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:

• 

  My Journey - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By Nicole Retzlaff - November 26 - 11:17 pm

  I absloutely love my journey. I have taken it on road trips and the gas mileage is way better then what the sheet says. Highway I am averaging 30.8 mpg, and the city is 23.3 mpg. I had a 2011 Chrysler 200 and I would not change purchasing my car. I have a Great Dane, Rottweiler and Border Collie...all three fit with ample amounts of room compared to my 200. Awesome storage for their toys, food and water. Love this car!!!

• 

  New suv that lasted only 470 miles - 2015 Dodge Durango
  By Brent Bjerregaard - November 25 - 11:33 am

  Picked up new at dealer with 33 miles on it. Drove it to Beaver Dam Az. and the trans. went out at about 470 miles. They towed it back to dealer that said it would be about 3 weeks before they could even look at it. So now we are stuck with a peace of junk.

• 

  2003 Dodge Stratus RT 5 speed - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By Sean - November 21 - 10:26 am

  I love this car which I purchased used with around 19k miles in 2005 for about $14k. Ten years later with 196529 Miles its still purring. Replaced clutch only once few thousand miles ago and little to no repairs... mostly just usual and simple maintenence. This car is simple as it has no ABS or any high tech which I actually prefer I have a removable gps and CD player with blutooth which is all I need no expensive electronics to break and worry about spending lots of money on. The dashboard has curled up years ago from sun exposure but whatever... No big deal anymore. My suspension went and its a rough ride and rattles and shakes on rough roads, as something went, but I cant exactly pin it down and its not in my opinion worth the money or headache to repair. I can deal with it as I have gotten used to it and its not that bad. Ive had this car ten years @ one third of my life so that says a lot about how much I like the car, its dependability and me not wanting to buy another as I purchased it in full @ about $14k and never had car payments... Who wants car payments? Also, the cloth driver seat is in rough shape but that is to be expected with all these Miles. It burns a some oil too which is pretty typical for an old car with this many miles not worth fixing now as Ill just cheap oil. I drive this car for work very hard and with this manual transmission Ive never had any real issues, repairs or anything go wrong which would go wrong with an automatic. Im forever staying with manual transmissions. Great vehicle

• 

  Dakota Quad Cab 2002 (oldie but goodie) - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By Rick T - November 19 - 8:59 pm

  I bought my truck brand new back in 2002. I looked at other trucks including the F150, but it would not fit in the garage. The Dakota is smaller but has the V-8 (4.7) that can handle most anything. Its a great truck and I have had very little problems.

• 

  My Review would have been better 1 year ago! - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Dor - November 19 - 2:24 pm

  One year ago I thought I really loved my Dodge Charger with the Hemi engine. The navigation system was cumbersome and outdated, but I loved it anyways. Then June of 2015 out of nowhere I am driving and I see smoke coming out from under the hood. I immediately pulled over and opened the hood, smoke bellowed out. I had the car towed to the dealer and I was told a piston ceased and I needed a new engine. I was quoted $7k for a rebuilt with warranty and $3200 for a used engine. That just makes me mad! I took care of my car, why did the engine fail. The mileage is 120,000, I was hoping to drive it a few more years. Researching online I found several owner complaints of the 2006 Dodge Charger engine failure, all with similar experiences. The forums are saying that the engine design has caused premature engine failures. Nice. So I contacted Chrysler directly as my extended warranty was through a year prior. I was told that there is nothing they can or will do for me, they said it is unfortunate that it happened, but oh well. Anyone who is looking to buy a Dodge Charger should check out the online reviews and never purchase one without an extended warranty and unless you are a car enthusiast or mechanic, sell the car before the warranty is up! And so much for customer appreciation.

• 

  Ive had mine for 17 years some work but shes my - 1998 Dodge Avenger
  By michael hammann - November 19 - 12:10 pm

• 

  Garbage - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By DARNELL - November 18 - 9:09 pm

  worst car I ever drove ,loved the dodge Durango but the Journey sucks like a vacuum cleaner. To many break jobs /rotor repairs /car will not start unless you put it in neutral . Lost all my tire sensors w/in the first 3 months and the dealership wanted to charge 64.00 each to replace them (BS) they put the battery in a location on the car so you have to remove the front tire to get to it. Then the dealership charges you 120.00 to switch it out. NEVER AGAIN WILLL I PURCHASE A DODGEEEEEEEEE AGAIN. NEVER..HATE THIS INVESTMENT.

• 

  #pos - 1994 Dodge Intrepid
  By sledge - November 18 - 3:08 pm

  Dont even consider it, dodge has long history of unreliable cars and trucks, this ones no exception, I bought mine used with 30k miles before 60k miles problems with, ac, trans, engine, paint, headliner ect...headlight mounts broke, too much plastic used on everything, had some friends at dodge dealer, they hated this car, from sales to the mechanics, I got rid of this car after 1 year of ownership a long tome ago, stay away from this one and any other dodge/chrysler/plymouth unless its from the 1960s

• 

  Great Toy - 2015 Dodge Challenger
  By Aymenchtourou.a@gmail.com - November 17 - 1:04 pm

• 

  Only had this vehicle a month but so far so good - 2015 Dodge Charger
  By Gary White - November 16 - 9:40 am

  The Rallye edition with the 8 speed trans with paddle shifters on the steering wheel makes it a fun drive. The premium wheels give it good curb apeal. More power and better transmission shifting than the 2010 edition I previously had that I sold with over 100K miles with no issues. Best looking sporty 4 door car.