Dodge

Dodge is a manufacturer of cars as well as trucks. Between the years of 1914 and 1927, Dodge was known as the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. In the year 1928, Dodge was acquired by the Chrysler Corporation. In the year 1998, Dodge merged with Daimler Benz to form DaimlerChrysler.

The history of Dodge goes back to the year 1901, when brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge decided to move their bicycle and machine factory to Detroit from Windsor, Canada, where they had been manufacturing intricate automobile parts. The bearings and other parts of the Dodge brothers were high in demand early on. The Dodge brothers would help design motor parts for early versions of the Oldsmobile vehicles.

In the year 1902, the Dodge brothers were approached by one Henry Ford, who was looking for backers for his own car company. The Dodge brothers played an integral role in the foundation of the Ford Motor Company, while also manufacturing a number of parts for the early Ford models. Up to the year 1913, all running gear for Ford automobiles was manufactured by Dodge.

In the year 1914, the Dodge brothers decided to launch their own car company. They named it the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. They received hundreds of applications for dealerships, and chose fifty, many of which remain highly profitable entities to this day.

In its first year of existence, Dodge introduced the “Old Betsy,” a rugged car that was noted for its durability and reliability. A total of 249 new cars were built in Dodge’s first year of business. As a means of boosting their fortunes, the Dodge brothers sued Ford in the year 1917 and won. That was the year that Dodge also began to manufacture motor trucks, which were first used in the First World War by the army of the United States of America.

Dodge Viper Car