Which American brand was founded by the Dodge brothers? Dodge. John Francis Dodge and Horace Elgin Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company in Detroit in 1900.
The brothers initially operated as precision-machining suppliers rather than complete-car makers. They produced engines, transmissions, chassis, and other components for Detroit manufacturers, including Oldsmobile and Ford. Their work for Ford was especially important: the Dodge brothers supplied much of the Model A’s chassis and became major shareholders in Henry Ford’s early company.
In 1914, Dodge began producing complete automobiles of its own. The first was the Dodge Model 30-35 touring car, a four-cylinder model marketed as a more substantial alternative to the Ford Model T. It featured innovations such as an all-steel body and a 12-volt electrical system, unusual for its era.
The brothers died in 1920, and their company was sold in 1925 before Chrysler acquired it in 1928. Dodge remains an American automotive brand, although it is now part of Stellantis. Plymouth was a Chrysler-created brand, not a company founded by the Dodge brothers.