John and Horace Dodge: From Building Fords to Dodge Brothers

[Richard Cranium]

Interesting article....


https://www.allpar.com/threads/john...rds-to-dodge-brothers.229352/#post-1085223450

 

[F4R/T]

They were so smart it would scare ya... tried telling Henry what to improve on and he knew it best...They were treated like the red headed step children ( not literally) of society till the bought it... pretty cool .. genius we need more of those types in the USA.. IMO

 

[Big Bad Dad]

I used to read a lot of automotive history. My Dad restored Model T Fords, so I got pretty familiar with the history of them. The Dodge brothers were brilliant machinists and engineers, and did quite well supplying Ford with mechanical parts. Henry Ford was brilliant in his own way, but they started disagreeing on a lot of issues. The Dodge bros went their own way, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, they both died very young, and their families did not manage things well. They sold out to Walter Chrysler, and I believe the Dodge family fortune got pretty much squandered away.

 

[Budnicks]

there was a Documentary 'well sort of"
called "The Cars that Built America" (I think that was the title)
I think like 4 x 2hr-3hr (?) episodes,
IIRC it was on the history channel

it had a lot of Henry Ford & the Dodge Bro.'s content
even some Walter Chrysler stuff too,
GM Delorean, Dupont, Loius Chevrolet
the 1st Ford Auto co. was a bust, bought out by & became Cadilac
Henery refused to pay royalties on them, to the patent holders

Seemed more about Ford his family, the history WWII efforts etc.
than anyone else, that it seemed like, but worth watching

 

[Slap Stick]

IIRC it was The Men.Who Built America. Good show.

 

[Photon440]

John Dodge: "Just think of all those Ford owners who will someday want an automobile."

Pretty much summed it up.

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Rumor has it that Henry was a total dick to work for, even his sons were treated like red headed step children..
Labor policies back then could be brutal with no actual recourse when you got your *** beat for not doing your job or just because your face was convenient at the time an example needed to be made. The automotive industry was lead by some real hardnosed folks back in the day.
Dodge bro's made the right decision to hang their own shingle and rub Henry's nose in it. Serves him right. Cant treat people like **** and expect loyalty in return...IMO

 

[HawkRod]

Interesting read. I didn't know that Dodge was very nearly purchased by General Motors. Imagine that scenario!

 

[Slap Stick]

Ford was also anti-Semitic and owned a newspaper proclaiming his beliefs.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Ford was also anti-Semitic and owned a newspaper proclaiming his beliefs.

This was a disappointing thing about Henry Ford. For all the good he did our country, and yet to have that ideology. That is probably why there are so many Islamics in Detroit and Michigan today. Henry made it a point to hire those from Muslim countries...