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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  Mechanical Problems - 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Unhappy sport - January 1 - 10:00 am

  Every 20000 needs front brakes, every 30,000 it needs rotors, At 60,000 new transmission, At 75,000 new ac system, belts and pulleys all replaced and starter at 70,000. To top it all off it still is not paid for. Never buy again.

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  Understand what you are buying. - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By MarkB - December 26 - 10:00 am

  Great vehicle for moving the family round, spacious & comfortable. Pity about the reliability. I bought it with 60K on the speedo and now its at 104K. I have had a blown head gasket, the A/C fail, starter & water pump replaced. This excludes recalls on the radiator fan relay, fuel tank seals etc. I was fortunate to have a warranty which covered most of the above. If you want something you can rely on, look else where.

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  Lemon - 2006 Dodge Magnum
  By Bjorn - December 23 - 2:58 am

  My SRT my car has spent more time in the shop than on the road. Dodge can not figure out why it wont start, theyll get it running then suddenly it wont start again. Handled and performs great when it runs. Being returned under the lemon law and no, I will not get another.

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  Beauty is only skin deep - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By Jim Adams - December 20 - 1:43 pm

  I bought my 99 Intrepid new expecting to have it for a long time. The engine siezed due to oil sludge before I hit 60,000 miles. The repair was very expensive and time consuming. Since replacing the engine I have had to replace numerous other components and I still havent gotten to 80,000 miles. I cant afford to sell it because of its reputation and depleted savings.

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  Intrepid SE - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By David - December 9 - 12:03 am

  Fun is where you find it. For a car of this size, the initial acceleration from a stationary position upto town driving speeds is enough to embarass quite a lot of boy-racers without taxing th. The V6 isnt especially powerful but, for a V6, is reasonably economical. The gearbox is well suited to the engine, actually using some of the engine rev range rather than just cruising or screaming like a lot of other automatic gearboxes tend to do. The size of the car, with its armchair seats, its air-con and soft suspension makes for a very comfortable ride, even on the rutted Seattle highways. Dont go too fast round a corner though - you might have to reverse back and pick up your wing mirrors.

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  My Car - 1993 Dodge Dynasty
  By Deborah - December 8 - 12:39 am

  I have really enjoyed onwing my Dodge Dynasty. It has given me many years of pleasures, and very low maintance. I have driven it across country twice and not one bit of trouble.

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  Disappointing experience - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Eric - December 4 - 2:40 pm

  Overall, a missed opportunity for Dodge to come up with a great truck. Paint and interior holding up well. Nice ergonomics in passenger compartment. Good size for work/commuter truck, but build quality too poor to recommend. Cab leaked through rear weld (fixed a couple of times under warranty, then on my dime), water pump went out, AC drain poorly designed causing condensate to drain into passenger compartment. Most significant were front end problems. Upper and lower ball joints replaced twice, now have replaced front steering mechanism. DC customer service non- existent. Fuel mileage acceptable on hwy, poor in town. I wont be looking at DC vehicles again, based on this experience.

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  a poor excuse for a 2000 model car - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By Tlc - November 30 - 2:00 am

  This car has been a lemon from the start. Started out being a check engine light that they could not find the problem for. Finally taken to another service dept in another county only to find out that there was sludge in the engine. Considering that I had the oil changed app every 2-3 I was pissed. I feel that chrysler really messed up this time. i wont ever purchase another one.

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  Not my best purchase - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By cfmeme - November 18 - 11:10 pm

  I an the only owner and I have put in a new motor and 2 transmissions,and many other major repairs. The van looks good but not dependable.

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  2.7 Engine-Watch out - 2001 Dodge Intrepid
  By stackumup - November 18 - 3:23 am

  I really did like my Intrepid but as many others have experienced the 2.7 Engine started to flutter when accelerating, then a ping, next a knock, and then advice from my mechanic-after a temporary 300+ fix was to get rid of it ASAP. They said I was one of the lucky ones to get 99K on it but it would not last much longer-these engines have blown at 15k and Dodge blames poor maintenance-BS- and wont cover it-I am amazed no lawsuits have been filed