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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  Best car ever owned! - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By chris - April 2 - 1:59 pm

  This car is good looking, reliable and tough...and Ive owned many cars. I expect alot from my vehicles and I drive them hard. My Stratus SE has never given me any problems and its currently at 85,000 miles!! I recently had the original brake pads replaced and new tires all around (third set of tires since new), those are the only things that needed to be replaced. Very easy on the wallet car. I highly recommend this vehicle! Happy motoring.

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  Not worth it - 2005 Dodge Stratus
  By Willaim - April 1 - 5:22 pm

  I wouldnt recommend this vehicle. I purchased mine in nov 04 and have had problems with the brakes, windshield leaking, car stalling, and the engine. The car is very noisy and the engine makes all kinds of funny sounds that the dealership keeps rubbing off as wind noise. Had to have my windshield resealed and the brakes are very loud. Now the car acts like it wants to stall in idle and its an automatic transmission. I have recently purchased a Camry to replace it. Im almost willing to let the bank repossess the car, so what does that tell you? Definately not worth your time and money.

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  Rocket ship - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By John - April 1 - 12:11 pm

  This car is so fast and fun I am suprised it is legal! I bought it in October of 04 with 4k miles on it. In the 5 months that I have had it I have put on 18000 miles without any problems. Even with all the performance I still get an average of 28 mpg. Everyone that has ridden in the SRT4 has been super impressed with the performance. The interior is quiet, comfortable and super supportive. The handling is good, the performance is awesome and the gas mileage is good and the stock stereo sounds pretty good too. What more could you ask for!

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  This car is garbage! - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By unhappy customer - April 1 - 7:30 am

  Bought this car because of its safety record to replace 10 year old Ford. Its been a big disappointment from day one. Ignition and gear shift replaced within 2 months after numerous complaints of both getting stuck. Air conditioning repaired twice in less than 2 years. Power steering hose replaced at 1 month. Knocking coming from drivers side door repaired after 3 complaints. Front brakes replaced at 11,800 miles. Rear brakes replaced at 19,000 miles. Car serviced for numerous rrts. Car going back to the shop tomorrow to check and hopefully repair 2 separate noises that have been complained about already and not repaired. Customer service reps say what is "written" in the manual-gets you nowhere.

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  Me & My Dodge - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By plegal_101 - March 31 - 6:23 pm

  I was going to write a review weeks after I got my car, but decided that wouldnt be the right thing to do because I hadnt "broken it in" by then. So now I write almost 3 months later and I am SO glad I waited! Car was fine until about a month ago. I started hearing weird things with the brakes and took it in (better safe than sorry) and got the "nothings wrong, these are brand new brakes" ordeal. Thats fine, but why do they squeak like they are old as dirt? I dont like how my seat belt (the little clicker part) is all the way down on the floor and I have to reach in a really ackward way to get to it. The interior is also cheap looking but I needed a car badly!

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  Nice family van - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By 98 dodge - March 31 - 6:10 pm

  I bought this car new. I sold it on Jan. 23 2005, for a fully loaded 2005 Toyota Sequoia. During that time I had the van I put almost 124,000 miles on it, it had never let me down. I had the mid-level SE trim w/ the 3.3 ltr. flex-fuel engine. The van had a nice interior for a Dodge, and it was pretty sturdy until we were about to sell it, the paneling was falling off. The paint was not faded or rusting, it looked like new.

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  Disappointed - 2004 Dodge Durango
  By AndreaH - March 31 - 5:37 pm

  I have been disappointed with my 2004 Durango which I bought after an excellent experience with a 2000 Durango, which I traded in. Although the passenger comfort is much better the model seems to have big problems. I needed a front differential replaced at 7000 miles and just had the battery cable recall work done, as the car was intermittently not starting. Shame that the utterly reliable old Durango has lost so much quality in being "upgraded". Im trying to get the dealer to buy it back from me and give me my old 2000 back!

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  Not bad for the money... - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By LakeOzark - March 31 - 2:09 am

  For what you can buy these things for it is the best "people mover" on the market. We traded the wifes 2000 Chevy Tahoe, and at first I thought we made a BIG mistake - but then I realized my payment went from 700/month to 320 and realized things were not so bad. If you take into account the class of vehicle you are buying it is a STEAL. I payed $18000 out the door and got a very comfortable, very safe, very roomy new vehicle that get good gas mileage. The fit and finish is fair at best, but once again I can not expect the quality of a $40K vehicle. So far I am very happy with it and for a growing family it proves very useful. One recommendation - buy the GRAND not the short one we bought

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  just bought - 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By edel - March 31 - 2:00 am

  I just bought a new left over 2001 ES GC. It has too many options to mention and I think I got it for a good deal of $28K. MSRP was $35.5 new. So far so good. We tried the 2002 MPV and Odyssey and the Dodge appears to give best bang for buck

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  02 SLT - 2002 Dodge Durango
  By sylvia - March 30 - 2:55 am

  The Durango is a truck and performs as such! I love mine, have had no major problems at 56,000 miles. It isnt perfect, but for the money it beats anything else!