Research Paper

Dodge Brothers

By Adrian Galan

Adrian Galan

Encounters 7

Mr. Skipper

April 27, 2020

Dodge Brothers

History

The Dodge Brothers John and Horace were born in 1864 and 1868 respectively to Daniel Dodge and Maria Castro in Michigan. Della was their older sister. They also had two older brothers from their dad’s previous marriage. Their parents provided food and shelter but at times it was hard to provide even the basics. They grew their love for machinery while spending their free time at his dad’s shop. Later on in 1896, they partnered with F. Evans starting the Evans and Dodge Bicycle. Horace Dodge also worked part-time for Henry Leland. Even though the bike business was quite successful, they decided to sell it in 1900. They had enough money to start a machine shop in Detroit. They got hired by Mr. Olds in 1902 to manufacture engines for Oldsmobiles. Two years later the Dodge Brothers became one of the largest suppliers when they were in Detroit. In 1910, The Dodge Brothers founded Dodge Main Factory in Detroit. They employed five thousand workers and were capable of building 250,000 cars per year; however, they were working under Ford. Even though Dodge had ten percent of Ford’s shareholders, the brothers felt best to separate from Ford. (The inseparable, irascible Dodge boys)

In 1920 while attending an auto expo in New York City Dodge Brothers got sick with the flu and pneumonia. John died on January 14 due to the flu, while Horace followed his steps on December 10, 1920. 5 years later, the brothers’ widows, Anna Thompson Dodge and Ivy Hawkins Dodge, decided to sell the Dodge Brothers Company to a bank for $146,000,000.Walter Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Corporation, bought the Dodge Brothers company for $170,000,000 in 1928. (Dodge co-founder dies)

The company got famous during the Mexican Revolution, when Julio Cardenas supposedly was at a ranch house and was attacked by 3 Dodge Model 30's. The Dodge vehicles received credit for their role during the Mexican Revolution. In addition, during World War II Dodge went from seventh to fourth place in sales. With average prices in the market, Dodge slowly started providing new and improved upgrades for their cars. It added an inclusion of the eight-cylinder line which ended up replacing the classic six-cylinder. Since Dodge wanted to keep up with their competitors, they made their vehicles more aerodynamic and lengthened. Because the “Wind Stream” trend took over the car industry in the 1930s, Dodge had to change up their design to increase sales..

Improving safety standards made Dodge more popular. Due to the war, Dodge was forced to stop their production on passenger cars and concentrate on war production (Levine).

International Markets

In 1934, a four-cylinder Dodge DM, a Plymouth-based Dodge, was exported from North America. The company became “Chrysler-Dodge-DeSoto Distributors.” Before the 1940s Dodge among other companies such as Plymouth, Desoto, Fargo, and Chrysler sold cars to Argentina; as of today, many are still in there! Due to World War II, from 1942 to 1946, Argentina stopped importing from the U.S. (Bóscolo).

In 1951. Lane’s Motors was the sole agent for selling Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, and Morris in one region. (Benjaminson).

In 1969, Chrysler started making Dodge trucks at a new factory, starting with big D700s and D400s, and finally with the Dodge pickup. Diesel then came later in 1978. . Chrysler has made many cars in Brazil with the Dodge logo. However, since Chrysler needed capital, it was decided to sell their facilities to Volkswagen in 1980. At least one Barracuda and several Dodge Satellites are present; some came with American diplomats, who used them and later sold them. Later Brazilian versions were converted to an overhead valve configuration with hemisphere heads, developed by Chrysler (Dodge) and SIMCA. (Benjaminson)

In 1926, Dodge Brothers car plant became the first car plant in the UK, this plant was an addition to an early Maxwell activity. Later in 1948 the Swedish company ANA opened an assembly plant for Chrysler-Dodge and Plymouth in Nykoping. It was closed in 1959. The first United States-designed models were produced at the end of 1959. Because Spain was still a closed market, Chrysler decided to build the Dodge Dart in a deluxe trim version, the car is the only big car available in the country for business (Ensing).

Logos and Slogans Evolutions

The first Dodge logo was a stylized bearing developed in 1910 and lasted 45 years. Then, in 1955, the logo was changed to a blue and red color. The idea of 2 triangles or about 2 rotated right represented speed, future, and reliability. In 1962, Dodge logo went back to silver and blue. Now, their logo is a metallic word Dodge all caps with two red stripes at the end of the word. (Meaning Dodge Logo and Symbol)

