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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  1995 Dakota SLT Automatic with OD 3.9 - 1995 Dodge Dakota
  By stlramsfan - November 28 - 11:19 pm

  I got this truck about three weeks ago and I think it all ready deserves a good review. I got this truck from a friend of my grandpa, his grandson had busted out the cab glass and passenger side window, so he decided that he would give it to me for free questioning if it still runs. It had sat for two years, so I pulled it home, hooked up a battery not expecting anything but trouble and to my surprise with two year old gas it fired right up. Ive now drove it about 700 miles, and can say there are no problems with 189,000 miles on it. I can say it gets about 20 in town 25+ on the highway, I have either 323/355 gears the owners manual didnt give the exact gears but it has plenty of power.

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  Interior lights wont shut off automatically - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By 2012blkcharger - November 27 - 10:21 pm

  Lately when I crank my car all of the interior door lights in both the front and back will remain on. Ive checked to make sure that all doors are shut tight. Ive also checked to ensure that the roll light button control wasnt accidentally turned on. To make matters worse the only way that i can turn off the interior door lights is to individually press each light to switch them off. So literally I have to pull over and get out of my car and walk to the rear seats and passenger seats to press the light fixtures to off. Ive owned many vehicles in my 29 years and have never experienced such a problem. Any suggestions?

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  2013 AWD Citadel - 2013 Dodge Durango
  By larod55 - November 25 - 8:50 am

  I have put about 1200 miles on this vehicle. About 400 of those miles were used to to tow a 17 bass boat through the Ozark moutains.I can find nothing to complain about. Plenty of power when I needed it.

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  I must have the exception... - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By wilddaisy - November 21 - 2:58 pm

  I bought my Durango brand new in 2000. LOVED it for the most part. Routine oil changes and maintenance, ran great. After 100k miles, replaced water pump, heater core, radiator, transmission, fuel pump, catalytic converter, and multiple sensors. In 2008 found out it had major issues with wires corroding in wiring harness (reason for blowing sensors). Spent $2500 for temp fix (permanent fix $5000 plus labor) Chrysler told me this was common in the Durango but not enough for a recall. Just changed the alternator this week and still have lots of computer issues. It only has 157k miles on it now....Am beginning to despise it. Think its time to let it die and get something new Im afraid

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  Perfect car - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By raypierce - November 18 - 9:52 am

  This is a great little car. The dirty little secret is that the Stratus R/T coupe is built on the Eclipse GTS platform. So you get the American muscle body lines, with the Japanese reliability. I bought this car used at 100K miles, and it now has 210K miles with 0 problems. These are really built rock solid. Performance is also great and the suspension is a lot beefier than the eclipse. Please note, that these cars are completely different from the sedans. Which were built by Dodge. The only downside is that these cars are very rare. If you want a Stratus R/T coupe in manual....you are going to have a hard time finding one, since according to Dodge they built only 750 of these per year.

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  1 1/2 years later I still love it - 2011 Dodge Avenger
  By zones9 - November 15 - 10:18 am

  I have owned many dodge vehicles in my life time but this has to be the best for the dollar. I purchased mine in March of 11 the mainstreet heat series. I was at the dealership getting my Jeep serviced (vehicle that I HATED) when I saw the truck pull in with my Avenger on it...BlackBerry Pearl..she was pretty. Took a different color out for a test drive because that one wasnt even in the system yet and was super impressed!!! I went back after thinking about it and got the one I wanted! The list of features on this vehicle has no end therefore trying to "trade up" for the price becomes very hard to do! Love my climate control. Was very disappointed that dodge knocked down the 2012 model

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  I made a good choice! - 2012 Dodge Challenger
  By kakonegro - November 10 - 8:19 am

  I came from a 2004 BMW 325i to this 2012 Challenger SXT. I had in mind The Focus, 2013 Ultima, or Buick Verano. Roads are saturated with Mustands and Camaros. Some pulled behind me on my BMW and looked through the rear view mirror and saw the Challengers headlight its grill, it looked intimidating, aggressive and from there I felt in love and wanting one. It gives me good gas millage better then the BMW. Works great for daily driving (I was told that the comfort concept was of the 300C). Nice trunk size. In the cabin a lot organizing compartments. I have it all blackout. It looks bad ass. ast. If I was wealthy I would buy two. One for collection and the other one for everyday

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  worst car ever owned - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By moose5506 - November 7 - 7:46 pm

  This has been the worst 18 months of my driving life! I have had my third set of brakes just put on my car...I have 21,000 miles! I have had my radio replaced, I have random transmission shifts, no acceleration, and crappy tires! I have had my car into the shop NINE times in 18 months! I am always on the phone with the complaint line, and no one gives a crap about me or the crappy car! When my brakes fail, and I kill someone, I hope the people at Dodge are happy! I was told to talk to the owner of the dealer where I bought it....like that will do any good! ITs just horrible!

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  Best Blend of Performance and Size - 2012 Dodge Journey
  By lightaddict08 - November 7 - 3:01 pm

  2012 3.6L Crew AWD w/Heated Seats. Although I do work for Chrysler I found the Journey to be the best choice for my lifestyle. As a young adult I was looking for something sporty, but cargo space was a must after my previous coupe. Looking for a blend of fuel economy, performance, and interior space the 3.6L AWD Journey fit the bill perfectly. Coming from a 5.7L F-Body I was very pleased with the acceleration and handling the Journey offered with much better fuel economy. Additionally I am now able to fit a whole bedroom furniture set in the back. The dynamics of the vehicle hold the tires firm to the ground even in the tightest turns. Overall I am very pleased with the vehicle.

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  Fairly new 05 dodge neon sxt owner - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By cochenour94 - November 7 - 9:44 am

  I got this car from a buy here pay here lot for upwards of $6,000. My parents put some money down on it for me & I am currently paying $290 a month for it. I am the 2nd owner of this car & got it with barely 80,000 miles on it. Its great on gas, but Im at the pump more than I want to be b/c of the size of the tank. I love the car b/c its the perfect size for me & easy to drive. After a couple of months, things started going wrong. My parents did not get a car fax & I quickly realized there was no horn assembly, the battery died, a part failure caused 50% loss of the brakes, the tires have never been replaced, the engine light comes on and the car jolts and the timing belt needed replaced.