History of Dodge

In 1900, the American automobile company Dodge was founded. At the helm of one of the oldest automakers in the United States of America were two brothers, John and Horace Dodge. After success in the manufacture of bicycles and components for them, together with several investors from Detroit, the brothers enlisted the support of Henry Ford, who entered into a contract with Dodge in 1899 to manufacture components and spare parts for Ford cars. Before the start of the First World War, 90% of all components for the Henry Ford concern were produced at the factories of the Dodge brothers, after which, in 1914, relations between them deteriorated sharply. So, against the backdrop of the escalating war, the Dodge brothers, commissioned by the government of the United States of America, began to produce inexpensive cars, and Henry Ford received serious investments to expand its production.

Government intervention benefited a small company that was able to start producing its first car in just 3 months – the first car, the Dodge Brothers Model 30, was introduced. And in 1915, the second Dodge 30-35 model was introduced, equipped with a lightweight closed body and a power unit 30 horsepower. In the same year, a sports model Touring 35 was introduced at its base, equipped with a shorter wheelbase and a 35 horsepower engine. In addition, at the end of 1915, the Dodge Brothers Company received a large order for a batch of modernized Model 30-35 cars for use in the Mexican conflict. In 1916, Dodge became the second largest manufacturer of cars sold, behind only Ford. In 1917, the company, having received huge profits from sales and work for the government, launched the production of trucks and vans, single-handedly providing the country’s government with the necessary automotive equipment. By 1920, sales of Dodge cars amounted to more than 141,000 copies.

However, in 1920, one of the saddest stages in the history of the brand came – with a difference of a month, both founders of the company passed away, and the authorized capital of the Dodge company was distributed among the brothers’ only heirs – their wives. However, both widows were far from business, and at the helm of the company stood one of the most distinguished employees of the company named Fredrik Haynes, who by 1925 forced the heirs of the founders of the company to sell all the shares to an investment fund from New York. Despite the success of the Dodge Brothers sports model released in 1924, it was decided to stop all further development. Thus began the protracted crisis of Dodge, which ended in the resale in 1928 of all shares to Walter Chrysler, one of the company’s competitors. In just six months, thanks to the efforts of the management of the Chrysler concern, the Dodge company in terms of production and sales managed to take off from 13th place to fourth, once again starting to make a profit.

In 1930, Dodge, one of the first American brands, began supplying components to Europe, assembling cars in buyer countries, which significantly lowers the price of the brand’s end products. In 1931, the production of diesel power units starts at the company’s factories, and in 1932 the Dodge DL model goes on sale. By 1935, the Chrysler plant in Great Britain was opened, where the full production cycle of Dodge trucks began, which were becoming especially popular in continental Europe.

In 1940, on the eve of the entry of the United States of America into the Second World War, a new plant of the Dodge brand was built in Detroit, where the production of aircraft power units of various capacities for the US Air Force was launched. Dodge automobile factories in 1943 switch to the production of all-wheel drive Fargo pickups. At the same time, under the license of the brand “Willis”, the company’s factories produce off-road vehicles that are supplied to the armies of Great Britain, Spain and under Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union. At the end of 1945, Dodge resumed the production of civilian cars, offering customers a number of pre-war models, while actively working on the creation of a new lineup.

In the 1950s, Dodge became one of the leaders in the middle class in the US automobile market, introducing such innovations as automatic transmission and improved air-cooled powertrains. In addition, since 1951, Dodge has been actively involved in sports competitions, the first American brand to challenge the 24 hour Le Mans marathon. In 1953, the Dodge team finished third in this marathon, second in the NASCAR competition, and won the 12 Hours of Sebring.

In 1960, a compact three-door sedan Dodge Dart, equipped with eight-cylinder power units of 3.7-5.9 liters, with a capacity of up to 297 horsepower, goes on sale. In 1966, the company launched its first muscle car, the Dodge Charger. Under the hood of the car are eight-cylinder engines with a capacity of up to 415 horsepower. The Dodge Charger model became one of the most popular cars in 1966, providing Chrysler with leadership in car sales in the United States of America, but already in 1967 sales of this model decreased by more than than 60% due to intense competition from Ford’s Mustang muscle car. Over the years, sales have not improved, due to the intense competition between the Dodge Charger and the Chevrolet Corvette model manufactured by General Motors.

In 1970, Dodge released one of its most famous models, the Dodge Challenger. The car received eight-cylinder engines with a capacity of 230 to 415 horsepower, installed on the older Charger model. In addition, the car received three different transmissions – with an automatic transmission, mechanical and hydromechanical gearboxes. Having gone through several upgrades, the model was discontinued, as the company’s management decided not to create internal competition between the Charger and Challenger models.

