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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  Great Truck, sad to sell it - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By ChrisM - February 7 - 10:38 pm

  I have been the sole owner of this truck and have loved driving it. It performs EXCELLENT off-road with the 4.7L engine. I have been in many questionable situations off-road and it has pulled me through with no issues at all. As a daily driver it has also been very reliable with good gas mileage considering its a V8. Plenty of get up and go to get on the freeway or around town.

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  My Stratus experience - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By DG64 - February 7 - 3:53 pm

  I purchased this vehicle in 1999, it has been a very car. We have taken it on several long distance trips. It is very comfortable for long distances and we averaged 360 miles per tank on our trips. My only complaints are that 2 days after purchase, it had to be returned to the dealer for replacement of the computer control panel that controls all dashboard features, and they had it for 58 days. The other problem was that we had to replace the fuel pump last spring. When we removed the old one, we found that the wires going into it were scorched- I researched this and found that it is a fairly common problem although no recalls have been issued for it.

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  Viper SRT 10 - 2005 Dodge Viper
  By Viper owner - February 6 - 2:28 am

  Super fun car to drive. fast acceleration, top speed, and great breaking. Super red color. Great engine with outstanding 500 horsepower engine. Love the lights. Seats could use some work, so does the transmission but other then that it is a super car.

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  viper srt 10 - 2005 Dodge Viper
  By Viper owner - February 6 - 2:28 am

  Super fun car to drive. Fast acceleration, top speed, and great braking. super red color. great engine with outstanding 500 horsepower engine. Love the lights. Seats could use some work, so does the transmission but other then that it is a super car.

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  Calibers are Cool! - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By DODGElover - February 5 - 1:40 pm

  The 2007 Dodge Caliber is an amazing car! It provides exellent power, fuel econemy, and reliablity. Weve had it for over a year now, and it is just out-standing. The payments of the car itself is great for anybody! I would recommend this car to everybody!

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  RT Model Worth The Money - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Rich From Baltimore - February 5 - 1:06 pm

  Love my Nitro RT Model. For a few thousand more you get 40 hp and 20 in chrome wheels and other little goodies. Drives and handles smaller than it looks. A sport car SUV? Get more looks than my Corvette. I see a lot of people are concerned with mpg. Reset your computer when driving on the highway. I tried it and was avg 25 mpg 65 mph. Fuel avg really drops when sitting or warming up vechicle. Have reset to 0 after 1st 1k avg 17.6 mpg.

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  intrepid: one dad commutes comfortably - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By ldog - February 5 - 10:00 am

  after owning a 1991 accord and commuting 60+miles to and from work, i decided i needed comfort. my new job however, is only 43 miles to and from, which makes me wish i had the intrepid back a year ago. my daughter loves the spaciousness and so does the mrs. (if shes happy so am i).

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  2000 Dodge Durango - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Jodi - February 5 - 10:00 am

  The A/C in the Durango is terrible on mine and anyone else I have spoke to that owns or has owned one. Also there is a design flaw where the A/C condensation drips onto the manifold and makes a ticking/hissing noise, there is nothing the can do to fix it my neighbor has the same problem.

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  POOR QUALITY - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By CJ - February 4 - 11:06 pm

  This is the first Dodge weve owned and it will definitely be the last! One day it just started leaking water in the passenger floor, sometimes the rear door will unlock, sometimes it wont, engine light came on at 60,000 miles, you have to tap the rear lights to get them to work, and now the air bag sensor light comes on and off at random. Biggest junk ever made. DONT BUY DODGE IF YOU WANT MORE THAN 50K MILES OUT OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.

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  brake problem - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By Eric - February 4 - 1:36 am

  i have my journey since april 2008. at 18000 a need to change front brake and rotar. at 38000, i need the change the rear brake and rotar. and now, at 42000 the front brake and rotar and too use again. im sorry im french. my english is not very good but, i want to say its not normal than i have to change two time the front brake and rotar and chrysler dont want to pay for second time. it is normal to change front brake and rotar 2 times at 42000 KM ?i dont think so. i love my car but if dodge have big trouble with 19" tires vs break and retors, i dont want to pay 500 $ for that.