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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  Not so hot Neon - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By carrie - May 30 - 2:00 am

  Head gasket problems seem to be normal for this car ours had to be replaced around 35,000 miles (and the head remilled to boot). No recall for this problem, but Chrysler did kick some cash back to the dealership for repairs after a considerable amount of complaining. Also, trunk has always leaked -- friends of mine had the same problems with their Neons. After five years of misc. mechanical problems, Im happy to be getting rid of it!

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  Will never buy Dodge again - 1997 Dodge Intrepid
  By its a piece of crap - May 29 - 2:00 am

  I thought it was a nice car when I bougth it, but after all the trouble Ive had with it over a few years I have regretted buying it. The check engine light is always on, but there are no porblems that they can find and I already spent 3k trying to fix it. The transmission is crap. The torque converter that is supposed to save gas mileage only serves to wear the transmission out.

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  ShakeRattleandRoll - 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By grandeheadache - May 26 - 7:36 am

  Major repairs starting at 5.5 years and 98k miles is not acceptable. AC died. Front tie rod issues. Constant rattling on every bump - service dept. never finds an issue. Serpentine belt never wanted to be a part of the vehicle. I cant believe how quickly it rusted! Have been driving Fords too, and havent seen that. We had enough.

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  Jerrys SXT - 2002 Dodge Dakota
  By JerryH. - May 21 - 2:00 am

  Before owning this truck I had a Ford F150 XLT Supercab w/ 5.4L and three door cab. I traded it in because the transmission was starting to go. The biggest mistake I made in buying the Dakota was in not getting a V-8. I mistakenly thought that the gas mileage would be better with the V-6. The amount of gas mileage that you receive does not even come close to justifying the horsepower you lose when going with the V-6. Other than than preferring the V-8, I would also get the quad cab instead of the club cab. With my f-150 I at least had three doors, with the club cab you have to fold the front seats forward in order to access the back seat.

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  DODGE DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY - 2000 Dodge Neon
  By mr832 - May 20 - 2:00 am

  I have had my ES neon for 3 and a half years and 64k miles I bought it new and I have been fairly happy with it. It has good power as long as you realize its not a sports car its an econ car. my sunroof craped out after the 1st year and the dealership said it would be $675.00 to replace it! had an electrical problem with the a/c after the 1st year and had the bearing replaced in the wheel at 18k miles.

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  1995 intrepid - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By kencpfs - May 12 - 2:00 am

  Runs good, plenty of power. Repeated transmission problems, Repeated Air conditioning problems, Repeated Steering assembly problems, Continual problems with the stereo/CD player

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  Huge Tire Issue - 2007 Dodge Caliber
  By cotto19 - May 5 - 8:23 pm

  At 20K miles the road noise was deafening and we noticed the passenger rear tire was warn down to the tread markers. Upon evaluation, we were told that we needed to purchase 4 new tires. We were not given any explanation as to why we were being held responsible for the worn tires. Some research revealed that we are not the only ones with this issue. Chrysler sent us to Firestone. Firestone engineers, said that the tire specified by Chrysler is softer and does not qualify for any tread warranty. The Firestone told me that Chrysler knows that the tires are no good after 12K to 15K miles. Chrysler refuses to help. The only resolution is buy new tires. Apparently, once a year.

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  Intrepid - 1994 Dodge Intrepid
  By pollard - April 30 - 2:00 am

  this car is comfortable, rides good and gets good gas milabe but has a lot of road noise and is exreamly undependable.

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  Never Again - 1997 Dodge Dakota
  By Phillie - April 27 - 2:00 am

  Never again will I purchase a Dodge product after this truck. I had the truck in the shop more in the first two years that my other vehicle has been in the ten years I have owned it. Not only does the truck lack quality, but the service at the Raymond Dodge Service Center is horrible. Talk about unfriendly people.

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  pretty good car - 2002 Dodge Stratus
  By Bucket - April 25 - 2:00 am

  This is a company car, so I didnt really have much of a choice. I probably wouldnt buy one myself. That said, I do think this is a pretty decent car. The seats are very uncomfortable (I do a lot of driving for work), and the interior is unimpressive. But I do like the speedy engine. This car has gotten me through quite a few bad passing decisions on my part with flying colors. Other than a freak problem with all of my tires unexplainably and constantly losing pressure, Ive had no problems.