Brothers John Francis Dodge (1864 - 1920) and Horace Elgin Dodge (1868 - 1920) were excellent machinists and had developed a name for their ability to mass produce precision parts. In 1900, they created Dodge Brothers Company and were supplying to Engine and chasis components to many automobile companies. They earned a reputation of being dependable.
In 1902 , they received an order to supply 3000 transmissions to Old Motor Works. Later they received and order for 650 Engines and transmission from Ford Motor Company. As time progressed , they were supplying most of the parts to Ford Motor Company and were fully dependent on the Ford Motor Company for survival.
Dodge brothers realised this dependence on Ford and wanted to move out and manufacture their own car. In 1914, they formed Dodge Brothers Inc to manufacture cars and introduced their first car - Dodge Model 30 in 1915.
A 1915 Dodge Model 30 -
The model 30 had many features which were not available in other cars as well as Ford's car - All Steel body, 12V electrical system and 3-speed sliding gear transmission to name a few.
In 1917 , Dodge expanded in to manufacturing "commercial cars" - Ambulances, fire trucks, panel vans, delivery vans and later full size trucks. A fleet of 1920 Dodge delivery trucks -
The word RAM was first used in the early 1930s and later popularized in the 1970s to brand the Dodge turcks.
In 1920 , both the Dodge brothers died suddenly, within a year of each. The management of the company passed to their wives. In 1928 , the Dodge Brothers Inc was sold to a consortium who sold it to Chrysler Corporation.
Some of the well known Dodge cars are -
A 1939 Dodge Luxury Liner -
Dodge Challenger -
Dodge Durango -
A 1989 Dodge Ram -
High Performance car - the Dodge Viper
In 1998 , Chrysler Corporation merged with Daimler to form Daimler- Chrysler. In 2007, Daimler divested Chrysler to a consortium which was later bought by Fiat.
The Dodge Logos -
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