The Dodge Story

I want to ride Dodge bicycle, I want to ride Dodge bike...

Dodge Brothers Bicycle & Machine Factory was founded at the end of the 19th century. It was a family company of two brothers - John Francis and Horace Elgin.

Like most companies from this period, Dodge did not start with a car. Originally, the Dodge brothers were mainly involved in the production of bicycles and spare parts for them and for agricultural machinery. Later also for cars. In 1902 a cooperation agreement was signed with Ford. Since then, Dodge has been seen as a reliable subcontractor and has permanently entered the US automotive industry.

Old Betsy

In 1914, Ford persuaded the Dodge brothers to decide to launch their first car. It had a gracefully sounding name Old Betsy. Encouraged by the moderate success of the car, the Dodges began work on a truck that saw the light of day a year later.

In 1916, the brand established cooperation with the American army. She began to supply her with various bodies for her small truck, including ambulances and supply cars. Thanks to this contract, the concern has become one of the most important players on the American automotive market.

My name is Dodge. Just Dodge...

After the death of both brothers, the Dodge Brothers Bicycle & Machine Factory was taken over by Chrysler, who shortened the company name to Dodge. In 1935, Dodge celebrated the production of a three-million car. The dynamic development of the brand was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II.

After its completion, in 1946, the Dodge Power Wagon was created, which by many automotive historians is considered the ancestor of modern pick-ups. His production lasted up to 23 years, virtually unchanged. In the 1950s, the V8 engine was introduced. At that time, the brand image changed slightly - since then we can talk about Native American road cruisers. Examples include the Custom Royal and LaFemme models. LaFemme was described as created especially for women. Dodge was beginning to become the most sporting brand in the Chrysler group.

In 1973, the Americans signed an agreement on close cooperation with Mitsubishi. The company also had its own Lancer - a model with this name appeared in 1961, but the real legend appeared five years after the premiere of Lancer. The brand icon debuted then - the model Charger, a great precursor of the era of muscle cars. In addition to Charger, Coronet R / T, Super Bee and the iconic Challenger appeared on sale.

Fuel devouring and crisis

The time of these wonderful, but extremely fuel-consuming cars ended with the onset of the fuel crisis, in fact with the premiere of Challenger and the beginning of the seventies. At that time, little ones appeared in Dodge's offer - the American version of the Japanese Mitsubishi Colt and the Omni model, which had a unique front-wheel drive for those times in the USA. Dodge had the opportunity to return to the legendary models - this happened with the launch of the last iconic car in the brand's range - Viper.