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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  Looks are not everything - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By Vernon J. - March 19 - 2:00 am

  Nice ride and handeling, poor mileage, noisy. This is the third and last Dodge product I purchase, the AC on all of them spews mold spores into the cabin and the drive trains are poor at best. I already traded this joke for a Montana EXT, now thats a nice van for a fair price.

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  Shop Rat!!! - 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By John Grey - March 19 - 2:00 am

  This van has been in the shop a lot! We have replaced a transmission, Air conditioner compressor, Distributor coil, plus 3 rear window wiper motors!!! Not to mention numerous fit and finish problems with interior trim, arm rests, and seats! We are currently looking into buying a Honda and dumping this van! Do yourselve a favor and stay away from Dodge minivans. This is our second. Our first one we replaced 3 transmissions in that!!!

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  Never buy a Neon - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By Jinx-y - March 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Dodge Neon used with 40,000 miles. Now, at 70,000 miles, I cannot wait to get it off my hands. The car is poorly constructed. Ive spent way too much of my free time fixing the car. Only 3 months ago I dropped almost a grand on a tune-up. Now, the head gasket is broken and I have engine damage. Why did Dodge continue to make this car when they knew the head gaskets would go with so few miles? Its a very expensive thing to fix. For a little more money, I could have had a reliable car and peace of mind.

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  baaad - 1995 Dodge Intrepid
  By rymcp - March 11 - 2:00 am

  Was nice at first but now after less than 1 year of me owning it, the tranny as well as motor need replaceing. Its at just over 200000km (sorry dont know miles) the repair bill is more than i paid for the car, definitely time for trade in. Sorry I bought it. a\c never worked for me though.

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  Great Little car - 1993 Dodge Spirit
  By spirit - March 9 - 2:00 am

  I have had my spirit for over 2 years now. It has been extremely reliable and ive had only minor problems. Now my car has 136000 miles on it and its still going. It may not be the best looking car, but if your looking for reliability , you cant go wrong with this one. I also just bought another spirit 93 with 73508 miles. I know ill get at least 150k out of it.

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  Still Running at 150 K - 1995 Dodge Caravan
  By Johnny DEZ - March 5 - 2:00 am

  My old Mini-van has crisscrossed the country many times. At about 135k miles, the water pump went, I have heard this is puite common for this yr and model, when that happened I lost thehead gasket. I almost retired old Betsie, but I decided not too. And after those repairs she is now running fine again. I have heard that the next thing to go will be the transmission. this usually happens at about 160 k or so former owners have told me. I am gonna ride her til she cant ride no more, then I am gonna look into a SUV. Envoy, Pathfinder, Or Volvo

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  Warranty Scam - 2000 Dodge Stratus
  By wendywoowoo - March 5 - 2:00 am

  We puchased our Stratus with remaining manufacturer warranty and the salesman told us our In service date was 3/30/00 and that the Out service date would be 3/30/03. On 2/24/03 our transmission was doing some weird things(fluid leak). Took vehicle to local Dodge service department on 2/25/03 and they tell me warranty expired on 2/23/03. Called Chrysler and they inform me of the same thing. Make sure when purchasing a Dodge/Chrysler you get written documentation of the In service date and Out service date, because Chrysler corporation will only file a complaint, but wont do anything to help. Also having problems with door locks and power windows.

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  Could have done better - 1999 Dodge Stratus
  By pcotrash - March 4 - 2:00 am

  My Dodge Status still gets me back and forth to work but I have had several problems with it that shouldnt happen when you buy a brand new vehicle. Gas gauge stopped working and left me stranded in the middle of nowhere at 1130pm. Also have had to replace speed sensor, had the rotors turned 6 months ago and they alreadly need turning again. Several other problems also.

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  Its Dead in my Driveway!!! - 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By The Curves - March 3 - 10:00 am

  It was great for the first 10 months until I noticed the transmission kept leaking. It also burned oil a lot. I had to put a quart in every 30 days. I had the transmission leak fixed and about 9 months later it literally came apart! The gears went through the bell housing! It cost me $2000.00 to replace it! Then 6 months later the engine threw a rod and now it has been sitting in my driveway for the past 2 years. I refuse to put another dime into it!!!!

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  Intrepid is only great for three years - 1998 Dodge Intrepid
  By emm - March 3 - 2:00 am

  We got suckered into a five year lease when we wanted a three year. The car was fantastic for 3 and a half years. Thank goodness we have an extended warranty because since then the car has been on a flatbed at least twice a year with major problems. This past month the car was at the dealership for two straight weeks while a part was on back order. Again, my car is in the dealership and they want to charge me $275 for a bad battery and terminal-it isnt covered under the warranty. No wonder the Intrepid is listed by Consumer Reports as one of the worst cars to buy used!!!