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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  Loved it/ Now Hate it - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By tr2 - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Loved this SUV for 4 years except for having to replace the window motors 3 times. Then it hit 70,000 m. Its been in the shop 4 times in 2 months. Now spent over $4,800 in repairs in the last 2 months. First the wiper motors and fuel pump. Then a rebuild of the transmission. Replacement of parts in the exhaust system that failed. Numerous other minor repairs. Looking at another $1,500 to fix the ABS system. Now hear theres problems with ball joints. This is ridiculous. All previous cars I owned (not Chryslers) stayed in good condition 10 years each. I am never getting another Chrysler product.

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  Dodge Intrepid Rocks Dude!! - 2004 Dodge Intrepid
  By james432314423 - August 2 - 2:00 am

  Dodge Intrepids ride is excellent and overall quality is superb!!

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  Dont dodge this Stratus - 2003 Dodge Stratus
  By KeithFLA - August 2 - 2:00 am

  What a surprise. I bought this car a little over a month ago. So far, so good. This car sits really low, and hugs the road. The cockpit of this Stratus surrounds me well. I have a stocky build, but I am comfortable in this car. You will notice more head room than its cousin, The Eclipse. The 4 cylinder provides adequate acceleration. The outside road noise is quiet. The shape of the car cuts right through the wind at high speeds. Overall, I am pleased, and I did not break my bank.

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  Stratus beats the competition - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By vhalen - August 2 - 2:00 am

  I have had my Stratus for a year now, and I love it more every day. Even though the Stratus doesnt sell as well as the wildly popular Mitsubishi Eclipse, it provides just as much fun and excitement. You definitely need to get a manual to enjoy the powerful V6 to its full potential. The handling on this car is spectacular, its comfortable, and it gets great mileage. I highly recommend this car!

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  my car - 2003 Dodge Caravan
  By zachpolandboy - August 2 - 2:00 am

  my car is awesome

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  Not a long term car - 2011 Dodge Charger
  By Alfie Williams - August 1 - 12:54 pm

  It was a great car that I fell in love with for the first two years. After that I realized that the car had already lost almost 50% of it value. This car also has 10 recalls on it. After I reached 90,000 miles is when all hell broke loose on the repairs. The had to replace the head gaskets, oil cooler pump and had already been through 8 recalls. The latest recall has shut my car down due to the alternator problem. Now they want me to pay for the repairs and submit to get reimbursement for a recall on the alternator. I have never ever heard of paying for a repair when there is a recall on the part. The car completely shut down on me without warning while I was on the road. If I was on the highway I would have had a accident because the ar lost all power out of nowhere. If you want a used car I suggest you do not buy a 2011 Doge Charger or any of there cars. They have the worst service and poor customer service.

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  Dont waste your money! - 1995 Dodge Stratus
  By Lizzard - August 1 - 2:00 am

  We bought the car used in Feb. 01 (94K mi). By July we needed to replace the water pump. Around the same time it started leaking a lot of oil and then suddenly stopped. Dont know why. My husband hates the placement of things under the hood. VERY awkward! A few months ago, something around the rear left tire started rattling (it sounds like the car is going to fall apart or something is going to fall off). The air conditioning doesnt work if its hot outside. The light on the clock works and then it wont. One of the air vents is broken. Its getting to be a lot of little things that adds up to a lot of pain and money. I cant wait to get rid of it!

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  LOVE THE CAR HATE THE PROBLEMS - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By TRIMM - August 1 - 2:00 am

  Great car, love to ride, its my favorite car next to my shelby. a few problems, tie rods, water pump, 3 trans (2 under warranty), rack and pinion, airconditioning has gone out twice, chrystlers cheap paint, the hood does not stay up, and shocks are bad. nice power and handling though, preparing to take the car apart and rebuild.

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  Not Best Quality, But Best Value - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By Kingglim - August 1 - 2:00 am

  -Superior bang for the buck -Low used prices (sorry for the first owners), even cheaper than 1 year- older, baseline Civic and Corolla -Youthful and energetic exterior & interior -Lot of room, more than I paid for. -Plenty of features -Very harsh suspension unpaved roads and road cracks. -Front end began rattling over unpaved roads and road cracks in 2001. -Wind noise and road noise are loud -Soft brake and it wears out fast -Poor rust-proofing, hood rusted out in 2002, but replaced by dealer free. -During slowdown, downshift from 4th to 3rd at 30 mph by the auto tranny produces strong jerk. Engine RPM is too low for the downshift.

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  Fuse problem road noise - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By CaliDriver - August 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used, when it was only one year old. Ive now owned it two years, and Im sort of holding my breath. So far Ive only replaced my brake pads due to squealing. However, I recently replaced the radio fuse, only to have the radio go out on me again after two weeks. Could be a short somewhere. Bad road noise.