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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  MAYBE ITS A BAD APPLE... - 2000 Dodge Caravan
  By Bieque110 - November 14 - 2:00 am

  4 months after purchase the brake pads were all worn out. Replaced the same with OEM parts from Dodge and they are about to go out again. 6 months. Squeaking sound coming out of the two front wheels. Took it to a Dodge dealership for repairs and. ("That is a normal thing") The squeaking sound that is. 6 months. The Serpentine Belt and the Belt Tensioner snapped in the middle of the highway. 7 months. One of the Wheel Covers (OEM) flew God knows where. In order to purchase that one Wheel Cover I have to pay $94.50 for it. Ridiculous! 11 months. The starter is saying goodbye. You can easily lose a good $3,000 a year in value on this vehicle.

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  Costly to maintain - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By Wiseguy357 - November 12 - 2:00 am

  When I bought this car, I did not know that it had a lot of problems. The car was cheap when i got it($4500).I have had thousands of dollars worth of repairs done to it. I have had trouble with: head gasket,axle seals, barrings in the transmission,master cylinder, breaks, rotors, ac compressor, battery and minor electric problems. I have 12" subs in the trunk, and it really rattles when the bass hits.

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  What?? Why did i buy this? - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Anthony - November 11 - 10:50 pm

  I bought this car from enterprise. After the 1st week i needed a new transmission.(miles 34,000) 2 weeks later i need another transmission. Now i need a new engine because some rod broke. Worst car ever. Engine stalls when im on the highway. I bought it for $12,000. I tried to sell it back to enterprise and they will only give me $5,000. They said the Cailber doesnt hold its value. So after 2 months it lost $7,000.00. Im stuck with it. I should have bought the charger!!!! STAY CLEAR FROM THIS CAR!! DO NOT BUY!!!

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  my NIGHTMARE - 1990 Dodge Daytona
  By Autokill - October 29 - 2:00 am

  mine was an 88 and i bought it for $1000..with 150000miles....and in 8 monthes the engine went, transmition, two clutches (b/c a bolt snaped that held the one on), flywheel, drive axels, my sub fram rotted out, and on the highway the frame broke and the wheel went flying out the side of my car...held on only by the axle, carb was toast, and the heads were gummed up, so i was getting about 4MPG..this car was horrible, and i could never rely on it...it was heavy and clunky, and i will never but a chrysler again.

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  Redesigned Lemon - 1996 Dodge Caravan
  By pensionman - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Experience has been awful. After one year 1997, the engine was replaced. Later in 1997 the transmission was replaced. In 2001 the transmission was replaced again. The second transmission had only 60,000 miles on it. This vehicle has had numerous repairs including electrical problems. The slider door power lock just broke, breather elements etc... Total repairs since 1996 have exceeded $20,000. Every yeat the car costs approx 800-1000 in repairs.

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  Its a Lemon! - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By Andres6 - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I replaced close to about absolutely everything on this vehicle except the engine. Auto Transmission only lasts 60K miles! AC and Head Gasket Last about 36K miles. Alternator belt, cables/wires/starter last about 4 years. This car is a complete lemon, and almost all Neons are like this. Neons were designed to break-down after the 3 year warranty.

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  um...maybe next time - 1993 Dodge Shadow
  By Distressed owner - October 13 - 2:00 am

  hate the car. Cant wait to get rid of it.

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  Not if it was the last car on earth! - 1994 Dodge Intrepid
  By whydidibuydodge - October 11 - 2:00 am

  I purchased new from the dealer lot. The air conditioner has never worked from the first day. Ive had it back to different dealers every summer since and no one can find out whats wrong with it. Had transmission problems after the first year and at 45,000 was told that I needed a new one. Starter died the third year. Fixed with after- market parts. Every time I brought the car in for service, something else came back broke. Brought it in for a broken headlight, hood release came back broke. Brought it in for brakes, passenger window wouldnt go down. Brought it in for air conditioner (again and again), low-fuel light wont go off.

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  Durango - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By loganschert - September 29 - 10:00 am

  Spend more time under the car than in it!

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  Cheap car - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Alex - September 29 - 12:41 am

  Dont buy this car, i bought a 2007 dodge caliber feomba friend of mine and ro my surprise mavis couldnt do the alignment saying that the front cradle is corroded beyond imagination. They told me that the part still under warranty so I went to the dealer in Connecticut, they inspected the vehicle and said that the part inbfact it was covered by the warranty but in order to replace that part they needed to replace al the rusted parts around the cradle, they didnt said broken parts, they said corroded parts. Finally they gave me a appraisal for $2, 500.00 in order for them to replace to part under warranry. I refused because to expensive. A local shop is charging me 1000 to replace the part, I have no choice but to do it, this under frame, cradle appears to be made of a really cheap metal...