In 1973, the second generation of the Dodge Polara model was released, which became the first global model of the company, produced in several countries of America and Europe at once. In 1976, the Dodge Aspen model, also produced by another division of the Chrysler concern, the Plymouth brand, goes on sale. Both cars differed only in power units and appearance, which Dodge tried to make more sporty. The Dodge Aspen model was supplied to the market in three versions with a six-cylinder power unit with a capacity of 112 horsepower and two eight-cylinder engines with a capacity of 163 to 177 horsepower. And in 1978, the compact Dodge Omni was released – a response to the fuel crisis that erupted around the world and significantly reduced the demand for powerful American cars. In addition, the Chrysler management enters into partnership agreements with the French concern Peugeot and the German concern Volkswagen, which supply the American company Dodge with transmissions and platforms of their own design, as well as open engine factories in the United States of America. low power for installation on urban models “Dodge” and “Plymouth”. The Dodge Omni model received 1.1-1.7 liter gasoline engines of the Simka and Volkswagen brands, with a capacity of 58 to 148 horsepower, as well as Peugeot diesel engines with a capacity of 69 horsepower. In addition, in the 1970s, Dodge launched the Mitsubishi Colt under its own brand for the American automobile market, once again becoming Chrysler’s most successful sales division.

In the 1980s, Dodge began to cooperate with Shelby, which resulted in the appearance of sports modifications of all current models of the brand. For 10 years, Dodge has also produced new family cars, while also trying to maintain its sports history, marking a new stage in its development with the release of the Dodge Viper concept car in 1989. In the same year, the production of the Dodge Caravan model starts, a full-size minivan that has become the leader in sales in its segment in Canada and the USA for many years.

In 1990, sales of a sports coupe with front and all-wheel drive Dodge Stealth began, developed and sold throughout the rest of the world, with the exception of the United States of America as the Mitsubishi 3000. For the American version, Dodge brand engineers developed two power units – a six-cylinder engine with a capacity of 162 horsepower and a six-cylinder engine with two turbines with a capacity of 300 horsepower. In 1992, sales of the revolutionary Dodge Viper coupe with a ten-cylinder 8-liter power unit with a capacity of 400 horsepower will start. And in 1993, the Interprid mid-size sedan was released, equipped with 3.3-3.5 liter engines with a capacity of 163 to 218 horsepower.

However, the company is gradually mired in debt, as the development is too expensive and does not immediately bring profit. This position of the Dodge brand greatly affects the well-being of the entire concern, which leads to the merger with the German concern Daimler into the international auto concern Daimler-Chrysler. By 2001, the company completely revamped its lineup, introducing such models as the ultra-compact Dodge Breeze and the new generation of the Interprid model. And in 2004, the first crossovers of the company were released, which replaced such models as Neon and Interprid of the 2nd generation in the model range of the brand. However, Dodge car sales continue to fall, and in 2007 the Daimler-Chrysler concern breaks up into two independent companies. And against the background of the beginning of the global economic crisis, the Chrysler concern concludes an agreement with the Japanese company Mitsubishi, using the brand’s platforms to create their cars. In 2008, the company again completely renews its lineup, focusing on the production of sports cars and all-wheel drive crossovers and SUVs, which are gaining popularity all over the world. But in 2009, the Chrysler concern declares technical bankruptcy, which leads to the shutdown of the Dodge factories. As a result, the governments of Canada and the United States of America buy out a controlling stake in Chrysler, gradually selling small blocks of shares to the Italian concern FIAT. In 2011, FIAT receives a controlling stake in Chrysler and begins a complete restructuring of the concern and its divisions. The result of the update was the separation from the company “Dodge” of two brands “RAM” and “SRT”, which begin the production of pickups and sports cars, respectively.

In 2011, a new generation of the full-size Dodge Journey crossover was released, which received FIAT brand power units with a capacity of up to 360 horsepower. In addition, in 2012, FIAT announced that it would start modernizing all Dodge production facilities, which would begin production of the Maserati Kubang premium crossover, and in 2013, the entire current Dodge brand lineup will begin produce the company’s factories in Mexico and Canada. In 2013, Dodge is resurrecting the Dart, which is now available as a compact sedan equipped with Chrysler gas-powered powertrains. In the same year, 3 company plants are opened in China, which is becoming one of the key markets for cars. Thanks to the reduction in the cost of production of Dodge cars, the company begins to receive the first profit after the 2008 crisis, which leads to the absorption of the Chinese division of the Alfa Romeo brand by the company and the release of a separate model range for the Asian automotive market.

In February 2014, FIAT discontinued Chrysler’s mid-size sedan, which played a key role in US car sales. Such a move left a big gap in the Dodge lineup, which also appeared as a result of Fiat’s leadership in 2010 to bring the most popular line of pickups in northern America from Dodge to a completely different lineup.

In the same year, popular at the time rumors about the transfer of the famous Dodge Challenger sports car to a completely new and little-known brand Street & racing technology were confirmed. A similar situation was repeated a few years earlier with the Dodge Viper.

In 2015, the company is focusing on the Affordable Car program, which includes the following models: Challenger, Caliber, Avenger, Brisa, Stratus and Viper.