History Of Dodge Auto Maker

Dodge is a predominant automotive manufacturer in the United States. The company was started in the early 1900's by a couple of brothers and has had its share of ebbs and flows. Today, there are more than sixty countries around the world where Dodges are sold and driven. Here are some historical details about this one-hundred plus year old business:

- Car parts biz: Originally, this company's function was to make and sell car parts. These parts were distributed to the other auto makers in Detroit, Michigan back in the 1900's. This early version produced chassis components and precision engines to Ford and Olds Motor Companies. This was a very successful time but the founders wanted to become more independent and produce an auto on their own.

- Dodge vehicles: In 1914, the first fully assembled automobile of this new expansion rolled out of the plant. This virgin vehicle was called the Model 30. It was designed to be more luxurious than the Ford Model T. Details such as steel body construction instead of wood covered with steel were revolutionary at the time. We now take that sort of detail for granted. Transmissions were also modified into a more luxurious sliding design.

- Founders: Horace and John Dodge were the brothers who founded this company. Horace was born in Michigan in 1868. John was born in 1864. These two brothers were extremely close to each other since birth. They were good friends throughout childhood, adulthood and ran this successful car manufacturing company until their deaths in 1920. Both men died the same year, Horace from pneumonia and John from cirrhosis of the liver. Even though these men were wealthy, smart and successful, they were still shunned by high society due to their lack of manners and refinement. Horace's widow was a Scottish woman who ended up living to the age of 103.

- 2nd only to Ford Motors: Ford Motor Company was number one in the country in the year 1920 but Dodge followed closely at number two. Although the brothers may have been from an average working class family, they were brilliant in marketing and running a successful operation. The company was becoming wildly successful in the same year that Horace and John died.
- Widows take over: Since the founding men died within months of each other, the organization fell into the hands of their widows. The two women ran the company successfully for five more years until selling it for more than a million dollars. The new owners tried their hand at management but by the year 1927, Dodge had slid to seventh place in the ranking of auto makers.
- Oil crisis becomes automobile makers' crisis: In 1973, gasoline prices skyrocketed. Many American car makers were impacted as customers looked for more fuel efficiency. Big trucks and gigantic cars fell out of favor but Dodge created new designs that were more compact oil sippers.

Dodge has been around for many years and is still a major player in the automotive industry today. Trucks, SUVs, vans and sedans bearing the company's name can be seen on roads all over the world.