Career
Bicycles were the first vehicles the Dodge brothers started to produce in 1897. In 1901 they opened a machine shop in Detroit, making stove parts and, later, auto parts. In 1902, Dodge brothers won a contract to build transmissions for the Olds Motor Vehicle Company. The following year they turned down a second contract from Olds to build engines for Henry Ford in a deal that included a share position in the new Ford Motor Company. The Dodge Brothers Company became very successful and in 1910 established a large auto-parts plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. For ten years, the Dodge Brothers Company was a supplier to Ford. In 1913 the Dodge brothers terminated their Ford contract and devoted their energies toward producing a Dodge automobile. The first one appeared on November 14, 1914. By 1920, the year in which both brothers died, Dodge was one of the industry’s largest companies. The Dodge concern was purchased by Chrysler Corporation in 1928 and remains a division of Chrysler.