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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  curvechasing - 2004 Dodge Neon
  By richard noggin - February 27 - 2:00 am

  after getting a new rt neon and changing the stock factory junk brakes the car handles fairly well,for cornering and countersteering the suspension is the same as the older neon acers after 10k miles of hard driving and 2 sets of front tires it still handles and feels like new.next car will be the srt4,this was just a wait for one to come down closer to 20

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  Nagging issues, but good SUV - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By CraigInTexas - February 25 - 10:00 am

  When I noticed the tires wearing unusaully fast, I had the front end alligned. The guy said he had never seen a vehicle so badly alligned, and that it was obviously that way from the factory. The window issues will probably result in a recall. The brake/speedometer sensor in the rear axle housing will most likely go bad at around 44,000 miles. This causes any combination of the following: ABS and/or emergency brake warning light comes on, speedometer stops working, or will only work beyond certain speeds. The sensor is cheap and easy to replace, so dont let them charge a fortune to replace it.

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  Sweet car - 2001 Dodge Stratus
  By doingstuff - February 24 - 10:32 pm

  Bought my car new in 01. No problems. After 8 years finally have had to start spending some cash on it. Repairs here and there, but nothing thats not normal wear and tear

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  Still love it - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By ambersheree3 - February 23 - 9:44 pm

  I bought my Neon with 27,000 on it, it now has 92,000. Ive replaced 3 wheel bearrings (2 front, 1 rear), the starter, and have gone through 3 oil sending units (oil leaks from the wire harness plug) and I am still fine with driving this car! It still starts right up every morning and zooms through traffic! Even after $3000 worth of hail damage, and a enough other body damage to total the thing! Its definitely not the nicest looking car around, but its free (paid off) and is still great after 4 years of crazy driving.

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  Not as Much Fun as I thought it would be - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By 98neonrt - February 23 - 9:40 pm

  As a lover of my 1998 Neon R/T, I thought this was the best option I had for a replacement. This black AWD version caught my eye on the lot, and despite the auto transmission, I drove it off the lot a few hours later. And though I must admit, the car has been faithful, reliable, comfortable, with decent gas mileage, I really do not like it. It feels tippy on tight corners, and the CVT is the most horrific thing Ive ever had. It feels like your tranny is slipping, and the response is very slow. I should have driven it on snow, and should have tried the autostick before. I never would have bought it. I think with smaller/different wheels and a manual transmission, I might be able to like it.

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  The middle of the road SXT. - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By Ken - February 23 - 4:03 pm

  The interior is very thoughtfully designed and of good quality materials (thanks MB). I traded in a 2001 Volvo V70 on this and am happy with the exchange. I cant comment on reliability yet, but have high hopes. I have the CVT and must point out that many people hate them, thinking theyre sluggish. They take an entirely different behavior to drive properly, first and foremost being: do NOT feather the gas! It gives decent acceleration performance once you understand its behavior. My only complaints are some wind noise above 35 and the seat is a bit high for me - Im 67", so anyone can fit in this.

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  Love My Car - 2009 Dodge Challenger
  By Silver RT - February 20 - 12:40 am

  I just got my Challenger RT 4 days ago and I cant think of anything I woul dlike to drive more. The performance on the RT if great. 6 speed manual gives you the ability to drive like it was ment to be driven. I still havent turned on the radio because I love listening to the car rumble as I drive.

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  Not bad for a 16 year run - 1993 Dodge Caravan
  By Alex - February 19 - 8:46 am

  Generally, this car has been a trooper. I got her from my parents in December of 2001, they bought her almost brand new as a program car in 1993. She took us on several 200+ mile trips to visit family, a pretty lengthy journey to Disneyworld, an even lengthier trip to Kentucky - and this was all mostly during her first 60,000. After that point, as Ive heard was common with this particular model, the transmission gave out and we had to have a new one dropped in. Since owning it, Ive had to have a new compressor installed, and shes having trouble with oil consumption and struts. But for her age, the fact shes still running is quite impressive.

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  Wifes car - 2004 Dodge Stratus
  By TomK - February 18 - 4:59 pm

  Just keeps running with very few problems. The only bad problem we had was the disc brake rotors. Had to finally replace them with good ones! Other than that, it is a very dependable vehicle!

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  Ive driven better - 2006 Dodge Stratus
  By whatsuppp23 - February 18 - 10:06 am

  For my 17th birthday I got a 2006 Stratus and I can not wait to trade it in. Its slow and the inside is boring. My mom got a 08 VW Passat and it has a V6 and it flies. My Stratus has nothing, no heated seats, no GPS, no sunroof. I would recommend getting a different car if youre looking at this one.