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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  I agree! - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By Chandra - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Neon new and have tried to keep up with regular maintenance. At this point, I have replaced all of the engine gaskets and transmission gaskets because they were made of plastic and sprung leaks starting while the car was under warranty, the radiator broke (made of plastic, too!), and a number of other repairs that seem surprising for this car have been made. On top of that, the car gets dented if you look at it wrong. Luckily, I have not had the paint problems others have complained about.

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  Done with Dodge/Chrysler - 1998 Dodge Caravan
  By done with dodge - July 17 - 2:00 am

  At around 22K the trouble started. Front brakes went out, front disk rotor?s were pitted (I believe because of poor quality from supplier),at around 39K, BRAKES WENT BAD AGAIN! Same issue bad disk brakes had to replace new rotors and brakes again. We also had problems with valve cover gaskets, which caused a major oil leak. TIGHTING UP bolts on covers DOES NOTHING! As they end up loosing up every 10 to 12 thousand miles or so. Transmission just went out yesterday at 58K miles. As luck would have it, at the start of a vacation trip, THANK?S DODGE!!!!!!!!!! Good bye Dodge, hello Honda or Toyota.

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  Looks are deceiving - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By Seekingpeace - July 16 - 2:00 am

  I love the looks of this sporty car..but it stops there...Brake problems, unknown wheelwell noise, road noise, door handle broke at 33000, a/c poor, gas mileage poor, paint sucks, fading peeling at 33000 miles, general poor overall body quality. Got it cheap...its true you get what you pay for...would not by another Intrepid

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  D-O-G D-E Not Dodge - 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Corvettekev - July 13 - 3:13 am

  The good - the vehicle swallows miles and payload extremely well. Its roomy & comfy. a lot of mags write that the interior is "cheap" and uncomfortable- I have to differ. Driving the van holds its own and I found it to be a lot more nimble than the Ford. Quality is the issue. The van eats brakes! We replaced rotors and pads at 17k - my Ford got 50k mile on the brakes. I drive an old Alfa Romeo - this Dodge has electrical gremlins. Bad coil packs, ignition issues, door issues etc. Burned 2.5 qts oil in 3500 miles and Im told thats normal! Worst part - the service department is useless! Every issue req multiple trips until the prob left you stranded. The van was traded in 15 months in.

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  should go manual. - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By hherve - July 12 - 2:00 am

  Decent car. The automatic transmission makes the performance poor. The comfort is fine. In brief, a very good car if you just look for 1 engine 4 wheels, 4/5 seats and a roomy trunk. Should have got it manual and it would have been great (hopefully).

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  wish i opted for extended warenty - 1996 Dodge Dakota
  By joshua dunton - July 12 - 2:00 am

  i have a 96 dakota slt club cab v6 with 90k miles.it has had many problems transmision,ac,plebium gasket leak,water pump,alternator,fuel gage not accurate,dash lights to name a few. i like the looks of the truck,and over all comfort is good.i like the engines choices,better than competion.v6 needs more power.i average 16mpg mixed driving. and slightly bigger than competion. inteior is outdated,next generation got much improved in this area.overall i would not recommend this truck do to poor reliability problems, but i may have owned a lemmon. just my two cense take it for what its worth.

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  Piece of junk - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By kgris1 - July 10 - 2:00 am

  stay away.. tons of oil problems. Also alot of electrical problems, that dealers cant fix. Such as speedometer, gfuel gauge etc. sometimes they work but most of the time they dont. The only good part about the car is the interior-It has held up very well.. Stll in excellent shape

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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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  a big paperweight - 1997 Dodge Neon
  By mscotti - July 6 - 2:00 am

  great purchase.. at first. now, just 3 years later engine has seized and i am stuck with a worthless vehicle and 1 year of payments to go. had problems right from start ranging from altenator to battery connections. ending with a seized engine @ 86,000 miles. would not recommend this car AT ALL. older models have shown to be very problematic (head gaskets, engines). not worth anything in resale value.

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  Dont buy a neon - 1996 Dodge Neon
  By redcurls417 - July 2 - 2:00 am

  My maintenence log has become a novel for my 96 Dodge Neon. --original paint has peeled off --air conditioner broke 5 times in first 3 years --engine belt shreaded first week of ownership --hole in gas tank and oil leak in past year --gas mileage has gone down considerably in the past year