Dodge & Fuski
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth. The Dodge main factory operated in Hamtramck, Michigan from 1910 until it closed in January 1980.
Founded as the Dodge Brothers Company machine shop by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge in the early 1900s, Dodge was originally a supplier of parts and assemblies to Detroit-based automakers like Ford. They began building complete automobiles under the "Dodge Brothers" brand in 1914, predating the founding of the Chrysler Corporation. Both brothers died in 1920, and their company was sold by their families to Dillon, Read & Co. in 1925 before being sold to Chrysler in 1928.
Dodge's mainstay vehicles were trucks and full-sized passenger cars through the 1970s, but it also built compact cars such as the Dart from 1963 to 1976, and midsize cars such as the "B-Body" Coronet and Charger from 1965 to 1978. The 1973 oil embargo caused American "gas guzzler" sales to slump, prompting Chrysler to develop the Dodge Aries K platform compact and midsize cars for the 1981 model year. The K platform and its derivatives are credited with reviving Chrysler's business in the 1980s. One example was the Dodge Caravan.
The Dodge brand continued through multiple ownership changes of Chrysler from 1998 until 2009, including its merger with Daimler-Benz AG between 1998 and 2007, then being sold to Cerberus Capital Management. It suffered through the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis resulting in the Chrysler Chapter 11 reorganization, and was ultimately acquired by Fiat.
In 2011, Dodge split off its Ram and Viper sub-brands, with Viper to be an SRT product and Ram a standalone marque. In 2014, SRT was merged back into Dodge. Later that year, the Chrysler Group was renamed FCA US LLC, coinciding with the merger of Fiat S.p.A.. The Chrysler Group was integrated into the corporate structure of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. A subsequent merger on January 16, 2021 between FCA and the PSA Group formed Stellantis, making the Dutch-domiciled automaker the second largest in Europe after Volkswagen.
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