Dodge

US, 1914 to date

(1) Dodge Brothers, Detroit, Mich., 1914 – 1928

(2) Chrysler Corp, Detroit, Mich., 1928 to date

The brothers John and Horace Dodge, early Ford shareholders and builders of engines for the Ford Motor Co, produced their first Dodge car in November 1914. It was a conventional side valve Monobloc four of 3½-litres, developing 25bhp. The Dodge was noted for its 12-volt electrics, and ‘back-to-front’ gear change, features that were not discarded until 1926. The tough Dodge 4 won early acceptance by the American army after being used in General Pershing’s punitive expedition to Mexico in 1916, and the Dodge type was widely used in World War 1 as a staff car and ambulance. Also in 1916 Budd all-steel tourer bodywork was adopted; some saloons were also made in this year, using the same construction. The price of open Dodge cars was $785, and Dodge was fourth in overall US sales in 1916 with 70.700 Dodge cars delivered, following this up with a second place in 1920. The Dodge four was still the staple product in 1924, when 1.000 cars were being made a day. A new departure for Dodge in 1927 was a 3.7-litre side-valve six with internal-expanding hydraulic brakes.

In July 1928, Walter P. Chrysler paid $175.000.000 for the Dodge company. Discontinuation of the Dodge four, now developing 40bhp and fitted with front-wheel brakes, followed almost immediately, but for the next three years Dodges preserved their individual appearance. Though their cars were reckoned more expensive than DeSotos, Dodge offered a very cheap Dodge Standard 6 at $765 in 1929, their other models being the Dodge Victory at about $1.000, and a big Dodge Senior which paralleled Chrysler’s 75 at $1.675. A straight-8 was listed from 1930 to 1933. Free wheels were among the regular Chrysler improvements which appeared on the scene in 1932, followed by synchromesh gearboxes in 1933. In this year Dodge again took fourth place in sales, with 86.062 Dodge cars delivered. There were no Dodge versions of the Chrysler Airflow, but 1935 Dodge cars had the Airstream styling and side-valve 6-cylinder engines of 3.6-litre capacity. Overdrive, hypoid rear axles and independent front suspension made their appearance in the later 1930s, and Dodge cars of the 1940s were hard to distinguish from DeSotos or the de luxe Plymouths.

The expected ohv V8, publicized under the name Dodge Red Ram, materialized in 1952; it was a modest-sized 3.8-litre unit, and in 1955, when Chryslers were largely restyled, the Dodge cars were available both with the old 3.8-litre side-valve six and with V8s in three ratings up to 193bhp. By 1959 – the last year of the sv 6-cylinder – the most powerful eight disponed of some 345bhp, from 6.3-litres. Dodge has continued to offer more potent alternatives to the regular sedans, with a brisk Dodge Charger fastback coupé available in 1966. A ‘compact’ car, the Dodge Lancer, was listed in 1961, but this was vitually indistinguishable from the Plymouth Valiant. Regular 1967 Dodges had Chrysler’s unitary construction and alternator ignition introduced in 1960, and there were three basic ranges: the semi-compact Dodge Dart on a 9ft 3in wheelbase; the medium-sized Dodge Coronet; and the big Dodge Polara and Dodge Monaco on a wheelbase of 10ft 1in, with V8 engines of up to 7.2-litres’ capacity. The more sporting Dodge Charger coupé appeared in 1968, available with a 6.981cc hemi-head V8 of 425bhp; concealed wipers came on the 1969 Dodge models; and in 1970 the Dodge Challenger filled the gap between Dart and Coronet: standard engines were a 3.7-litre six or a 5.2-litre V8. There was a Dart sports coupé, the Dodge Demon, in 1971, but this was also the last year of the hemi-head engine and of convertibles in the Dodge range.

For 1973 there was the Dodge Dart on a 9ft wheelbase, the Dodge Challenger coupé, the Dodge Coronet and its sporting sister, the Dodge Charger, and the full-sized Dodge Polara and Dodge Monaco series. The Monaco had concealed headlamps. The biggest Dodge cars had V8 engines, automatic transmissions and power steering as standard. Electronic ignition was standard on all Dodge models, and all but the basic Darts had front disc brakes. Engines available were sixes of 3.245cc and 3.688cc, and V8s of 5.2, 5.6, 6.6 and 7.2 litres.

Since 1970 Dodge have been selling the Japancese Mitsubishi Colt as a small-car line in the USA.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS  

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