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,[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] Henry offered the Dodge brothers a 10% share in his new company in return for $10,000 worth of goods ($0 in 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.
List of CEOs
Current Matt McAlear (since June 1st 2024)[55]
Previous CEOs
- Michael Accavitti (2009–2011)
- Reid Bigland (2011–2014)[56]
- Tim Kuniskis (2014–2024)[57]
Dodge Automobiles
Over the decades, Dodge has become well known for its passenger car output, along with its many truck models, but after almost a century of manufacturing these vehicles, a decision was made to spin off Dodge's trucks into a separate Ram brand, based on the popularity of their top-selling truck, the Dodge Ram. Although the Ram trucks are marketed separately from Dodge cars, Ram President Fred Diaz has said:
"Ram trucks will always and forever be Dodges. Ram will always have the Dodge emblem inside and outside and they will be 'vinned' (from the acronym VIN, or Vehicle Identification Number) as a Dodge. We need to continue to market as Ram so Dodge can have a different brand identity: hip, cool, young, energetic. That will not fit the campaign for truck buyers. The two should have distinct themes.[59]"
Pickups and medium to heavy trucks
Ever since Dodge began building their cars in 1914, the company also offered light truck models. Initially, these were largely based on the existing passenger cars, but eventually gained their own chassis and body designs as the market matured. During the 1930s and 1940s, light- and medium-duty models were offered at first, then a heavy-duty range was added. The very large, new Warren Truck Assembly plant was built in Michigan, just north of Detroit, and opened in 1938, producing Dodge trucks ever since.
In 1936, Dodge's light, car-based trucks were crucially redesigned—not only receiving a new "Fore-Point" (similar to Cab Forward) design of the front side and cab—but especially, the old car frames were dropped and for the first time replaced by modern, truck-style chassis, with side rails welded to the cross members.
International markets
Argentina
Dodge came to Argentina in the early 20th century with imported cars and trucks. In 1960, it partnered with Fevre-Basset as a local manufacturer. The first vehicle made in Argentina was the D-100 "Sweptline" pickup.[61] Between 1961 and 1980, a variety of trucks were produced, including the D-400/DP-400,[62] D-500[63]/DP-500,[64] DP600,[65] DD900[66]
Logo evolution
- Star: The original Dodge was a circle, with two Greek deltas intertwined representing the letter "D",[11] forming a six-pointed star in the middle; an interlocked "DB" was at the center of the star, and the words "Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles" encircled the outside edge. Although similar to the Star of David, the Dodge brothers were not Jewish; they were Methodists. Although the "Brothers" was dropped from the name for trucks in 1929 and cars in 1930, the DB star remained in the cars until the 1939 models were introduced.
- Ram: For 1932 Dodge cars adopted a leaping ram as the car's hood ornament. Starting with the 1940 models the leaping ram became more streamlined and by 1951 only the head, complete with curving horns, remained. The 1954 model cars were the last to use the ram's head before the reintroduction in the 1980s. Dodge trucks adopted the ram as the hood ornament for the 1940 model year with the 1950 models as the last.
- Crest: For 1941 Dodge introduced a crest, supposedly the Dodge family crest. The design had four horizontal bars broken in the middle by one vertical bar with an "O" in the center. A knight's head appeared at the top of the emblem. Although the head would be dropped for 1955, the emblem would survive through 1957 and reappear on the 1976 Aspen. The crest would be used through 1981 on its second time around, being replaced by the Pentastar for 1982. The knight's head without the crest would be used for 1959.
- Forward Look: Virgil Exner's radical Forward Look redesign of Chrysler's vehicles for the 1955 model year was emphasized by the adoption of a logo by the same name, applied to all Chrysler Corporation vehicles. The Forward Look logo consisted of two overlapped boomerang shapes, suggesting
Slogans
- Dependability, The Dependables (1920s–1967)
- Join the Dodge Rebellion (1966-1967) Dodge Performance Cars[79]
- Dodge Fever (1968–1969)
- You Could be Dodge Material (1970–1971)
- An American Revolution (1982–1989) (slogan recycled by Chevrolet, a GM brand in 2005)
- The New Spirit of Dodge (1989)
- The Tough New Spirit of Dodge Truck (1989)
- The new Dodge (1992–2000)
- Dodge. Different. (2000–2001)
- Grab life by the horns (2001–2007, mainly for the Dodge truck market)
- Grab Life (2007 – mid-June 2010, in Ram pickup truck ads)
- Never neutral (2010–present)
- Born Dodge (2014–present)
List of Dodge automobiles
Current models
Past models
See also
- DeSoto (automobile)
- Plymouth (automobile)
- Rootes Group for the historic Dodge of the UK
- Fargo (truck)
- List of automobile manufacturers of the United States
- List of Dodge automobiles for all production cars and trucks
- List of Dodge concept vehicles
- Ram Trucks
- Dodge Airflow truck
- Barreiros (manufacturer)
Bibliography
External links
- Dodge RAM Rebel (archived 28 March 2019)
- A history of Dodge UK (archived 12 August 2004)
- Dodge Ram Releases (archived 10 November 2015)
- WW II Dodge Truck History (archived 22 October 2014)
- Dodge Trucks of the 1960s and 70s
References
- Stellantis Announces Changes in Leadership Team stellantis.com, May 17, 2024, retrieved January 23, 2025^
- Charles K. Hyde. The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy Wayne State University Press, 2005, retrieved 15 March 2016^
- Jan Tuckwood. Coronavirus Florida: How flu took down the Dodge brothers ... and changed local health care