Wednesday 14th January 1920

John Dodge, American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company in 1900, died in New York at the age of 55. For ten years, the Dodge brothers’ company was supplier to Ford, and John Dodge worked as vice president of the Ford company. In 1913 the Dodge brothers terminated their Ford contract and devoted their energies toward producing a Dodge automobile. They began building motor trucks, ambulances and other vehicles for the United States military during the arms buildup for World War I and in October 1917 they produced their first commercial car. At war’s end, their company manufactured and marketed both cars and trucks.. Because of his temper and often crude behaviour, John Dodge was seen as socially unacceptable to most of the well-heeled elite of Detroit. Nevertheless, his wealth made him an influential member of the community and he became active in Republican Party politics in Michigan. Following the death of John and his brother Horace 11 months later the company was sold to Dillon, Read & Co. in 1925 before being sold to Chrysler in 1928. Dodge vehicles mainly consisted of trucks and full-sized passenger cars through the 1970s, though it did make some inroads into the compact car market during this time.