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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  Needs refinement - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By radioheadmilk - November 6 - 2:00 am

  The seats are uncomfortable. My lower back begins to hurt after driving it for more than an hour at a time.

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  Wish I hadnt bought it! - 2000 Dodge Intrepid
  By wish I hadnt bought - November 6 - 2:00 am

  I bought it new off the lot and had lots of problems with the dealer. Two days after I picked it up, the driver power seat fell into the back seat. Needless to say I should have learned my lesson then. I have now had three transmissions, 2 transmission mother boards, 1 transmission fuel something, all the seals around doors and trunk replaced and the air conditioning system replaced twice!!!! And if you can believe it Dodge wont buy it back!!!! I drive mostly highway miles and this car is not reliable. The transmission still slips and they claim it is just fine.

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  Durango Review - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By Rodney Hayes - November 6 - 2:00 am

  My Durango has 55000 miles on it and I have already had many oil pressure problems. I will never own a Dodge again.

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  Great Design, Poor Quality - 2000 Dodge Dakota
  By Bob443 - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Love this truck to drive. Looks good handles good, cleans up nice. One big shortfall - the overall maintenance and repair level is high and unacceptable. After owing this vehicle for 44 months I am spending annually about $2000 in repairs while I have spent less than $500 TOTAL for a Honda van of about the same age and mileage. Oil leaks, differential leaks, leaking heater cores, bad air conditioning clutch, heated mirrors have failed etc.... Just too much, it shouldnt be this way!

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  Poor Quality & Reliability - 2003 Dodge Durango
  By GKS - November 3 - 2:00 am

  Within the first 2,000 miles, the Durango has been returned to the dealer for warranty repairs to the a/c system, transmission, rear differential, weatherstrips, and seat cover material. The Durango SLT with the 5.9 engine was built very poorly and has very poor quality and reliability. I have no confidence in the vehicles long-term reliability or dependability.

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  Long-Time Owner - 1995 Dodge Caravan - 1995 Dodge Caravan
  By Honyok - November 1 - 2:00 am

  Basically, a good vehical.. I have gone through 2 head gaskets, but the dealership took care of the problem. The second time it happened after only 29000 miles, well after warrenty expired. Dealer took care of the problem and only charged a minimal fee - they didnt have to do that, so Im pleased. Car tends to idle rough after rainy period. Had it checked, but nothing helps. Not a big problem, but alwasy there. Most other problems were small, like the radio going belly-up and ash trays falling out of the back passenger area. Gas milage is not very good at this point. 15 city, about 20 hwy.

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  Thought it would be fun - it wasnt - 1996 Dodge Intrepid
  By onebigswede - October 20 - 2:00 am

  When I bought this car it seemed to be in pretty good condition. It had 69,000 miles on it, as well as a spotless interior and exterior. Shortly after i purchased it it began having problems from a non-working air conditioner, to brake problems, to the on-board computer going bad, etc etc etc. Finally in October 2003 the engine had a blow up and would have cost $3500 dollars to fix. Needless to say I am now saying good riddance. I dont know if the cars previous owner just abused the car, or what, but i never had more than a month or two of trouble free car ownership while i had this car.

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  Ok family car. - 2003 Dodge Neon
  By Shannara - October 20 - 2:00 am

  My wife is due to have our 2nd child (in 2 years..) any day now. All we had so far was a pickup truck :D So we went out and bought this car. I live in Alaska (ok, you can release your breath now). And, I work less then a mile away from home. We bought this car on October 8th @ 33 miles. It now have 298 miles.

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  Happy Trails! - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Wally7 - October 20 - 2:00 am

  Like many the best day of my Durango ownership was the day I traded it. Constant problems with the electrics (windows, locks, etc.) and then a transmission failure after 61k miles of soccer patrol. So the "ram tough" V8 durango with "heavy duty towing package" lost a tranny after 61k miles of hauling kids to shcool and gym. Happy trails Dodge, my fist and last.

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  Not Sure I Made the Right Decision! - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By Grz - October 15 - 1:06 am

  I went from a 2004 Chevy Monte Carlo SS to this and was I disappointed. The test drive was fine. The problems didnt seem to show up till the drive home. The vehicle surges from 0-40 mph and struggles to find the right gear. It sounds like it is in the wrong gear when accelerating. Hwy speeds are okay. If you need to merge dont do it. This vehicle has no pick up for passing. 2 days after I bought it I was back at the service center getting my recall fixed. I didnt know it was legal for a dealership to sell a car with a potentially deadly recall on it. I cant wait for that survey to show up. I must say it does gets some heads turning. All eyes are on me when I pull up but I miss my Chevy!