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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  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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  Inferior Engineering - 1998 Dodge Stratus
  By Unsatisfied consumer - March 28 - 2:01 am

  Time and time again Chrysler proves to the American public that they dont care a great deal about building a reliable automobile. My 1998 Stratus WAS just like any other Dodge car- a pile of junk. Head gasket, radiator, transmission,and internal engine problems all before 70,000 miles. My advice to anybody is to stay away from the Stratus. Yes, you can get into one a bit cheaper and they are comfortable to ride, but you will pay for it in repairs. Chrysler should be ashamed of themselves for building a disposable piece of junk. My contacts lasted longer than my 1998 Stratus. It depreciated faster than a share of stock in Enron

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  Expensive to Repair - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Jeff - March 24 - 10:53 pm

  A joy to drive, but a nightmare on repair costs. Dodge doesnt make it easy to repair or replace a small piece or a small part, you have to replace the entire part. One example is on the Upper Swing Arm - instead of just replacing the bearing when it goes bad, you have to replace the whole Upper Swing Arm at around $300.

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  Dont buy this for the gas mileage - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Beep Beep - March 24 - 2:26 pm

  Just wanted to let everyone know that this is a nice little car. I would definitely not rate it as high as most of the people below but for the price its very nice. I drive a lot of miles and get around 25 mpg no matter how I drive. I tried for 2 weeks to drive slow and see what my mpg would be and it was slightly over 26. I would also suggest to stay away from the dark colors, I got black , it has a white under coat and the scratches really jump out. Over all its a nice little car for the price.

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  Dont Buy without a Warranty - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Stacey L - March 22 - 10:00 am

  We bought this nice looking, comfortable van mostly due to what we thought was a good rep for Caravans/Chrysler and nice interior design - what a nightmare. Thank God we had extended warranty! Repair/replace tranny 4 times since weve had it. Water pump twice, new a/c, weird brake troubles 4 times, blown head gasket, weird wiring gremlins that we had to bypass to make our headlights even work. A/c switches burning out - I will never buy another Chrysler product after this nightmare. Would have sold, except its paid off and the extended warranty paid most of the engine work - but we laid out $2k plus on other work.

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  unsatisfied - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By unsatisfied - March 19 - 10:23 pm

  I was happy with this van for the first year and after the 3rd year it seemed every thing went wrong .The air bag sensor went on twice after repair, abs sensor went on, my rear window shatter on its own, my automatic doors had to be fixed, front both tie rods loose had to replace, steering/suspension went bad had to replace lots of money went into to this vehicle after the 3rd year I dont even really drive this vehicle that much as you can see not so many miles. I had to take it back in after one week of driving because my engine sensor failed go figure! NOT HAPPY AT ALL. Had to fork out more money.

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  Dodge needs to rethink - 2005 Dodge Dakota
  By Tom - March 18 - 1:30 pm

  When I purchased this truck I had visions of the continued performance and reliability I had experienced with my 2000 model Dakota Quad. Boy was I in for a suprise! The speedometer sticks, the steering & brake pedal squeak, the LCD of the radio is so dim it is almost impossible to read with sunglasses on during the day. The drink holder is located so far under the dash that anything larger than a 12oz. can will not fit. The 6 cyl. engine has reasonable power, but the transmission needs to be a 5 speed. The truck looks great, but the designers need to rework the interior, and the workmanship has fallen on hard times compared to the 2000 model I traded in. I am very disappointed.

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  Dont Make the Mistake - 1998 Dodge Dakota
  By Unsatified fool - March 11 - 8:31 pm

  Poorly engineered mechanically. Gas mileage was my first disappointment, only about 1mile/gal better than full sized trucks. First thermostate lasted 11,000 miles. At 29,000 miles a ball joint required replacement. The factory installed CD quit at 45000 miles and the cup holder spring broke. Air bag module went out at 54000. Sensor for the rear brakes out at 72000. At 76000 the fan clutch, belt tensioner and water pump required replacement. In comparing this truck to previously owned Ford and Toyota small pickups I vote thumbs down.

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  Love it Hate it - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By Mkidd - March 10 - 3:30 pm

  I love driving my Neon but I am only 51, so it fits me great. But my husband is 63. Not so good for him and my tall son, so it needs more room. I have had my Neon for years, and it now has 100,000 miles on it. It has taken me all over the USA and at 100,000 miles the motor mounts went bad which made for a very shaky ride until the water pump and timing belt went out also. Lucky it was not too much to fix. It is a great starter car at a great price.

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  Check for blowby and trans problems - 1993 Dodge Caravan
  By cgijobs - March 7 - 7:52 pm

  At 70,000 miles it started leaking oil was told the problem was blowby, which can only be fixed by replacing engine (I have been told by more than one mechanic that this is fairly common for Caravans like mine). Ive been able to live with the oil leak, but now at 133,000 miles the transmission is going out. Talking with other caravan owners, transmission problems are very common. Before buying an older Caravan I would make sure to have a mechanic check out the transmission carefully.