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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  Reliable performer - 1990 Dodge Dynasty
  By Skipjack - July 8 - 2:00 am

  Good, economical, reliable transportation. In family for 14 years and still great to drive and performs to expectations. No major problems or annoyances and fairly fun to drive.

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  Intrepids are great. - 2003 Dodge Intrepid
  By George222 - July 8 - 2:00 am

  Had my car for 3 years, no problems yet, but i know of some people that complain about problems in reliablility, but mines been perfect.

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  Lots of headaches - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Disappointed Dodge - July 7 - 11:00 am

  Have owned it for 14 months, listed below is what has gone wrong with it so far: 1) catalytic converter replaced 2) drifts/pulls to the right 3) sliding doors dont always shut (been to shop 3 times to get right). 4) replaced front brakes/rotors at 17,000 miles. Was told I am not the only one having that problem, Dodge came out with an upgrade kit that I had to buy for $400 to correct problem 5) two tires replaced (bad and cheap tires in my opinion). 6) radio had a bug, had to download upgraded software to fix 7) turn signals stay on unless you jiggle the handle couple of times.

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  Dodge shadow 3.0 ES 2DR - 1992 Dodge Shadow
  By Mopar41 - July 7 - 2:00 am

  This car is one of the fastest stock dodge cars ever made. Its a great car to drive.With the 5spd, the car has much better acceleration than the auto.My car just happens to have a cold air intake and the turbos 5spd tranny. It makes better 1/4 mile times but top speed is somewhat slower. Who needs to go fast on the city streets anyway?...ME! With the nitro, the car has 223hp. making the 1/4 mile in 13.8 sec!!! Ive cut the car down 2.5in, in the front and 2.0in in the rear. I only did this to improove handling in high spd cornering.It has virtually no body roll at all. HAVE FUN!!!

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  looking for new car - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By KLSGB - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Have only had the car for a year and a half and have had it in 4 times because of oil leaks and twice for air conditioner problem, with more miles on it it has also become a lot louder when driving

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  wish I could keep it - 1991 Dodge Daytona
  By tj in VA - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Fairly reliable, sporty looks, good handling, looks great with ES ground effects, looks stupid without them! I retired this car at 175K, since I now have a wife and baby daughter, and the backseat (what backseat?) is too small, and the car sits too low to the ground for my wife. Otherwise, it still runs great! Although My ES doesnt have the Overdrive Automatic(a historical trouble spot), the 3 speed auto transmission did die at 120K. I have the same trans in a 96 Voyager and, at 107K, its starting to hiccup in the same manner. just be sure you expect a trans problem. I havent had any problems with the 2.5L 4 cyl, except for injector/throttle cleaning and an EGR valve.

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  Durango Fan - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Mindemann - July 7 - 2:00 am

  Great vehicle - really enjoyed driving it. Very quick. Short turning radius. Very comfortable ride.

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  My First SUV Purchase - 2001 Dodge Durango
  By Lori0865 - July 7 - 2:00 am

  My Durango is an SLT, but it has the 17" alloy wheels/tires, the optional 3rd seat in the rear,a power drivers seat, upgraded cloth interior and the 5.9 liter engine. I manage to get 15mpg on the highway which is better than most vehicles in its class. It handles terrific in the snow, ice, and severe thunderstorm/terrential rains in addition to good driving conditions. Its cargo capacity is awsome for a Christmas shopping spree at Birch Run or hauling 25 40lb bags of lava rock for landscaping (the suspension never flinched)!!! It holds 6 adults and one child comfortably as well as 2 dogs, 2 adults and luggage for a cross country trip.

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  Dodge Nitro 2007 - 2007 Dodge Nitro
  By aburke21 - July 6 - 3:43 am

  Awesome to drive. I get a lot of looks and compliments from people. By far my favorite SUV!

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  Good inexpensive little car! - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By dan_gen - July 6 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car new five years ago. It has been very reliable over the five years. We have only had to make minor repairs to the car. It still gets great gas mileage. Within the first two years we did have problems with the sunroof, but it was under warranty and our local Dodge dealership took care of the problem in a timely manor. Other than that...no major problems.