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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  dawn - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By Dawn - January 17 - 2:00 am

  runs good looks good

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  dawn - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By dawn - January 17 - 2:00 am

  runs good looks good

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  nice - 1994 Dodge Caravan
  By wiggles - January 17 - 2:00 am

  At 95K on it. We have a very basic caravan. Only options are AC, tilt, 2 built-in baby seats, rear defog, tint glass, and cruise. it has a 3 liter V6.i installed bosch platinum 4s in it and increased my MPG by 2.

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  I will never purchase a Dodge again - 1998 Dodge Durango
  By jlohn - January 17 - 2:00 am

  I have never had a vehicle that required so many trips to the dealer. Its only a 98, but Im on my third battery, the lower ball joints have been replaced, the air conditioner has been replaced, the rear wiper motor, all 4 power window motors (drivers side twice), transmission sensor. Several wheel studs have needed replacement. Luckily most of the repairs were covered under warrenty. Currently, I have the rocking chair problem with the drivers seat that most other Durango owners have noticed.

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  An OK car - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By Swine - January 16 - 2:00 am

  Neon R/Ts are fun to drive horrible to maintain. The sunroof broke (in the open position) twice under warranty, and again out of the warranty (I refuse to fix it). Transmission broke 10,000 miles past warranty due to "defective gasket." Head gasket blew at 65,000. Currently, mine overheats, regardless of what the outside temperature, due to what my mechanic describes as "poor engineering." Also, one window rolls down faster than the other. (??)

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  Get an Accord instead, youll be happier - 1999 Dodge Intrepid
  By Jarnail - January 16 - 2:00 am

  I bought this in June 99, it was their demo, a few minor problems at the beginning then the noises coming from the rear, in the end dealer told me he would sue me if I wouldnt leave them alone. I learnt a very expensive lesson take my advice buy a Accord or Camery for a few thousand more youll be happier in the long run. I will admit that Chrysler makes nice looking cars but they lack the engineering to real make this a quality car. Before this car I always bought domestic because I believed that the domestic cars were just as good as japanese and german cars, I know better know.

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  Eats Belts and Brakes! - 2000 Dodge Caravan
  By lawman834 - January 15 - 2:00 am

  This van is a company vehicle for me. I have had it for about 9 mos and have taken it from 55000 to 72000. In that time I have had a freon leak, lost two AC belts, and lost a serpentine belt. I had the brakes redone about 10000 miles ago, and they started sqeeking already. The driverside window frame came loose inside of the door causing it to get stuck. A power window switch burned out. On of the rear seats squeek at about 110 decibels at highway speeds. The tires are wearing out too quickly in my opinion, and the van has a convulsing shimmy at highway speeds. The Gas mileage has gone from bad to worse.

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  front suspension knocking sound - 2001 Dodge Caravan
  By ZZRBAR - January 12 - 2:00 am

  My Caravan has developed a knocking sound comming from the front suspension. The sound can be heard when the temperature drops below 65 degrees. The dealer has replaced the struts, strut mounts, rack and pinion, tie rod ends, steering shaft and brake calibers and it still sounds like the front end is falling out. It has spent the past mounth at the Dodge dealership waiting for some one from Chrysler to look at it and figure out what is wrong with it. The dealer told me that he has four other Caravans making the same noise. I was going to order another Caravan, this has been my fifth in 10 years, but now I am considering a Chevy Astro Van.

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  HEAD GASKET - 1998 Dodge Neon
  By neonrt - January 8 - 2:00 am

  Dodge seriously needs to get off the butt and recall the dodge neon head gasket. Im getting ready to replace mine, but the repair is costly and i really dont want to do the work but im not going to pay someone for something that i can do. Dodge on the other hand has had many complaints though different people and still no response from dodge. Its bullshit and dodge needs to show customer support. I will never buy another dodge and i hope that if you have a neon and have replaced the head gasket, to call dodge and complain, also if you have a neon and have not replaced the head gasket, get ready to do so!

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  Read reviews before you buy a vehicle - 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan
  By spidey - January 6 - 10:00 am

  We have had nothing but problems with this van. On the drive home, the van would lose power and then a second later start going again. We didnt think anything of it until smoke poured out of the hood when the a/c compressor locked up. We have 3 brake jobs on the van, air compressor, serpentine belt, tune-up, fuel filter, rear drive shaft, tie-rods, sway bar bushings, sway bar, front struts...is that all....and at the moment the van is in the garage having a bearing replaced somewhere in the drive train. The mechanic also said the boots on the rear drive shaft are torn already! This vehicle has sucked us dry to the tune of $5k.