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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  Decent family transportation - 1996 Dodge Stratus
  By Pete_S4 - June 11 - 2:00 am

  I had this car from 1996 to 2000 and put about 65,000 miles on it in that time. The motor and transmission were trouble free for the entire time I owned the car. The steering rack was replaced under warranty along with the tie rod ends. I also had to have the interior control module replaced under warranty due to a failed dome light. This car was basically fun to drive, but I do wish I had bought the VR6 GTI I had also been looking at.

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  easy to love - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Anthony_Neo1 - June 11 - 2:00 am

  No problems at all as of yet. Very easy to maintain. Decent size for me and the boys.

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  My Dynasty - 1991 Dodge Dynasty
  By sreischman - June 10 - 2:00 am

  I have the LE 3.3 liter and its been a real pleasure to drive. I had to replace the transmission at 230,000 miles. Other than that, no problems at all. Its also extremely comfortable, but not if you are a very tall person. i would recommend it and am sorry its no longer made. I currently have 168,000 miles on it.

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  Great SUV - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By JTIP - June 9 - 2:00 am

  I love this suv. It looks better than all others in my opinion, the towing ability and power are superb,have owned for 3 years now and no problems other than new brakes. A lot of issues that happen to used vehicles are from a lack of maintenance. No ball joint problems here,but we dont take off road. Only thing we added was remote start, lighted running boards, and new Michelins. The tires make a huge difference in ride quality. Would buy another one!

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  2008 grand caravan 3.3l flex fuel - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By wagner1975 - June 8 - 11:47 pm

  Been a pretty good van so far. it has had its little problems but nothing major. Got in jan 09 as a dealer demo with 6000 miles on it. it now has 92,000 miles on it. avg about 19 highway and city combined. have replaced left front caliper and wheel bearing, front rotors, three sets of frt brakes and 2 sets of rears. had a radiator and a/c drain recall. we go all over with this van and its been great. we have 4 kids and we pack this thing full all the time. this is our second caravan the first was a 1997 ex all wheel drive and that had 206,000 miles on it when the tranny went. love these vans! I change motor oil every 7 or 8000 mile and change transmission filter and oil once a year.

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  Love it! - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By Letsgopsu! - June 8 - 2:00 am

  This is the 3rd in the chrysler family ive owned, i last had a 1996 stratus se and this is essentially the same car with a new sharper image and if memory serves me right, the same motor with a little more pep to it. Handles curves as well as my 96 Sebring LXi and the sunroof is a great feature.

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  SRT MINE - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By popville - June 7 - 10:00 am

  Well the best thing about this car is it is a sleeper. It looks like a neon but woah watch out it has power of a race tuned machine. 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, great gas mileage if you keep your foot of the gas. all around good car.

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  Wet Floor Boards - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By willh - June 7 - 2:00 am

  Love the car, fun to drive good gas mileage. Unfortunately passenger floor board keeps getting standing water, sometimes so much you cant see the carpeted floor. Dealer thinks its A/C hasnt been able to fix the problem yet. Anyone else have this problem?

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  Bought Another One! - 2005 Dodge Neon
  By Christine - June 6 - 6:43 pm

  This new baby replaced my old 96--so many of the bugs have been worked on that Im even more pleasantly surprised than I expected. Gas mileage, even though the new one is auto and prior was manual--is still phenomenal. Only drawback is the significant lag in pickup, which I did not experience with my former Neon. (My former wasnt nearly as cool looking though. Great to have a car I dont have to park a block away and sneak into places to avoid being seen)

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  As fun to drive as my 70 Roadrunner - 2006 Dodge Charger
  By Virgil F. Bowers, Jr - June 5 - 1:13 pm

  Ive never drove a car through the Smokies that I did not have to use the brakes coming down the mountain. It handled great. I could keep right with the a BMW driven by a young person. The Charger is a great car to just drive. Gas mileage on highway 24.9mpg city 17mpg. If you want a quick car and dont want to spend $50,000, buy one.