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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  Unhappy in Bay Area - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Unhappy Owner - August 19 - 12:13 pm

  I bought the car with 21,000 miles. I didnt start experiencing any problems until my car kept vibrating when I stopped. I had it checked and was told that my tire rods were worn. Then I started hearing a noise coming from the engine (a rocker shaft). After having this and a 90,000 mile service costs me $2087.00. Now my engine light constantly comes on. I was told to open the gas cap and let out some of the air. After reading a lot of the reviews, I noticed that this car should have had some recalls. Of course my extended warranty ended at 70,000.

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  normal upkeep - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Andy G - August 19 - 10:16 am

  Have 160,000 miles on car got it new in 1999 work on car was minimal ball joints one sencer on trans, water pump my only complaint was freeze out plugs leaking this should never happen 5.2 motor. Gas mileage 15-18 mpg rides like a truck. Front bumper chips easy and starting to get rust.

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  Great Car for little over 10K - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By Robert - August 18 - 9:24 pm

  Went from old 91 honda Civic to this. Wasnt sure about the car. But few friends had one so I gave it a try. Now I am still driving it with 145,000 miles on it. All I have had to do was scheduled maintenance and has been great. To me there is nothing wrong with the American Cars. They just got a bad rep and is hard to shake. I wish they still made the Neon would get a new one over the caliber.

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  Safe, Useful, When it Runs - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By gplant - August 18 - 1:51 pm

  Bought it for my wife to giver her more metal around her. Powerful, pulls loads, and hauls whatever you wants. Sucks gas, but no surprise. Good, reliable vehicle, except for the ECM (throttle control), which has a mind of its own - you have to ride the throttle to keep it from dying. Heater core & water pump had to be replaced at 70k miles.

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  R/T 5.7 HEMI (BLK) - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By Tony - August 16 - 8:23 pm

  Very nice! Drives great! Definitely turns heads. My opinion the black is the best looking of them all.

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  FAST - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By dodgeman - August 16 - 2:14 am

  Bought this car site unseen on the recommendation of Mopar God Rick Ehrenberg. Huge leap of faith that paid off BIG TIME. Never regretted anything. Except maybe the upgrade to Goodyear Asymmetric tires, because the car is now twice as fast in corners and the fun factor is diminished. Need to drive at extremely dangerous speeds for same thrill. Car will accept full throttle upshifts without problems. Wonderful warranty. Minor turbo problem resulted in complete assembly replacement. Worn syncros, likely due to excessive driver exuberance and fatigue, resulted in warranty rebuild. Total cost of this service? $100! No better warranty possible! CV joints remain in good condition despite abuse.

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  second guess - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By wendy - August 14 - 10:42 pm

  I thought this would have been the car for me after all the problems with the stratus. Boy! first thing brakes @ 15 mnths. 2nd, Stuck in park, 3rd battery died, computer had to be reset after vehicle was lazy in going. Car squeaks a lot. But, I love how it just go when the need arise.

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  Had problems - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By hwoquinn - August 14 - 12:33 am

  All four power windows went out before 36,000 miles. Luckily covered under warranty but one has gone out again since warranty expired. At 56,000 miles had to replace intake gasket. Mechanic said he had seen several Dodge products with the problem. At 74,000 miles speedometer stopped working between 0-60mph. Love the looks and the room. Am not satisfied with quality and reliability.

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  Not Bad - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By CV - August 13 - 1:05 pm

  Overall this car provides good value. We picked on up used for $12k about a year ago. We havent had any problems so far. We love the gas mileage although I tend to accelerate fast and burn more gas that way. Car has a great look from the outside. The interior color scheme is Nice, but the dash and plastics look cheap. Overall, I think its a good buy based on price.

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  Better Than I Expected!!!! - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By daddyblue - August 13 - 11:43 am

  I bought my 95 Neon in Dec. of 2008, Since then, except for routine tune- ups, I havent had one problem out of the car that I bought for 300.00. I have been to out of state 17 times in the past 6 months on business, the car has helped me make almost a quarter million dollars, and she is still ticking. So now im going to return the favor a let someone buy the car for 300 dollars.