It wasn't long before John and Horace came to the attention of Henry Ford. He was so impressed with the brothers that he offered them one-tenth interest in his new motor car company. That partnership lasted for the next 12 years. The brothers then split from Ford to pursue their own interests in automobile manufacturing because, at the time, Ford cars were built with virtually all Dodge parts.
In 1928, Chrysler acquired the much larger Dodge Brothers, Inc. It continued expanding its line of vehicles that garnered enough acclaim to continue production. Through the years, Dodge has led the way with a number of styling and engineering advancements, including the first 140-horsepower "Red Ram" Hemi¬ V8 engine in the 1953 Coronet. In the 1960s and 1970s Dodge contributed to America's fascination with high-performance "muscle cars" by manufacturing the 505 Charger Daytonas for stock- car racing and as production cars.
Never forgetting the legacy the Dodge Brothers began by constructing durable and powerful cars, Dodge and Chrysler brought the domestic convertible back to the roads in the 80s in the form of the Dodge 400 and the Chrysler Lebaron. In the 90s, the eagerly anticipated Dodge Viper put the muscle back in "muscle cars." All of which soon culminated in the new, aggressive look on the Dodge Ram Pickup, Dodge Dakota and Dodge Durango.
If you're new to Dodge or considering a Dodge for the first time, you may find your experience with Dodge different than it is with other car companies. That's because Dodge is a company dedicated to your total satisfaction. While some companies seem to forget you when you're not in the showroom, Dodge stands behind their products throughout your driving life.
Dodge is all about bold new automotive design. But Dodge is not about change for the sake of change. Every initiative they undertake is tested against a simple principle: will it improve the experience of their customers? A revolutionary change such as cab-forward design did not come about to make an automobile designer happy. It came about in an effort to make passengers more comfortable in Dodge cars, as well as to provide more cargo space than ever thought possible and to improve handling for drivers. Dodge is different due to the fact that Dodge puts the needs of the customers before everything they do.
