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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  Problems - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By red_express - December 23 - 3:30 pm

  I am posting this providing information due to problems with the dodge journey. People say it fails to start when turning the key yet all the lights come on, (dead battery syndrome), if you have an immobolizer equipped remove it , they new immobolizers are built so they can be activate which shuts down the vehicles . This is a problem because it malfunctions causing the ignition not to engage and loss of power as some say, the dead battery syndrome also happens on my 2001 dodge ram 1500, my brothers 1994 dodge neon and the work truck a 2005 gmc sierra all have immobolizers and this is what is causing the problem. Do not do it all the time but the odd time when u least expect it!

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  HORRIBLE CAR !!!!!!! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By swiet - December 20 - 8:18 am

  I bought the car with 41,000 KM on it and Ive had nothing but trouble with it!! The A/C broke, transmission had problems, it had so many problems that I cannot remember them all! The biggest issue that I had with it was the water leak! It took the dealership one year and 6 different times to figure out what was wrong with it! If i had not called head office, and they sent a specialist to look at it they would have never figured out what was wrong with it! Thank god it was under warrenty when I first went it, and when the problem continued they paid for it, because they knew they sold me a faulty car. My suggestion is: if you buy this car, or any other car, take it to a mechanic and check it

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  Nice look to attract but a money pit once you have it - 2008 Dodge Avenger
  By lory3 - December 17 - 12:54 pm

  I hate this car. It has been the worst car I have ever had not because of its looks,inner or outer looks but because it is just junk. Created junk to get money out of people period. Since getting this car we have been having one electrical problem after another one this is just ridiculous. Never would I have thought Dodge could have created such a junk. I just want to get over it as it is completely unreliable since it leaves my husband everywhere and we have to be pulling it to auto shops to try and see what the heck is wrong with it over and over again. Of course so much money goes into this. Please people do not get such a car unless you want to throw your money away. Completely unreliabl

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  Major Improvement - 2012 Dodge Avenger
  By muttl - December 16 - 7:19 pm

  I recently purchased a 2012 Avenger SXT after owning an 06 Stratus since it was new. While the Stratus was very reliable the front rotors were warped more often than not. The Avenger appears to have a much higher quality associated with it. Both vehicles had the 2.4 liter engine. The refinements in the engine and the addition of the 6 speed Transmission have made a major improvement to the functionality of the car. Its smooth and quiet when accelerating. It corners and handles bumps well. The Avenger sits higher and is easier to enter and exit. Overall a very nice improvement over the Stratus.

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  Terrible car. - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By ihatestratuses - December 10 - 3:49 pm

  terrible car. bought with 132,000 miles, put 30,000 on it and had nothing but trouble from day one. the brakes needed replaced twice, the master cylinder went, the ignition coil went, the transmission went, the power steering pump went, argh! I will NEVER buy another dodge car. I had trouble with mine, my brother has troubles with his, and my cousin and aunt both have had major troubles with their chrysler sebrings. stay away from the dodge stratus!!

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  Love it - 2012 Dodge Durango
  By kallionus - December 9 - 9:39 am

  We have owned the vehicle for just over 2 months and we love it. Dodge finally paid attention to details on the interior. The leather is top quality, steering wheel feels great, wood trim is quality and does not look like cheap stick on wood, perfect ambient lighting (cupholders, doorhandles etc...), Nav with Garmin is on point. We drive a lot and freeway we average from 23-24 mpg. Nice size gas tank so we can drive 500 miles on one tank. Personally speaking, I love driving the car. Ride is great. I think it is a smoother ride than an A6 I owned a few years ago. I would consider this vehicle without question

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  Hhhmmmmm... - 2012 Dodge Durango
  By gib21043 - December 8 - 9:03 pm

  I have purhcased a 2012 Dodge Durango. The car I purchased made it about 9 miles before it was broken. It has taken the dealership nearly two weeks to repair. After 2 weeks of arguing with various people to get the issue resolved and being promised a replacement car they managed to fix mine. When I left the dealership the odometer had 56 miles on it (this is not a typo), by the time I got it back it had 75 miles on it.

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  The best car Ive ever owned - 2011 Dodge Charger
  By gina4ever0 - December 8 - 5:05 am

  I love all of the options with this car, I also love the attention I get when Im out in the car.. Everyones head turns, and Ive had people to stop me a lot asking about my Dodge Charger 2011 R/T. I do wish it got a little better gas milage. Over all its a 4.8 stars in my book. This car is quiet, reliable, and fun to drive.

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  It just keeps getting worse! - 2010 Dodge Nitro
  By plspikes - December 7 - 6:48 pm

  I loved it at first, but it just continues to mess up over and over and over. The first month, it just died. Had it towed, the dealer said it was an ignition problem and fixed it. Then a few months later, everything started going on - Id be driving down the road and the horn would start blaring full blast or the winshield wipers would come on full blast or the radio would crank itself all the way up. I had to pull over and turn the car off to make it stop. Dealer said it was some kind of computer thing and fixed it. This week my emission light came on, so today I couldnt get it inspected. Have to take it in again tomorrow. Seriously? Its a freakin brand new car!

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  Same issues - 2011 Dodge Journey
  By iwrkhrd2 - December 6 - 9:16 am

  I have a 2011 Journey purchased in July 2011, its in teh shop for the 5th time. I havent had the dead battery issue but Ive had most everything else. I think the car get scared to be alone. You get out of it and lock the doors and it fights with you blowing the horm and unlocking the door usually 3-6 times. You get in the car to start it and if you wait long enough the dash lights will start to go from bright to dim and then back and forth. The HVAC system will sometimes turn everything on high and set the temps at 84 degrees when you start the car but then the next time when you shut the car off it wont turn the HVAC system off until you open the door.