In 1900 the brothers John and Horace Dodge established a machine shop in Detroit, supplying R.E. Olds with engines for his new motorcar; the Oldsmobile Runabout.
In 1903, using the profits from the Oldsmobile gig, the Dodges were able to partially bankroll Henry Ford’s fledgling company; $7,000 in parts and $3,000 in cash would be exchanged for 100 shares (or 1/10th of the total) of the Ford Motor Company, as well as a contract to manufacture Ford’s Model A chassis, which included the engine, transmission, and axels.
That same year this guy named Maxwell (who, by the way, was co-developer of the Runabout along with R.E. Olds) co-founded the Maxwell-Briscoe Company of New York, which 10 years later became the Maxwell Motor Company of Detroit, making some pretty bitchin cars.
Also in 1913, the Brothers Dodge decided to build their own automobiles, rather than simply be a parts manufacturer for Ford. In July 1914 they broke ties with their only client and created the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company. Their first car was completed a mere four months later.
The 10% stake in Ford, and the $5.4m in dividends they would receive backed their new company, much to the irritation of Ford, who in 1916 decided to stop paying stock dividends, partially in an attempt to quit financing his own competition. By July of 1919, after a lawsuit worth $1.9m, and a stock offload worth $25m, the Dodge’s original investment of $10k had paid out more than $32 million in just over 16 years.
Six months later however, in January 1920, both brothers contracted the H1N1 virus (this time called Spanish Flu). John passed away almost immediately, Horace died from grief and pneumonia within the year.
Anyhow, a year later in 1921 and on the other side of town, a guy named Chrysler joined Maxwell Motors and bought a controlling stake in the company that same year. Chrysler dropped the Maxwell name in 1925 and replaced it with his own. Also in 1925, Dodge Brothers was sold to an investment firm, and in 1928 was purchased by Chrysler.
Dodge became a successful subsidiary of Chrysler and things were going pretty well until the 1973 Oil Crisis. Here are a few words that describe what happened next:
1. Iacocca
2. Government Bailout #1
3. K-Car
4. Minivan
5. ???
6. Profit
7. Daimler Chrysler
8. Cerberus
9. Government Bailout #2
10. The Italians
Which brings us to today. Ish.
In 2009, Dodge, under Italian CEO Marchionne’s guide, split apart the truck and car business for branding and marketing purposes. Ram Trucks was born as a focused truck marque leaving Dodge to only sell cars.
I told you that story so that I could tell you this one:
