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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  Dodge Neon ES - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By spartygirl - July 29 - 2:00 am

  My experience with this vehicle has been marginal at best. It is only 3 yrs old and has had steering column issues, power locks and windows failure (of course only front windows since the rear have no power at all!), other minor electrical prblems, and now needs a new AC compressor. Not something you would expect for a car with 50K miles and 3 yrs old. It also needed rear brake repairs at 20K. Admittedly fun to drive and has some pep, and nice looking, but I expect more out of a car - even if it is a Neon.

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  Can you say...JUNK!!!! - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Mechanic1 - July 27 - 11:23 pm

  Bought this heap because I have 3 kids. Had it back to the dealership more times than I care to count. Air- conditioning broke, key fobs, brakes, shifter, sliding doors broke for the umpteenth time. Radio broke, you name it it broke. I work for Chrysler and will never buy one again!!! I will but a Toyota and feel a lot safer. With junk like this, we will be bancrupt before long. Please do some research before buying this heap!

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  Never buy another chrysler product - 2003 Dodge Caravan
  By flanders - July 23 - 2:00 am

  Have been buying chrysler minivans since 1989. Last 2 models have had nothing but one tramsmission problem after another. Kids complain about stiff seats. Have to have the belt replaced too many times. Would not recommend to anyone until Chrylser decides to do something about its transmission problems.

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  GM sounds really good..... - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By stacy29 - July 21 - 2:00 am

  Started out as a great car with 24k. I now have to replace the rack and pinion, sway bar links, and struts. I have excessive tire wear on the front passenger side. Quote from dealership for the rack is $1200. This is, by far, the worst car I have ever owned. I come from a Dodge family, Chrysler would have to do a serious overhaul of its engineering dept. before I buy another.

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  Neons are the worst cars EVER! - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By Lynnette - July 18 - 2:00 am

  This has been a horrible car to own. I have stuck so much money into repairs. Two fuel pumps, overheating problems, two EGR valves, AIS motor, struts, and many others. It has broken down while I have been in the middle of moving twice. Im sure the fuel pump went out on it before I owned it. If you like spending money constantly on repairs get one. Otherwise do yourself a favor and buy something else.

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  Dont get suckered - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By N. Eon Hatreed - July 15 - 2:00 am

  -car is ~1yr old and has an avg. trade in $ of $5500.00 NOT GOOD($18K new!!! -poor CD player location -car has no power, expected -uses too much gas -lack luster styling

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  Durango looks great but a piece of junk - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By Ron Hart - July 11 - 2:00 am

  The machine falls aprt at 70K miles, new trans, re-sealed transfer case, and now a speed sensor, I think! Ill never buy a Dodge again.

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  NeoncoloredLEMON - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By nowahondadriver - July 9 - 2:00 am

  Off the lot was a piece of garbage. Went through 2 yrs of arb. w/ Chrysler eventually gave me a 75k warranty. More time in shop than in driveway. Clugging sound in suspension, head gasket blew, oil leaked first 2 months, seat cloth defective, bad accel. on automatic, trunk never stay open, blowout nearly killed me, funnel shaped gas tank, bad gas mileage, "alloy wheel" coating disintegrated, bad int. noise, deposit problem in choke and more. Got lucky, head gasket blew just b4 warranty expired so I sold it. Im still paying for the bad karma from its sale.

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  Dont repeat my mistake! - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By sirlordsoul - July 9 - 2:00 am

  A rip off! Dont buy this car. I bought mine new and have had an endless series of major repairs (oil leaks, the car computer, door handles coming loose, and the air conditioning -- TWICE!) over seven years. Whatever I "saved" in the relatively low purchase price has been taken away in repairs. And keep in mind that I kept up with ALL of the recommended maintenance. Now Im stuck with a lemon drawing its last breaths! Thank you very much Chrysler -- Im going to avoid your crappy product as long as I live! And they wonder why people dont like American cars ...

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  Lots of headaches - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Disappointed Dodge - July 7 - 11:00 am

  Have owned it for 14 months, listed below is what has gone wrong with it so far: 1) catalytic converter replaced 2) drifts/pulls to the right 3) sliding doors dont always shut (been to shop 3 times to get right). 4) replaced front brakes/rotors at 17,000 miles. Was told I am not the only one having that problem, Dodge came out with an upgrade kit that I had to buy for $400 to correct problem 5) two tires replaced (bad and cheap tires in my opinion). 6) radio had a bug, had to download upgraded software to fix 7) turn signals stay on unless you jiggle the handle couple of times.