In 1932, Dodge cars had an addition… a leaping ram as the car’s hood ornament. In 1951 only the head with curving horns remained. After the Dodge family crest was used between 1941-1957, two overlapping boomerang shapes were added representing progress From 1962 to 1981, the Dodge emblem had a colorful internal label with 3 arrow shapes pointed inward to form a three-sided star which was called a fratzog by one of the Dodge inventors. For 1o years, Dodge decided to use Chrysler’s Pentastar logo on its vehicles. Then Dodge went back to using the ram’s head hood ornament on the new 1973 Dodge Bighorn heavy duty tractor units. Over time the ram’s head began appearing on the pickup trucks as Dodge began calling their trucks Ram. The Ram’s head logo appeared in 1993, adopting that logo in 1996 in all cars but the Viper, which uses the Viper’s Head. When Ram Trucks appeared again on the market as their own brand in 2009 and used Dodge’s logo, Dodge was obligated to replace its own. The Dodge logo for 2010 shows several shades of silver and red colors. It still remains as their present symbol. (Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 - 2012)

Taking advantage of their reputation, the Dodge Brothers decided to use their name, “Dodge Brothers” plus “Reliable, Dependable, Sound” to advertise their products. In 1968, Dodge began the successful Dodge Fever campaign. Dodge launched the 1969 “White Hat Special” editions of their lineup. The actor Jon Reep launched his career by saying, “That thing got a Hemi?” in a Dodge Ram television ad to 2 different Dodge vehicles. In 1992, Dodge moved their performance orientation forward substantially with the Viper and all Dodge vehicles and trucks were advertised in bright red ads. This was the initial step in what was marketed as “The New Dodge”. The slogan “Grab life by the horns” started appearing in Dodge commercials in 2001. The whole idea of ‘Grab Life’ as opposed to ‘Grab Life by the Horns’ separates it from the Dodge Ram. The 2012 Dodge Charger slogan called “Never Neutral” takes a swing at one of the major issues which are to take out driver involvement. “Guts. Glory. Ram,” with an old western theme and a perfect setting for what Ram suggests its brand portrays. “Wisdom” is were the Dodge car brand turned 100 years old in 2014. The tagline, “Domestic. Not Domesticated.” purposely captures the passion and attitude of Dodge. This slogan means that you can rely on dodge vehicles for everything!(Gartner).

Dodge Automobile

Dodge’s history with the production of trucks began during World War I. They had the first truck that was built. In the 1920s they introduced a panel truck not a pickup truck, a one-ton truck. Then in 1928, Chrysler got Dodge. In 1936, Dodge formed part of the large truck arena with “D” series trucks (a series of trucks that weigh less than 26,000 lbs). It was one of the only 2 to make the very first diesel truck using their own diesel engines with their own diesels before WWII (History of the Dodge Pickup Trucks, 1921-1953).

Conclusion

In conclusion the Dodge Brothers left a legacy of a famous popular brand that everyone can depend on. Dodge is not only a legacy but a company that always adjusts to what the customers like and want at an affordable price. They have not stopped doing this since the 1900’s. The Dodge Brothers wanted their company to be dependable and reliable Ever since people worldwide have been using them, Dodge has become what its founders wanted and more. Even though they are now owned by Chrysler there is no difference between the way they used to make it. This is an amazing company that will continue to provide excellent service for the world.

Works Cited

Benjaminson, Jim. “Chrysler Australia 1928-1981 (and beyond).” Chrysler Australia: from Dodge Brothers to 2014, Allpar, www.allpar.com/world/australia.html.

--. “Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep of Brazil.” Chrysler of Brazil - the History and the Cars, Allpar, www.allpar.com/world/brazil.html.

Bóscolo, Francisco J. . “Chrysler of Argentina.” Chrysler of Argentina - the History and the Cars, Allpar, www.allpar.com/world/argentina.html.

“Dodge Co-Founder Dies.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dodge-co-founder-dies.

“Dodge Logo.” 1000 Logos The Famous Brands and Company Logos in the World, 2016, 1000logos.net/dodge-logo/.

Ensing, Hans. “Chrysler / Kaiser-Frazer Rotterdam Assembly Plant (NEKAF): 1958-1970.” Chrysler Rotterdam Assembly Plant, Allpar, www.allpar.com/corporate/factories/rotterdam.html.

Gartner, Jeanne. “Iconic Advertising Slogans by Dodge.” Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012, 1 Apr. 2019, reedbrothersdodgehistory.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/iconic-advertising-slogans-by-dodge/.

“History of Dodge Logos.” Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012, 4 Jan. 2016, reedbrothersdodgehistory.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/history-of-dodge-logos/.

“History of Dodge Pickup Trucks, 1921-1953.” History of the Dodge Pickup Trucks, 1921-1953, www.allpar.com/model/ram/ram-history.html.

Levine, Ben. “Iconic Moments in Dodge's History.” AutoInfluence, 9 Mar. 2017, www.autoinfluence.com/iconic-moments-dodges-history.

Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012, Reed Brothers Dodge History, 1 Apr. 2019, reedbrothersdodgehistory.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/

“The Chrysler PVO Team.” The Chrysler Performance Vehicles Operations Team (PVO Team), www.allpar.com/history/pvo.html.

“The Inseparable, Irascible Dodge Boys.” Dodge Brothers - Automotive History | Hagerty Articles, 26 May 2017, www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2017/05/26/dodge-brothers.