Dodge

The earliest Dodge vehicles – the world’s first mass-produced all-steel touring cars - were built by American brothers Horace and John Dodge in 1914. The Dodge Brothers company was immediately successful, with the original Dodge Model (later known as the Series 116) recording the highest first-year sales for a new car at the time. Widely praised for their durability and value for money, Dodge cars continued to sell well, maintaining second ranking for US sales from 1915 until 1920. Prompted by the deaths of both Horace and John in 1920, the company was eventually sold in 1925 to Dillon, Read & Co., who quickly passed it on to the Chrysler Corporation. After some success with the Dodge Six and Eight models during the 1930s, production of Dodge passenger lines was shut down in 1942 to make way for the production of war vehicles. Civilian production was well underway again by 1955, which saw a new focus on the styling of Dodge cars, and an increase in their popularity. Over the next few decades, Dodge produced several highly successful models, including the sporty Dodge Charger, the Dart sedan, as well as the high performance Coronet and Super Bee. Dodge, and Chrysler in general, suffered in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. The company responded with the release of the fuel-efficient Dodge Omni to try and resurrect their fortunes, but it was the American Government that would ultimately rescue them from bankruptcy. Dodge managed an aggressive return with the Dodge Aries and Dodge Caravan in the 1980s, and the Dodge Viper and Intrepid models in the 1990s. Today, Dodge manufactures automobiles, minivans and sports utility vehicles in more than 60 countries and territories throughout the world. Models available in Australia include the Dodge Caliber, Journey and Nitro.