About DODGE
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth.
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth.
Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company machine shop by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge in the early 1900s, Dodge was originally a supplier of parts and assemblies to Detroit-based automakers like Ford. They began building complete automobiles under the "Dodge Brothers" brand in 1914, predating the founding of the Chrysler Corporation. The factory located in Hamtramck, Michigan, was the Dodge main factory from 1910 until it closed in January 1980. John Dodge died from the Spanish flu in January 1920, having lungs weakened by tuberculosis 20 years earlier. Horace died in December of the same year, perhaps weakened by the Spanish flu, but the cause of death was cirrhosis of the liver. Their company was sold by their families to Dillon, Read & Co. in 1925 before being sold to Chrysler in 1928.
Dodge's mainstay vehicles were trucks and full-sized passenger cars through the 1970s, but it also built compact cars such as the 1963 through 1976 Dart and midsize cars such as the "B-Body" Coronet and Charger from 1965 until 1978.
The 1973 oil embargo caused American "gas guzzler" sales to slump, prompting Chrysler to develop the Dodge Aries K platform compact and midsize cars for the 1981 model year. The K platform and its derivatives are credited with reviving Chrysler's business in the 1980s. One example was the Dodge Caravan.
The Dodge brand continued through multiple ownership changes of Chrysler from 1998 until 2009. These included its merger with Daimler-Benz AG between 1998 and 2007. Chrysler was subsequently sold by Daimler-Benz to Cerberus Capital Management. It went through the effects of the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis on the United States resulting in the Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization and ultimately being acquired by Fiat.
In 2011, Dodge and its sub-brands, Dodge Ram and Dodge Viper, were separated. Dodge announced that the Viper was to be an SRT product, and Ram a standalone marque. In 2014, SRT was merged back into Dodge. Later that year, the Chrysler Group was renamed FCA US LLC, coinciding with the merger of Fiat S.p.A.. The Chrysler Group was integrated into the corporate structure of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Subsequently, another merger occurred on January 16, 2021, between FCA and the PSA Group to form Stellantis, making the Dutch-domiciled automaker the second largest in Europe, after Volkswagen.
History
Founding and early years
Horace and John Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company in Detroit in 1900, and quickly found work manufacturing precision engine and chassis components for the city's growing number of automobile firms. Chief among them were the established Olds Motor Vehicle Company and the new Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford selected the Dodge brothers to supply a wide range of components for his original Model A (1903–04) comprising the entire chassis: Ford needed to add only the body and wheels to finish the cars. Henry offered the Dodge brothers a 10% share in his new company in return for $10,000 worth of goods ($387,000 in 2025 dollars). In 1902, the brothers won a contract to produce transmissions for Ransom E. Olds' company, Oldsmobile upon which they built a solid reputation for quality and service. They rejected a second contract from Oldsmobile in 1903, to retool their plant to manufacture engines for the Ford Motor Company, which would be in debt to the brothers.
The first machine shop where the brothers worked as parts suppliers for Olds and Ford was located at the Boydell Building on Beaubien Street at Lafayette. This location was replaced by a larger facility at Hastings Street and Monroe Avenue, which is now a parking garage for the Hollywood Casino (Hastings Street at this location has been renamed Chrysler Service Drive). By 1910 the Dodge Main factory was built in Hamtramck, where it remained until 1979.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA