than what I have mentioned. Reliability is excellent. Im getting ready to leave on a 5000Km trip. Gas mileage could be better, the best I got was 8.9L/100km on highway (with the air conditioning off).

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  Excellant Vehicle - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By Barbara - September 15 - 6:18 pm

  I found the Dodge Durango to be a very reliable vehicle. I enjoy its comfortable interior design. Its also alot of fun to drive.

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  Durango SLT Hemi - 2006 Dodge Durango
  By blane - September 15 - 4:25 pm

  Analyzed the difference in mileage between the Durango Hemi 2WD vs. the Tribute 2WD we owned. Based on our actual experience, over a 2000 mile trip at $3.00 per gallon, we would pay approximately $35.00 more to drive the Durango. More room, more power, improved interior services such as third row seating and rear heat/ac controls. Bang for buck, the Durango is larger, quieter, stronger, more powerful. Only a slight increase in insurance coverage ($5.00/mo.) over the Tribute. $390 more for fuel on an annual basis. I think its worth the price for the increased safety, comfort and carrying capacity. Point of clarification, we own the 2005 Durango SLT 2WD with the Hemi engine. Thanks.

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  Best car for the money - 2006 Dodge Viper
  By TM - September 15 - 11:58 am

  The Viper (this is my third) is the most powerful driving experience on the road. Even if there are faster cars out there, there is nothing more powerful. The torque and horsepower combination make it easy to drive around town without any effort, and then explode down the road at the first sign of daylight. Get one and I promise you will NEVER regret it.

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  Very Happy with Redesign - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By PWOLF - September 15 - 10:00 am

  I had a 2000 Durango prior to this ans I am very pleased with the changes. The ride is very quiet and comfortable. A lot of the features make it very convenient. Split seating in the third row is a great option, car is much roomier than the previous model. I looked at a lot of different SUVs for about a year, the feature to price ratio is by far the best in the Durango. Got the Big engine as well. Yeah, its got a HEMI. Be careful, youll be going 85 before you know it and it feels like 50, engine feels like it is idling at that speed. Very Quiet. I think Dodge has a winner, by far the biggest bang for your buck in the new SUV market.

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  Dont buy it! - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By Dave - September 15 - 1:07 am

  Can we say Lemon? I have never felt a worse vibration in my life. After 27 days in service and five attempts to fix, the dealership said "they all do it". DaimlerChrysler has agreed to give me full purchase price back and is allowing me to carry my rebates over to an 06 Chrysler 300. I wanted a mid-sized truck, but I am giving up. If you do buy, be prepared to vibrate. Some are worse than others, but we drove six new ones on the lot and they all did it to some extent. Mine was the worst the service department had seen, but they have had several others return with the same problem. They think it is the frame design but who knows.

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  bang for the buck Rush!! - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By handling guy - September 14 - 7:50 pm

  I finaly went out and drove the SRT-4 yesterday and was more than pleasantly supprised. Understeer was very minimal with considerable wheelspin on slower corners. But when I expected understeer the car clung to its line and glided exactly where I wanted it. High speed cornering was a little less impresive with the car seeming to wobble around and not want to keep a set but overall balance was excellent for a car in this class. Compared to the nissan spec-V the dodge has much less understeer on slower cornering and accelerated with a punch that the nissan didnt have. However on the high speed corners the SER seemed more set and planted at the limit. all in all I had a smile on my face.