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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  Dont buy this dodge - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By ken ohio - June 28 - 2:00 am

  Bought car for $19000 had no problem for 6000 miles then recall twice.. at 15000 left rear window motor stopped working, at 21000 trunk lock wont open. 30500 car overheated and wont start. at 37000 just after the warranty was over speed sensor went bad $300.00 to fix. at 42000 the instrument panel light works sometimes. auto lock on left front door makes noise and get stuck 250.00 to fix. Ac stopped working at 45000 500.00 to fix. now at 52000 the oil light comes on after at idle. dealer wants 1000.00 to fix problems. Selling this car. First American car in the last 25 years I bought. But never again I sold my domestic cars stock also. stay with Honda, Toyota, Mazda.

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  Should have bought a Tacoma - 2003 Dodge Dakota
  By manly - June 28 - 2:00 am

  I was so close to getting a Tacoma and now I wish I had. Gas guzzling and noisy truck with bad fit.

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  Wrok horse - 1991 Dodge Shadow
  By unclmick - June 24 - 2:00 am

  Like most dodges, the engine was great, but the body was crap. It started to fall apart as soon as I got it. Clear coat coming off, liners coming down. BUT, the engine ran and ran. It saved us so much money to drive it into the ground. Hard city driving and long family visit roadtrips. Overall I definitely got my money out of it.

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  Dodge and The Durango -Losers - 1999 Dodge Durango
  By Conned - June 24 - 2:00 am

  Bought 99SLT new from Glen Thomas Dodge in Long Beach.Liked the looks of the car and the V8 engines power.Routinely maintained the car. Control arms bent & the bushings were shot at 36,100 miles.Took it back to dealership as it was only 100 miles over warranty. They wouldnt fix it. Called Dodge corporate but they refered me back to the GM at Glen Thomas. He did nothing.Ended up paying for something that should have been covered.51,000 miles head gaskets blew and freeze plugs failed,cost me $1200.00 to repair.Just sold the car. GT Dodge are rip offs and Dodge Corps no better. Will never purchase a Dodge product again.

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  ARGH! - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By ARGH! - June 23 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car in 1999. For the first 6 months, it treated me well. After that, it was all down hill. I blew my head gasket, my oil and transmission fluid are always leaking, my air conditioning only wants to work for one summer at a time, Ive had problems with the oxygen sensor, and just recently there was a problem with my accelerator plate I accelerated to 90 on the highway without even touching the gas petal, and when I decided it was time to slow down, neither the brakes or emergency brake would stop it. During the good times, it has treated me well, but when troubled time hit, they hit the pocket book hard!

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  I am done with Chrysler - 1999 Dodge Caravan
  By expressrun - June 21 - 2:00 am

  The worst thing about fixing problems with this car is that they dont stay fixed. Replace a sensor and 30,000 miles later is goes bad again. Fix a leak and there will be spots in the driveway again in a short time. Are they putting the same garbage parts to repair it that it came with? Or is the dealer service bad? The biggest mistake you can make is to buy a used Chrysler minivan. It will be a head ache that will not go away. The only reason to buy a new one is the price. You can get a well equipped one for around $20,000. A Toyota or Honda will start at $25,000 and go up from there. BITE THE BULLET and spend the extra money .

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  Just give up on staying cool and its ok. - 1996 Dodge Caravan
  By looseacl - June 19 - 2:00 am

  this was the second mini-van of three owned. Why do I do this to myself???? OK, the car is VERY functional--roomy, not bad handling (next vehicle is AWD), always got us where we were going. BUT! beware of A/C problems!!! I have put over $600 into AC repairs every single year! 3 major parts, each costs $600 and they go out in rotation. Taken it to dealers, AC shops, specialists ... same story every year ... and--the next version... the 2001 AWD, just blew its first compressor. stop the insanity

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  gas - 2002 Dodge Neon
  By onetrueme - June 19 - 2:00 am

  i have a 2002 SE neon and i love the car. i only have a problem with the amount of gas the car uses. it seem like every 3 days i have to but gas in my car.

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  dodge durango battle weary beast - 2000 Dodge Durango
  By clayton english - June 17 - 10:00 am

  Great SUV, great driving performance, however, rough ride, definite truck feel. compared to the GMC Yukon Denali or Toyota Land Cruiser, this vehicle shapes up as brute force vehicle (better/similar to Yukon Denali) without subtle comforts (Land Cruiser).

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  a lot of problems - 1995 Dodge Neon
  By Jim Ye - June 11 - 2:00 am

  Constant noise because of windows without frames!! A weird knocking noise coming from the back of the car that no- one ever could figure out. Squeaky brakes. Head gasket went out at 95K, Engine oil leaking at 100K, struts went out at 100K. I run 15K on it, and have spent more than $2000 for fixing it.