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:

• 

  fun car when it will start - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By bsisco - November 2 - 8:21 pm

  beware, after a year of good reliability my car like many others has developed wireless ignition node issues.W.I.N module. Sometimes the car will start and run and other days it will not. It started this at 36000 miles. After weeks of online info browsing Ive come to the conclusion that this issue is rarely resolved correctly at the dealers and is not an issue I can fix myself do the the complicated programming and tools needed to do the job. As for now, I pay a payment for a car that is no where near as reliable as my 2nd car...a 2000 mustang with over 200,000 trouble free miles on it. This is my first dodge product and clearly my last.

• 

  GREAT SUV. - 2013 Dodge Journey
  By jbl0114 - November 1 - 9:47 pm

  I love my Journey kids love it and they have plenty of room.I have the crew and the ride and the feel is just awesome.I traded my terrrain for this suv and I dont regret it at all.That little 4cyl on it was already starting to scream and sound like crap.Just not enough power for the trk and I got it now.

• 

  Beyond disapponited - 2010 Dodge Avenger
  By broc212 - October 31 - 4:35 pm

  4 speed transmission in a 2010 vehicle Not very good gas mileage for a 4 cylinder engine Shifts rough Not very comfortable or roomy Very underpowered motor

• 

  Best retro car to get! - 2012 Dodge Challenger
  By nprax - October 29 - 5:19 pm

  I was in the market between a Camaro, Mustang or the Challenger. Of the three, I bought the challenger because it is the better of the three to live with. All of them have awesome styling, all have v-6 engines delivering decent MPG and of course, all are American! But what made the challenger stand out was that is was more livable for the day to day stuff. While the base Camaro and Mustang feel like your sitting in a rattling plastic tub, the challenger wlecomes you to a nuetral black interior with better build quality (still not a bmw) and great styling. The bigger body means a better ride, but it also means its heavier. Definitly a great cruiser!

• 

  Stay Away!!!! No quality at all!! Money Pit!! - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By wes41 - October 29 - 12:45 pm

  I bought it w/ 171000 miles on it. it didnt run for long cause it needed some sensors. the previous owner had already replaced the spark plugs and wires,fuel filter,fuel pump,timing belt,and supposedly the transmission in order to fix the problem. i replaced the crankshaft position sensor, and the throttle position sensor. then while i was driving it home i noticed that it wouldnt shift gears, the brakes sucked, the a/c didnt work, the front windows wouldnt role down, and the radio didnt work well. i also found out that the radiator fans would never turn on so the engine never cooled down. after i got it running good, the engine started cutting out again and needed a camshaft sensor..

• 

  Dart limited 1.4 DDC - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By shadowmica - October 28 - 8:59 am

  I knew I wanted one of these when they first were announced a year ago. After following the development of the Dart I went with a loaded Limited cause I wanted the leather and the HID headlights and the TFT display which is not available on the Rallie at this time. This car has lived up to all of my expectations. The build quality is superb. The options put anything from Japan in its class out of the League. The ride is awesome and even driving spiritedly I get 32 MPGs around town. I came from a 2008 Civic Coupe and while that was a good car this Dart blows it away. Honda felt tinny and cheap while the Dart feels solid and well built. Buy one Period

• 

  206,000 miles a good solid car - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By mopar350 - October 25 - 10:22 pm

  I bought this car with 50,000 miles on it six years ago. so far I have only done some normal maintance. changed timing belt twice and front brake pads once. now at 206,000 mile mark i have had to change one front wheel bearing. and the transmission is slipping. would have lasted longer if i had changed the fluid and filter like i should have. i have beat this car into the ground and it is still going. i put 36,000 to 40,000 miles a year on this car for the last three years. so i will be putting a transmission in it and keep on driveing it. and i plan on driveing it till the body rusts away. i live in south carolina and there is no rust on it yet so i will be driveing this car for a long time

• 

  Reliable Car - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By ahhitsanathony - October 25 - 9:51 pm

  I bought this car with 134 k miles on it, it now has 174 k miles. It has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. It has never left me stranded. It does have a sensor problem though. If you dont let it up shift to 4th the check engine light comes on and when it shifts down to second thats the highest you can go till you turn the car off and back on and it resets. It is very annoying but if you know to let off the gas and let it shift youre fine. Its also really good in the snow but the v6 sucks on gas.

• 

  Poor craftsmanship - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By betseyjane - October 18 - 4:46 pm

  I was so excited to get my Durango in June 2011. Since then I have experienced odd hiccupping, like its missing, when accelerating up hills. An extremely irritating rattle in the dash. I have had to have the back of the drivers seat replaced twice because the clips that hold it on break. The review mirror had to be replaced because the night dimmer decided to just stay on all the time. The key fob does not always work. Sometimes the push button start cannot detect the key. Since most of these issues are intermittent, of course, they cannot reproduce them. At least my seat and mirror are fixed for now.

• 

  Do you homework first! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By josh1189 - October 17 - 6:42 pm

  I bought my 07 Caliber SXT 2.0 CVT (Not 1.8 Manual) in April 2011 from a Chrysler/Dodge dealership with 74K miles on it. Drove great, sounded great, felt great. And it WAS a great car....for about a year. Then, thats when the sh*t hit the fan....The door panels started to rattle (probably from the awesome sound system but thats no excuse. If youre going to put in a powerful system, make the car equipped to handle it.) Then it started to jerk and putter a bit when I accelerated and make a moaning noise when I turned the wheel. Then the alternator went out at 91K miles. 6 days later, the fuel pump went out. Now, Im just waiting to see whats next. Do yourself a favor and buy Japanese.