Dodge. National pride of the US
Dodge, one of the oldest American car brands, has produces cars, pick-up trucks, and SUVs. Mustang, Corvette, and Dodge Charger are three legendary American muscle cars. Dodge and Chrysles are national pride of the US. Although Dodge has been dependend most of the time of its existence, it has not lost its individuality and the American style of the representatives of the legendary Big Three. The Dodge brand has always been original and authentic. It’s as popular in the US as Chrysler, it’s recognized and adored.
Today’s Dodge is a part of the Italian-American FIAT Concern-Chrysler Automobiles N.V., which is the 8th of the largest players of the global automotive market, it produces the front-drive Dodge Caliber and the super-fast Dodge Viper SRT10. Although together with Chrysler, Dodge belongs to Fiat for 6 years, they have not lost their individuality and the American style of the representatives of the legendary Big Three.
The history of the legend
Dodge – one of the oldest American car brands ever – was founded by two talented brothers from Michigan - John and Horace Dodge. In 1899, the brothers opened a company to produce bicycles. This way the history of the national pride of America began.
Dodge brothers got the hang on bicycles and quickly started the production of car engines. And began to do it so well that even Henry Ford found them interesting! Henry Ford signed a cooperation agreement with the Dodge brothers to produce engines for his new cars. They learned a lot from Ford, and as is often happens, they realized afterward that they were ready to make cars themselves. On July 17, 1914, a company called Dodge Brothers Incorporated was established. Well, on November 14, 1914, their first model came off the assembly line, which then was called Old Betsy. Despite its nickname, the car was modern and innovative for its time. Equipped with a 35-hp engine, 3-speed gearbox, electric starter, and headlights, the Old Betsy cost just $795. It’s no wonder that the first Dodge became so popular that a year later the company produced more than 45,000 cars of this model. They were even supplied to the US Army.
On November 14, 1914, their first model came off the assembly line, which then was nicknamed Old Betsy
By 1920, sales of Dodge brand cars increased to 141,000! And this brought Dodge Brothers Incorporated to the 2nd place after Ford in the national car production.
But everything changed after both Dodge Brothers suddenly died of different diseases, only a month apart from each other. Their family members failed to hold on the production without the talent of the company founders. The Dodge brothers' company lost its market and incurred losses. In 1928, it was acquired by Chrysler. Gradually, working in the corporation Chrysler, Dodge regained its positions, shifting from the 13th back to the 2nd place in the national car sales in just 2 years.
Under the Chrysler’s control
Under the Chrysler’s control, the brand has seen a real success! However, after the Second World War, during which Dodge produced engines for aircraft and military trucks just like many other American carmakers. It military production became very popular in Europe. In 1953, a new Dodge with the automatic transmission and HEMI V8 engine was released. The engine was originally designed for military aircraft, but later it was successfully used in sports cars. In virtue of this development, Dodge won five rounds of the NASCAR championship in 1953 and was second in the overall standings. It also won the 12-hour Sebring race and took the third prize in Le Mans. The Dodge equipped with a HEMI V-8 engine hit 196 records in the Bonneville Salt Flats.
In 1966, the Dodge Charger sports coupe with a V8 engine opened the way for the brand to the pantheon of muscle cars. Exactly this car along with a Corvette and Mustang became a new American legend. In 1969, based on the Charger, Dodge released Charger Daytona. Designed for NASCAR, it immediately became a racing favorite. Daytona did not leave any chances to rivals, speeding up to 330 km/h! It was the absolute speed record in NASCAR’s history of its time. In just a couple of years, Daytona won six races. In 1971, NASCAR management actually banned Dodge car for racing, limiting the maximum amount of engines to 5-L.
Dodge Charger Daytona did not leave any chances to rivals, speeding up to 330 km/h! It was the absolute speed record in NASCAR of its time.
In the ‘70s and “80s, Chrysler and Dodge faced the need to adapt to a new reality of the new era of cost-efficient small cars. Otherwise, they could lose the market to the Japanese opponents. Chrysler and Dodge fought to the bitter… After all, America got used to their big nearly-liners… Dodge tried to enter the market of subcompacts only in 1978, with the beginning of production of Dodge Omni. In Europe, this model was known as Talbot Horizon. But it failed to save the company. It was saved by the Dodge Caravan, the ancestor of a completely new bodywork type: the minivan. Well, Dodge just couldn”t produce “toy cars” with all its aggressiveness and power! Its strong suit was sports car production!
That’s why in ‘80-90s Dodge’s position as a manufacturer of sports cars became even stronger. Such powerful and stylized models as Dodge Charger Daytona and Dodge Viper appeared. Dodge Spirit sedan became world-famous too. Dodge Neon was very popular in the late ‘90s.
In the '90s the famous Dodge Ram 1500 appeared. It was an extremely popular pickup truck, almost a heavy-duty truck! And there was also the first a mid-size pickup truck with a soft roof – Dodge Dakota. For the fans of pickups, the sports version of the Ram was produced, and also the Quad Cab - the first model with rear doors on hinges. Dodge took part in NASCAR races again! The successful production of the Dodge Viper continued, which became one of the most successful cars in its class.
In our day, Dodge is one of the most famous and oldest American brands. It produces a front-drive Dodge Caliber and ultra-fast Dodge Viper SRT10.
After the merger of Chrysler Corporation with Daimler-Benz in 1998, Dodge continued to produce powerful sports cars but began to work in a cheaper market segment than other DaimlerChrysler divisions. In cooperation with Mitsubishi, they created Dodge Caliber as an alternative to Neon.
In 2013, Dodge showed its new small car, called Dart. It was the first new model of Dodge, produced under the control of Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles. An updated, commonly known pickup Dodge Ram 1500 entered the production. In 2014, the FCA announced a major restructuring, in which Dodge should focus exclusively on sports cars, In the price category will be placed between Chrysler and Alfa Romeo. Dodge began producing an updated MINI sports car Dart in 2018.
In our day, Dodge is one of the famous and oldest American brands. It produces a front-drive Dodge Caliber and ultra-fast Dodge Viper SRT10. The revolutionary design and dynamics of these models offer insight into the brand, which has been building cars for over a hundred years. Many cars have become a real American legend.
