Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles and trucks, sold by Chrysler LLC in over 60 different countries and territories worldwide. more...

Home
ATV Parts
Apparel & Merchandise
Automotive Tools
Aviation Parts
Boats Parts
Car & Truck Parts
Car Audio, Video
Manuals & Literature
Aviation
Boats & Watercraft
Car & Truck
Acura
Alfa Romeo
Audi
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Camaro
Corvette
Other Models
Trucks
Chrysler
Dodge
Ferrari
Fiat
Ford
Mustang
Other Models
Trucks
GMC
Honda
Infiniti
Jaguar
Jeep
Land Rover
Lexus
Lincoln
Mazda
Mercedes
Mercury
Nissan
Oldsmobile
Other Makes
Plymouth
Pontiac
Porsche
Saab
Subaru
Toyota
Volvo
VW
Motorcycle & ATV
Other
Motorcycle Parts
Other
Other Vehicle Parts
Personal Watercraft Parts
Racing Parts
Services & Installation
Snowmobile Parts
Vintage Car & Truck Parts
Wholesale Lots

Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900 to supply parts and assemblies for Detroit’s growing auto industry, Dodge began making its own complete vehicles in 1914. The brand was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1928, passed through the short-lived DaimlerChrysler merger of 1998–2007 as part of the unofficial "Chrysler Group", and is now a cornerstone of the new Chrysler LLC run by Cerberus Capital Management (a private equity investment firm).

Founding and early years

After the founding of the Dodge Brothers Company by Horace and John Dodge in 1900, the Detroit-based company quickly found work producing precision engine and chassis components for the city’s burgeoning number of automobile firms. Chief among these customers were the established Olds Motor Vehicle Company and the then-new Ford Motor Company. Dodge Brothers enjoyed much success in this field, but the brothers' growing wish to build complete vehicles was exemplified by John Dodge's 1913 exclamation that he was "tired of being carried around in Henry Ford's vest pocket."

By 1914, he and Horace had fixed that by creating the new four-cylinder Dodge Model 30. Pitched as a slightly more upscale competitor to the ubiquitous Ford Model T, it pioneered or made standard many features later taken for granted: all-steel body construction (when the vast majority of cars worldwide still used wood framing under steel panels), 12-volt electrical system (6-volt systems would remain the norm up until the 1950s), and sliding-gear transmission (the best-selling Model T would retain an antiquated planetary design all the way until its demise in 1927). As a result of all this, as well as the brothers' well-earned reputation for quality through the parts they had made for other successful vehicles, Dodge cars were ranked at second place for US sales as early as 1916.

Death of the brothers

Dodge cars continued to rank second place in American sales in 1920. But that year, tragedy struck as John Dodge was felled by pneumonia in January. His brother Horace then died of cirrhosis in December of the same year (reportedly out of grief at the loss of his brother, with whom he was very close). The Dodge Brothers Company fell into the hands of the brothers' widows, who promoted long-time employee Frederick Haynes to the company presidency. During this time, the Model 30 was evolved to become the new Series 116 (though it retained the same basic construction and engineering features).

Dodge Brothers emerged as a leading builder of light trucks. They also entered into a production agreement whereby they produced trucks marketed as Graham Brothers by the men who would later produce Graham and Graham-Paige automobiles.

Read more at Wikipedia.org