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Dodge; An American Tradition
- By Brenda Williams
- Published 10/2/2008
- Automotive
- Unrated
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Dodge was founded in 1914 and is based out of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge manufactures trucks, commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, muscle cars, SUVs, pick up trucks and sports cars. Dodge is manufactured in over 60 countries worldwide. The company was originally founded in 1900 by the Dodge brothers as the Dodge Brothers Company to supply parts to the growing automotive industry in Michigan. Dodge did not begin manufacturing their own vehicles until 1914. Dodge became a part of the Chrysler Corporation in 1928, was part of the DaimlerChrysler merger from 1998-2007 and is now part of the new Chrysler LLC.
Horace and John Dodge were the brothers responsible for the founding of the Dodge Company in 1900. Their business produced chassis and engines for the growing automotive market in the Michigan area before they released their first vehicle in 1914. Their first model was the Dodge Model 30, somewhat of a takeoff from the Ford Model T. Dodge, like many other vehicle manufacturers within the country, produced models for military use. The first time that Dodge’s vehicles were used by the United States military was when the United States sent troops into Mexico on the Mexican Expedition which was in search of Pancho Villa.
Dodge, prior to the war years in the United States, produced many luxury liner models such as the D11 4-door sedan. In the 1950s and 1960s Dodge began producing
more and more coupes and sedans. A couple of their models were the Dodge Coronet 440 sedan of 1966 and the 1977 Dodge Diplomat sedan. Once Dodge became part of the DaimlerChrysler merger in 1998, their design and success took off at an even higher level.
Once the merger took place the company began reworking the designs of many of its successful models to make them more attractive to the customer. Those models that Dodge redesigned were the Intrepid, the Stratus and the Neon.
Aside from their passenger vehicles, Dodge has become widely popular with their pick up trucks, SUVs, commercial vehicles and vans. Their pick up trucks have become the backbone of the company and are most known for their durable pick ups. Dodge’s first civilian pick up truck was the Power Wagon, which was released shortly after the conclusion of World War II. The Dodge Dakota and the Dodge Ram are two of their most popular pick up trucks on the market today.
Throughout their history, Dodge has gone through a handful of name changes, which means they have also gone through a handful of logo changes. Their first logo was a circular emblem with the letters D and B intertwined for Dodge Brothers. The logo Dodge used until the mid 1990s was the pent-a-star, which is a pentagon with its five points and a star in the middle. Their current logo is the Dodge Ram head. It appears on all of their models except for the Dodge Viper. The ram head is also part of the company’s slogan which is, “Grab life by the horns.”
Horace and John Dodge were the brothers responsible for the founding of the Dodge Company in 1900. Their business produced chassis and engines for the growing automotive market in the Michigan area before they released their first vehicle in 1914. Their first model was the Dodge Model 30, somewhat of a takeoff from the Ford Model T. Dodge, like many other vehicle manufacturers within the country, produced models for military use. The first time that Dodge’s vehicles were used by the United States military was when the United States sent troops into Mexico on the Mexican Expedition which was in search of Pancho Villa.
Dodge, prior to the war years in the United States, produced many luxury liner models such as the D11 4-door sedan. In the 1950s and 1960s Dodge began producing
Once the merger took place the company began reworking the designs of many of its successful models to make them more attractive to the customer. Those models that Dodge redesigned were the Intrepid, the Stratus and the Neon.
Aside from their passenger vehicles, Dodge has become widely popular with their pick up trucks, SUVs, commercial vehicles and vans. Their pick up trucks have become the backbone of the company and are most known for their durable pick ups. Dodge’s first civilian pick up truck was the Power Wagon, which was released shortly after the conclusion of World War II. The Dodge Dakota and the Dodge Ram are two of their most popular pick up trucks on the market today.
Throughout their history, Dodge has gone through a handful of name changes, which means they have also gone through a handful of logo changes. Their first logo was a circular emblem with the letters D and B intertwined for Dodge Brothers. The logo Dodge used until the mid 1990s was the pent-a-star, which is a pentagon with its five points and a star in the middle. Their current logo is the Dodge Ram head. It appears on all of their models except for the Dodge Viper. The ram head is also part of the company’s slogan which is, “Grab life by the horns.”