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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  Bad Purchase - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By mfinley - October 7 - 8:56 pm

  This was a more expensive car purchase for me when I bought it in 2008. It only had 23,000 miles on it. I have had to replace both front ball joints, tires, battery, alternator, brake lights, and only a year after getting those ball joints fixed, they are going again. My mechanic said that Dodge used shoddy parts throughout and to keep expecting these same problems. I am going to unload this car as fast as I can and I will never buy another Dodge again! The interior is difficult to clean and stains easily, also.

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  1 year later and we love this SUV by Dr Tasso P. - 2011 Dodge Durango
  By tap16 - October 4 - 7:12 pm

  24000 miles later and I would buy this again. We liked it so much that we have now bought a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit and a 2012 Ram Laramie Crew Cab. The technology is amazing. After lots of research there is no other SUV ( except the GC Overlands etc) that offer all this technolog PERIOD. And if they did, i.e Land Rover ( no ventilated seats nor adaptive cruise in LR4 even available ) it would cost $20k more then the Durango. Auto high beams work great, adaptive cruise a blessing, heated steering wheel. Handles amazing for any SUV. Entry and exit height perfect, not to high nor to low. Interior one of the best, better then other American brands

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  Sporty looking, decent on gas, and reliable. - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By zanderlion - October 3 - 6:29 am

  I own a black 1998 Dodge Neon Sport Sedan with an automatic transmission. Im not sure how many owners its had. I bought the car in October of 2011 from a mechanic for $1600. The car has 135,280 miles. I noticed oil was leaking out the gasket seal. So I had my cousin replace the seal. And the leak stopped. My cousin also put new spark plugs in, and he noticed a couple of spark plugs were drowned in oil. I give the car its routine oil changes every 3 to 5000 miles. I never had any trouble starting it, even in the coldest winter last year, it started fine. The car handles the snow ok. I had to replace a fuel pipe, because it rusted through. In conclusion, I think its a reliable fun car.

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  Lemon - 2010 Dodge Journey
  By xhelbi - October 2 - 9:21 pm

  I have spent more time at the dealership than I have at home. I think I bought a lemon. I have had so many problems with this car, I have had more Dodges in the past but this will be the last. I think if enough people fill a class action about the vehicle they will have to do something. I am going to see what I can do. I am paying for a electrical piece of crap. Dont know from day to day what is going to be wrong.

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  What a car! - 2013 Dodge Dart
  By burdman660 - September 28 - 11:08 am

  Ive only had the car a week but Im so impressed. For the money, you cant beat it. Its sexy inside and out. I love driving it. The 1.4 L turbo is awesome. I have the dual clutch auto and it makes the drive really fun. Get the uconnect 8.4" display. Its really intuitive and makes the car fun and comfortable. The ride and handling is great, the gas mileage and power is great. My only regret is not having the power seats with lumbar adjustment. Other than that, its amazing. LED tail lamps, projector head lamps, upscale interior, 17" rims, awesome power and milage... buy the car, It will shatter your perception of compacts. This is a daily driver that makes the ride exciting.

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  Awesome car. - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By mbdude92 - September 27 - 9:57 am

  I bought this car as a Certified Pre-Owned about a year ago. This has been a fantastic car, I bought it with 61k miles on it and within a year I put 22k miles on it doing mostly highway commuting to college and and work and occasional shopping trips an hour away. Havent had to do anything mechanically to the car other than the oil and filter change every three thousand miles. I have the 2.7l V6 SXT version.. gets average about 25 city/hwy.. do more highway driving and Ill get about 28. Highly recommend for someone who wants reliability, sport look, and a cheap price.

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  Great car! - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By prodigit - September 24 - 9:48 pm

  Bought this car for $3000 for my wife, second hand with 95k miles on it. Weve been driving it for 6k miles, without a single major problem (some minor mechanical issues, but nothing worth mentioning). The car was banged up in the back, and declared a total loss, but some mechanic patched her up, and she drove like a queen! I have the automatic, not the manual.

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  Not too bad....but dont trust it - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By asmareverett - September 23 - 10:46 pm

  I bought this car with the intention of paying it off very fast and using it as a spare. Well, 6 years later I just paid it off and its been my only for 105k miles. It was previously a rental and Im imagining it got dogged out before I bought it because a head gasket blew within 6 months. The used car warranty covered it and Ive been rolling ever since. Ive had minor issues such as sensors having to be replaced, brakes, lights, and the auto window went out, but other than that I cannot complain. Still picks up well between 50-80 mph and is decent on gas. The paint on the passenger side is oxidized, but hey, its 6 yrs old.

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  Anyone else? - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By sonya08 - September 23 - 4:44 pm

  I loved my dodge when I first bought it. I have driven it a year and 8 months and have started have some sort of problem that I do not know what is going on. I can be just driving down the road and car shuts off. Sometimes it will crank back and sometimes not. It just dies while driving down the road. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I had to have it towed one time and the mechanic said he couldnt find anything wrong. Someone please shed some light on this for me.

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  The best car that you are over looking... - 2012 Dodge Charger
  By themightyinf - September 22 - 11:29 pm

  First things first... I have never owned anything other than V8s. I kinda feel than anything less is... unamerican. So, for my first big family four door, I had two real choices. Ford Taurus or Dodge Charger R/T...and they dont make V8 Taurus(siii?) So Dodge is was the winner. The vehicle is very well appointed, great sound system (Beats By Dre), and its not too shabby on the eyes. I wish I could read the minds on the BMW and Merc owners that pull up next to me... Not the typical look and feel of the Dodge of 10 years ago, or even two years ago for that matter. I dont have enough characters remaining to list the standard items on this car... Just Great!!!