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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  bad choice - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By msr212 - August 6 - 2:00 am

  I Had the truck less then a week, 500 miles and I had to bring it back to the dealership due to lack of power and after being told there was nothing wrong they had to tear the engine apart and redo the valves along with change items in the trani. now at 20,000 miles my a/c switch has broken and only works on high and the a/c is leaking in the truck!

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  Never again - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By jackcat - August 4 - 2:00 am

  We bought our Intrepid in 98 with 26k miles. Having all family out of state, we put a lot of miles on our vehicles. This car had nothing but strange problems - the tensioner when out at 70k, starter at 36k, oil sending unit wiring harness at 96k, AC condenser and cooling fan motor at 99k. Two weeks ago, at 102k, the engine caught fire in our driveway. Insurance is calling it a total loss. We must admit that after all the problems, we werent surprised by the spontaneous combustion and are quietly relieved to be free of this car. Both of us come from Chrysler product families. Never again. This one nearly cost us our home.

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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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  14,000 - 2009 Dodge Journey
  By cowlover - July 30 - 12:20 pm

  I got my dodge journey for valentines days last year traded my 05 magnum sxt in low miles mint cond. to get this car and have nothing but issues. Tomorrow they are replacing lifters and other things on the engine to take care of my ticking noise. And in Dec I took it in for routine oil change and was told I had 80% left of brakes now 2200 miles and 3 months I have 10% left. I asked mgr what the heck? He said has not heard of any defect and just it is how I am driving but in the next sentence tells me that they revised the pads. So I asked what happened to my 70% he said tech must have read the pads wrong in dec. The mileage is bad also I am lucky if I get 13-miles per gallon .

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  Multiple repairs - 1996 Dodge Stratus
  By jmcg - July 30 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle in 1999 as a 3 y/o with 36K. I have since replaced the head gasket (at 37K), power steering rack (at 56K) and now the AC at (57K). Not to mention little stuff like the interior trunk release doesnt work and the display on the radio went out at 40K. Overall a disappointment in reliability. I am unlikely to own another Chrysler product based on this experience.

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  Dodge Caravan 2003 - 2003 Dodge Caravan
  By 1stvan - July 29 - 2:00 am

  Towed two times in 8 months. Replaced burned up computer twice and then fixed wire that rubbing. Had power stering rack-noise with stering, leaking fluid.

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  Neon brakes are terrible - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By MacDaddy - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Wifes car. Decent car in all aspects except brakes. Loudest I have ever heard. You have to wear earplugs when driving it, expecially in the rain. Dodge has said this is normal and nothing can be done about the brake noise. I cant believe that. Im not very happy w/ the sales department that sold me the car. They should have pointed that out in the first place. The Dodge service department was no help either. Bottom line for us is, no more Dodge products. Sad to say since I love the new Rams, but I wont go through this again. If anyone has any suggestions or has dealt w/ this problem, please offer me some advice. Thanks!!

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  will never buy a dodge again - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By timsarahriley - July 20 - 2:00 am

  We have had a problem with the car since we bought it. As far as we know there was only one other owner, and why she traded it in, I can guess why. First it was the struts, then the brakes, transmission, knocking noise, air conditioning, I could go on and on.

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  Too much to fix - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By Dorothy - July 19 - 2:00 am

  I would not buy this car unless you have money to keep fixing it. The head gasket will obviously go at multiple points, and then everything else under the hood will go as well.

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  3 more days and its gone! - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By bilahn - July 19 - 2:00 am

  I have had many of the problems stated by the others, the worst of which was a catastrophic oil leak that cost $900 and 3 trips. Now they tell me theres a "miniscule" radiator hole. Plus, the car shakes and vibrates all the time! I wish I hadnt fallend for the hype back in 1996. Rotten car.