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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  Stratus still going strong - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By SE 4 dr sedan - June 9 - 12:56 am

  I bought 2003 SE 4 Dr in July 2005 for $9,000. It had 54,000 miles on it. It now has 118,000 miles and I had to replace a tie rod and a blower motor in the 4 years that I owned it. Other than routine maintenance, oil changes, brakes.timing belt, I have had no major problems. This car is fun to drive and I usually get from 25-28 miles per gallon. I have the 2.4 engine. I am looking now to buy a 2006 and keep this one as a second car. This car is light brown and I will try to find a low mileage red one next.

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  Frustrations - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By dodgeboy11 - June 8 - 4:30 pm

  I bought the car in October of 2002. Picked it up w/ the shrink wrap still on the car and 0 miles on the odometer. I like the car and the styling, but it has become a maintenance headache. 77k miles, and Ive had to replace: rear struts, rear brakes, rear strut mounts, transmission solinoid, coolant overflow, front bearings, rust repair on door and on body, and trip computer on top of normal maintenance. The car from day one has also had a fantom ground issue in which on occasions it will: not lock the doors, sunroof stays open, dash lights go bright, cylinder 5 wont fire, speedometer acts up, etc. And most resently the torque converter has started acting up. Id be cautious w/ the RT.

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  Not a bad truck... - 2006 Dodge Dakota
  By tim927 - June 8 - 8:16 am

  This truck wasnt bad. The v6 was great until pulling. The ford 4.2 v6 seems a bit more powerfull. I put 26k on without a problem and went on a couple road trips and stayed comfortable. I only traded it because I needed more room for a growing family, back to Ford!

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  Very Satisfied Customer - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By blkroze4 - June 7 - 6:33 pm

  It definitely gets a lot of looks. Had many complements on it. Handles great on the ice and snow.

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  10th Year... still running - 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Michael - June 5 - 12:26 pm

  Decent vehicle. Ive had same problems as others: Speed sensor ($150), drive belt & tensioner ($400), new cooler lines ($500), leaking master brake cylinder & brake work ($600), side window motor ($200). At 5 years the transmission started "lunging" between 1st & 2nd gear. Ive heard many people needing new trannys at this point. Ive gotten another 5 years by easing (not pushing) the car between those two gears. Still working. Im hoping to get another 2-3 years out of it.

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  Edsel/Intrepid separated at birth - 2002 Dodge Intrepid
  By alex - June 4 - 3:52 pm

  out of the box ownership, pampered miles, lots of preventive maintenance due to be in love with car, Im in the process of ditching it: second tranny is need it, OEM went at 60K now 100k and starting to act up same way...nothing isolated: rented a brand new magnun in 2007 did the same thing, needless to say drove it150 miles in second gear for a replacement.

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  Awesome Silver R/T w. orange stripes - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By silverrt03 - June 2 - 3:21 pm

  I can honestly say I think my truck is awesome. It majorly burns rubber. 360 V8 kicks major rump. Since there were a limited amount of these for the last official R/T i am proud to own one. Leather seats, another rarity are very comfortable. Infinity sound system awesome dude. the only bad point is that my truck only gets about 13 miles per gallon on average. in the city try 10mpg. Other than that i really like my Dakota.

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  Good Gas Mileage with CVT - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Lacpac - June 2 - 1:05 pm

  2.0 with CVT trans. Great mileage if youre light on the pedal. Up to 32 mpg on hwy at 65mph. 25-26 around town. Synthetic oil, Nitrogen in wheels at 39pds and K&N air filter. Trans is smooth! Interior is hard plastic, for which some reviews give it a bad rating. Slap a Honda logo on it and make it a box on wheels and the critics give it a 10!..Go figure. Sheet metal is a bit thin, easily dents if you try to push the door shut without using the handle. Great headlights, really covers a wide area. Comfortable seats. Like the partial reclining rear seats. Only mechanical problem was a clicking front bushing when it got wet outside. Rear brakes also need to be cleaned frequently.

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  Avoid 4.7 V8 engine!!! - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By Stein - June 2 - 11:03 am

  Ive had my truck for almost 6 years and have loved it until now. Over the past 6 months Ive had to replace thermostat (not a huge deal) then the radiator and now Im told the 4.7 V8 engine has a possible blown head gasket with only 88,000 miles. After finding this out Ive read NUMEROUS accounts of the same problem with this engine.

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  Comfortable transportation - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By smoke2345 - June 1 - 7:40 pm

  Ive had my minivan for eleven years and had only major issue I have had is to replace the starter after seven years. I hear a lot about bad transmissions in these vehicles, but I have not had a problem with mine. Possibly because I have had it serviced when I was supposed to. Overall, its been very reliable.