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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  great car all around - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By gabereyes - July 8 - 2:00 am

  great handling car, but in quick turns, tires get pretty loud, but a quick change of tires will correct it. ive got 20k miles on mine now and love it so far.

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  A lemon of all lemons - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By thedoctor - July 8 - 2:00 am

  now up to 85,000 miles used for a sales vehicle. Three Power Steering Pumps..#3 now needs replacing. Front end rack completely worn out and needs replacement. Dealer refused to replace PS pump even though it has been a problem since new. Front end problems surfaced after 30k...never fully diagnosed...has gotten worse as the mileage increases. Weird wind/noise problem on widshield at speeds around 60. Anyone over 6ft tall cannot sit on passenger front side with storage compartment under seat. Small changes in road surface causes loud knocking sounds in front end. Power door locks replaced twice.

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  Vipers rock - 2004 Dodge Viper
  By Mark Van Erden - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Vipers are great cars ! just bad mpgs. great speed same with luxury and design I love vipers!

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  A great truck - 2001 Dodge Dakota
  By Lucifer - July 6 - 10:00 am

  Consumer Reports doesnt give a high rating. I have a V8 5 speed manual and find it a great truck in every regard. Had a 1995 one before and loved that one also. My other cars are a 1999 Audi A6 Avant and a 1998 530 BMW (stick shift) and I still love driving the Dakota/

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  I love it - 2004 Dodge Viper
  By justin fletcher - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I love it i love it i love it i love it ilove it

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  Dissatisfied - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By VERY Dissatisfied - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I am very dissatisfied with the car. We had trouble with it with a cam shaft cencor whitch ended up costing us better than $500 and now the timing chain went threw the engine and is goiing to cost us about $5,000 to fix. We only have 81000 miles on it. My old 96 Monte carlo has 194000 on it and only uses a court of oil between oil changes every 5000 miles. We changed the oil on the Intreped every 3000 miles and it is JUNK. I dont think that I could ever buy another DODGE produt again. JUNK JUNK JUNK

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  2001 Stratus - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By Zee - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I have put lots of milage on this car and have had no problems, except having to replace the windshield a few times which was not the cars fault. It does need new bushings, which squeak when it is hot. I understand this is not an uncommen problem in New mexico but I have not had it on any previous car. This is the 6 cylinder

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  First Imperssions Can Be Missleading - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By ham_viper - July 6 - 2:00 am

  The transmission in this thing is terrible. I have the 6 cylinder with an automatic. The car jumps when you pull up to a stop sign. Also if you sprint to 45 and completly let of the gas, the transmission gives you a nerve racking "THUNK" as it shifts. I had to have the Transmission hoses replaced at 26000. Since then the dealership keeps adding trany fluid but tells me its ok. The battery whent completly out at 38000, no longer under warranty (Bat said 5 year 60000 dealer wouldnt warranty). Left me stranded at a stop light in town in lunch hour traffic. Now the Cig/ACC outlet has stopped working. What is next!!

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  Bad Luck - 2002 Dodge Caravan
  By kraker - July 5 - 2:00 am

  Had grand caravan for 2 yrs now. I should have learned from last caravan. At dealership for transmission problems twice, front end constantly pulls to left, numerous times airbag light illuminates intermittent, while turning steering system makes surging sound and steering wheel vibrates (thats after recall fix), Due to alignment problem had to purchase new tires after one year. Dealership insists there is no problem with front end. In process of getting rid of and buying foreign, no more Chrysler products for me.

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  Dodge Caravan - 2005 Dodge Caravan
  By Annaq - July 5 - 2:00 am

  Have had a Caravan 4 cyl. for 2 1/2 years. At this point major mechanical problems. Ranging from front end work, transmission, computer cluster in gear selector and the sending unit in the gas tank. Before the 2 1/2 year mark, had no problems before then.