Dodge 100 Years

It was 1900 when Horace and John Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company, in a machine shop in Detroit, Michigan. The high-quality components they produced advanced the dawn of the American automotive industry, appearing in the famous Curved Dash Olds and Henry Ford’s Model A. Soon, the brothers became the exclusive supplier to Ford, a position they would hold for over a decade before striking on their own in 1913 to produce their first car a year later. In Dodge 100 Years, renowned automotive journalist Matt DeLorenzo provides an unrivaled chronicle of Dodge throughout the past century. Starting with the company’s modest beginnings in 1900, DeLorenzo recounts the brothers’ decision to venture into full auto manufacturing, their untimely deaths in 1920, and the company’s purchase by Chrysler in 1928. The book’s rich history also tells the tale of Dodge’s role in the “arsenal of democracy” during World War II and its iconic lineup during the late 1950s. The Dodge story is not without its struggles, though: while the division played a key part in the muscle-car wars of the 1960s and early ’70s, the oil crisis of 1973 took its toll on Dodge and Chrysler as other manufacturers moved toward more efficient models. But under the strong leadership of Lee Iacocca from 1979 onward, Dodge reasserted itself with such vehicles as the K-car and the Caravan minivan. The Dodge story wouldn’t be complete without speaking to its iconic performance cars like the Viper, Challenger, and Charger, as well as what’s in store for its future as indicated by the innovative Dart. Dodge 100 Years is more than a tale of classic American perseverance; it is a celebration of one of America’s most beloved and enduring automotive brands.