The Dodge brothers were born in Anzhou, Michigan, the older brother John Dodge (John Dodge) was born in 1864, and the younger brother Horade Dodge (Horade Dodge) was born in 1868. In 1886, the Dodge family moved to Detroit.
In the 1890s, bicycles were the main means of transportation in Detroit. Horris relies on a bicycle to commute to get off work, but it is not very reliable. In 1897, he invented the dust-proof bearing. John decided that the two brothers established the Evans and Dodge Bicycle Company on the Detroit River in Canada.
Three years later, the company was acquired by the Canadian National Bicycle Company. The Dodge brothers got the patent rights for $7,500 in cash and bearings, and this was the beginning of their fortunes. They bought machinery and rented a plot of land in Lafitte and Bobbin Avenue in Detroit. The first Dodge Machinery Store opened in 1901, with 12 employees.
Within a year, Dodge Brothers received a large number of orders. They want to manufacture 3,000 sets of gearboxes, but this requires a lot of money to be spent on machinery and equipment. If luck played a role in Dodge's success, it was at this time that the Canadian Bicycle Company closed down, and the Dodge brothers received its machinery and equipment as compensation for the use of Horace's bearing patents.
Dodge Brothers actually manufactured most of Ford's first cars, including engines, chassis and all transmission components, and Ford rarely used bodies and chassis provided by other manufacturers. The relationship between the Dodge brothers and Ford has been very good for many years, and John is also the vice president of Ford. However, in 1913, the Dodge brothers began to notice that Ford had a tendency to be self-sufficient. At that time, the Dodge brothers had reopened a large factory in Mizhi Anzhou, which later became the famous Dodge General Factory. Horrice and John built the world's first automobile proving ground and designed their first car in 1914.
In 1915, Dodge trucks were the main combat equipment during the war. In the border wars triggered by Pancho Villa's raids in 1915 and 1916, it was affirmed by the armed forces of the United States and Mexico. During the First World War, the Allied Powers used Dodge cars and munitions in the European theater. For this reason, John Dodge was called to Washington, DC, and asked him to produce a rear seat mechanism for the French 155 mm cannon. The Dodge brothers accepted this task. They built a factory for this, prepared the necessary machines and funds, and completed the task without making any profit. The Dodge brothers only asked: the government not to interfere and control their company's technological development plan.
The first Dodge commercial vehicle was an ambulance. Based on this model, Dodge Brothers developed a commercial truck. In 1920, commercial vehicle production accounted for 10% of the company's total production. By 1925, this number had risen to 20%.
In 1917, Dodge Brothers reached an annual sales record of 100,000 cars. Just two years later, it made a profit of $24 million on the sale of 121,000 cars.
In 1915, Dodge cars sold fourth in the United States. By 1919, Dodge had sold 400,000 cars and had 17,000 employees.
In 1920, John Dodge and Horus Dodge died of pneumonia several months apart. One of their long-term deputy, Frederick Haynes (Frederick Haynes) became president of the company in January 1921. F. Haynes has worked with the Dodge brothers since they were engaged in the bicycle business, so they are very familiar with the overall situation of the company. In the first year of F. Haynes, due to the decline in sales and profits, an economic recession began. However, the better sales performance of the enclosed cars and vans supported the company. Although Dodge cars are successful, since the company was founded, the cars sold are basically the same style, thus hindering the development of the Dodge brand.
F. Haynes only stayed at Dodge for a short period of time. In 1924, the heirs of the Dodge brothers decided to sell their shares in the company. During this period, many well-known industrialists at the time had led the Dodge Motor Company. . Dodge first introduced a car with an all-steel closed body in 1923. At the same time, a vacuum brake windshield wiper and a painting process to brighten the outer surface of the car were also used for the first time on the Dodge car produced in 1925.
In 1927, the Dodge sedan underwent an important design change: smaller wheels and thicker tires were used to support the lower frame and body. Although Dodge launched its first six-cylinder Senior Six sedan aimed at a higher-priced market, the company's wealth has diminished. Dealers only sold 150,000 of the 178,000 cars produced by the company.
In 1928, Chrysler acquired Dodge Brothers. Dodge Brothers Co. became a division of Chrysler Corporation.
The Chrysler-Dodge combination has benefited both sides of the company, and bankers believe that Chrysler is a reliable investor in Dodge. Chrysler acquired a well-established sales team, a casting shop and a forging shop in Dodge. At the same time, W.P. Chrysler also needs Dodge's reliable reputation and public business reputation. Dodge leaders Dillon and Chrysler knew each other's interests in the cooperation agreement, but they lengthened formal negotiations to attract people's attention. With Chrysler's acquisition of Dodge officially effective, the company is fully equipped to become a competitor to General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company (Ford).
Around the end of the 1970s, Chrysler had achieved extraordinary success in the large van touring car market, but there were two other factors restricting its sales growth: First, although this model has always paid great attention to comfort, but The driving feeling is still similar to that of trucks; secondly, they are too large to accommodate the garages of ordinary American families. In order to break through these two bottlenecks, Chrysler engineers have in mind a model that is simple and spacious, dynamic and stable.
On November 2, 1983, the first van was born at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. The initial models include Plymouth Jetron, Dodge Caravan and Dodge Caravan C/V. In its first year on the market, 210,000 vehicles were sold in the United States, which exceeded the profit balance point of 26% from the estimated 155,000. At that time, the United States was experiencing economic recession, and Chrysler's overall operations were not ideal. Therefore, this brand new van wagon played a significant role in its comeback. After this vehicle landed in Europe in 1987, it was named "multi-purpose vehicle" (MPV: multi-purpose vehicle) by Europeans. The concept of MPV was born and spread. And Dodge has also become the backbone of Chrysler Automobiles.
Dodge has developed to now have a pattern of multiple model series. Car models include: Viper, Interpid, Stealth, Spirit, Shadow, Neon, Colt, etc. SUVs include DURANGO, DAKOTA , RAM TRUCK (ram pickup), RAM SRT-10, SPRINTER, minivans are: CARAVAN, CRAND CARAVAN.
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