xero
03-02-2006, 07:58 PM
When the 1920s opened, of course, there was no connection. Dodge Brothers was one of the stronger independent manufacturers, having started as a machine shop making engines for curved-dash Oldsmobiles and most of the assembly of the earliest Fords on a subcontracting basis before building the cars bearing their own names in 1914. (Dodge's first dealer was Cumberland Motors of Nashville, Tennessee, whch remained in business until the late '60s, proudly advertising their status as "World's First Dodge Dealer".)
Interestingly enough, Dodge Brothers did not immediately offer a truck line, and when it did, only a single model was offered. Even that started out life as a purpose-built ambulance for US forces in World War I before morphing into an actual factory-built pickup in 1918. Both brothers died in 1920 - Horace in January, John in December - and despite such productive moves as the hiring of industry pioneer Frederick J. Haynes of Haynes-Apperson fame to run the company, and a 1921 joint venture with the Graham brothers to produce Graham Brothers trucks, which used Dodge mechanicals and were sold through the Dodge dealer network, the Dodge widows appear to have ultimately considered themselves unable to run the business themselves. (Interestingly enough, Matilda Rausch Dodge, John's widow, had been his secretary in the company's earliest days.) The widows sold the company to New York investment bankers Dillon, Reed & Co. in 1925 for $146,000,000, an astronomical sum in an era when a new Ford sold for less than $300.
While Dillon, Reed apparently bought Dodge with the intention of selling it for a profit, it continued to operate at a profit after the takeover. Dodge management under Dillon, Reed went on to buy out the Graham brothers in 1926 (who went on to Paige-Detroit, renaming it Graham-Paige) and consolidate all truck manufacture under the Dodge Brothers name.
Having started out building engines and transmissions for other auto manufacturers, Dodge was a relative colossus among independent automakers, most of whom bought a much higher percentage of components from outside suppliers. Dodge had an enormous plant complex in Hamtramck, Michigan (known as "Dodge Main" until the day it was torn down in 1980), with its own foundry, hospital, and even its own telephone exchange. Dodge also had one of the strongest dealer networks in the business.
sourced:
http://www.allpar.com/history/dodge.html
Interestingly enough, Dodge Brothers did not immediately offer a truck line, and when it did, only a single model was offered. Even that started out life as a purpose-built ambulance for US forces in World War I before morphing into an actual factory-built pickup in 1918. Both brothers died in 1920 - Horace in January, John in December - and despite such productive moves as the hiring of industry pioneer Frederick J. Haynes of Haynes-Apperson fame to run the company, and a 1921 joint venture with the Graham brothers to produce Graham Brothers trucks, which used Dodge mechanicals and were sold through the Dodge dealer network, the Dodge widows appear to have ultimately considered themselves unable to run the business themselves. (Interestingly enough, Matilda Rausch Dodge, John's widow, had been his secretary in the company's earliest days.) The widows sold the company to New York investment bankers Dillon, Reed & Co. in 1925 for $146,000,000, an astronomical sum in an era when a new Ford sold for less than $300.
While Dillon, Reed apparently bought Dodge with the intention of selling it for a profit, it continued to operate at a profit after the takeover. Dodge management under Dillon, Reed went on to buy out the Graham brothers in 1926 (who went on to Paige-Detroit, renaming it Graham-Paige) and consolidate all truck manufacture under the Dodge Brothers name.
Having started out building engines and transmissions for other auto manufacturers, Dodge was a relative colossus among independent automakers, most of whom bought a much higher percentage of components from outside suppliers. Dodge had an enormous plant complex in Hamtramck, Michigan (known as "Dodge Main" until the day it was torn down in 1980), with its own foundry, hospital, and even its own telephone exchange. Dodge also had one of the strongest dealer networks in the business.
sourced:
http://www.allpar.com/history/dodge.html