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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  Unhappy Consumer - 2004 Dodge Caravan
  By Unhappy customer - January 29 - 3:55 pm

  I am overjoyed today as I just traded in my mini-van (at a loss of 4500) for another vehicle. I had the van for 2 years and in that time had the brakes replaced twice and now the power steering was going out on it. Spark plugs had to be replaced twice and the vehicle just did not drive very well at all. The cloth interior was not very kid friendly. The mileage was okay. I was also concerned about the vehicle breaking down. The seatbelts never fit my children"s booster seats very securely.

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  Scared Me - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By John - January 27 - 12:46 pm

  This truck had a road hop that I couldnt overcome.Living on back roads,going up hills it would start to wheel hop either right or left. At interstate speeds, the steering was strange, it would drift and a slight adjustment at times would over correct and scare the heck out of me. I had a 93 Dakota and never had these problems with that truck.

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  We all make mistakes... - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By Disappointed - January 17 - 6:27 pm

  Bought this car used in July of 05 with 90,000 miles. Looked sharp, interior was good. Engine was a disaster. Oil pressure sending unit was bad, engine burned oil (1 qt. every 1000 miles), had to do extensive engine work 3 months later, and now a valve has blown, throwing off timing and other things. No longer driveable getting a salvage/rebuilt engine for these cars is difficult to the apparent very high demand for replacement engines. Expensive, too. It looks pretty, but I can get lawn ornaments for much cheaper somewhere else. It died at almost 116000, but from what I hear, thats pretty long-lived for an Intrepid.

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  This thing is SLOW!!! - 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By tireburner1997 - January 14 - 9:48 pm

  Great for hauling stuff around and and pulling a 12 foot boat around. you can cram a lat of people in it and it is SUPER reliable we got it with 78000 mile and it now has 123000 and nothing has gone wrong with it.

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  Average, Had some problems - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By sgtbrobertsipd - January 12 - 8:56 am

  Purchased a Caliber for my wife in April. Looks decent on the outside, interior leaves a little to be desired. Several times the check engine light came on, ended up being some air/fuel sensor that blew almost on a weekly basis. When it did, the gas mileage went from 30MPG to literally about 8MPG. That was a pain the butt with gas prices. Dodge took care of it, no questions asked. The only other problem we have noticed is the gas pedal is a little sensative. When you push it, there is either a delay or it guns it. With my wife being pregnant, that can be annoying when it jerks her.

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  The Mini-bus - 2000 Dodge Ram Wagon
  By The Web - January 11 - 2:00 am

  The vehicle is just the right size for our family of 7. It has taken us on trips w/ lots of luggage & performed well ... until lately. A bearing sheared in the transaxle & the A/C compressor went out. It had right at 50K miles on it at the time & cost me about $2500 to fix. Neither of these repairs should be seen in the first 100K in my opinion, much less at 50K. Forgot to mention the front end has a problem w/ wearing out shocks & bushings. Am not impressed w/ the quality of van overall, but hopefully we have seen the worst.

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  Intrepid - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By J B Leabhart - January 11 - 2:00 am

  Transmission does not hold up well. The brakes have to be replaced more often than on some other cars that I have had. Would not recommend the dealer for service or repairs. To many errors.

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  Stratus RT 2dr coupe - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Gregory Pappas - January 8 - 6:04 pm

  After the 36,000 mile warranty expired it had 10 problems including motor mount, air pressure engine sensor, trottle position sensor, starter motor, cam belt tensioner, 3 gear syncro, 5th gear synchro, A/C, battery, electric rear view mirror (twice), before reaching 66,000 miles. The front brake pads and clutch ($1,400) were replaced due to wear. I am 59 years old and drive mostly highway miles. This car has had more problems than the combined problems of the previous 6 Chrysler product cars I have owned over a 24 year period.

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  Own it, but dont care for it - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By car - January 4 - 7:32 pm

  The Dodge Stratus is a nice car, but when it comes to it being the all around vehicle I wouldnt own another one. And trust me its no fun climbing out of your own vehicle anymore. I should have bought a truck.

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  Replacing Tran part of reg maintainance - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Darcy Kallus - January 1 - 10:00 am

  This car has been a real family friend and I would love it if I didnt have to replace the transmission every other year. This is my 3rd Dodge Caravan and I will never purchase one again. If your drink splashes or spills in the cup holder, be sure that the cds in cd holder will get soaked. Too bad I cant afford to keep repairing everything and the gas mileage. Id keep the car if it werent for those problems. If I ever get another minivan, which I probably will, it wont be American. What a shame.