The American automobile market is distinguished by powerful mechanisms of natural selection, due to which the constructively weak ones are eliminated, requiring frequent repairs and complex maintenance of the machine. The demand for such cars is gradually decreasing, sales are falling and in the end the production stops. Many problems associated with unsustainable demand and technical problems are found in Ford, Buick and Chevrolet. But there are several automotive companies in the US that have never experienced difficulties from falling demand. These companies include Dodge. And although the history of this manufacturer is full of all kinds of economic shocks, and on the material and technical front, too, everything was not smooth, the production of Dodge cars was always stable.
The company bears the name of the Dodge brothers, who founded a small production of auto parts and spare parts in 1900. The enterprise was successful, and after fifteen years of fruitful work the brothers decided to open their own workshop for assembling cars. However, they were unable to work in a new field, since in 1920 both brothers died. It never occurred to anyone that seventy-five years later, a remarkable Dodge Stratus car would be assembled on the Dodge assembly line. We skip ahead to touch the emergence of an absolutely exclusive model of the late 20th century - Dodge Stratus, and then continue the chronology of the development of the company Dodge. So, the magnificent sleek sedan under the name of Dodge Stratus produced a real sensation at the motor show in Detroit in 2002.
And now back to the historical past of Dodge, which was left without a master. During the long eight years, the Dodge brothers' enterprise was in a fever. Numerous issues related to the supply, assembly and sale of finished products to solve there was no one. And, finally, Walter Chrysler, the owner of the company Chrysler, decided to deal with the situation. After much hesitation, he acquired all of Dodge's production assets, and it became part of the Chrysler Corporation. In the period from 1930 to 1942, Dodge produced passenger cars, and from the spring of 1942 it switched to the production of heavy front-end jeeps. In series production was a double series of military cars WC and WF. Dodge's military products were in demand in the USSR, and the all-wheel drive jeep Dodge WC was delivered in large quantities by the Lend-Lease system. At the same time, the company established the production of powerful aircraft engines, which were installed on Soviet Yak-9 aircraft.
In late 1945, the production of jeeps was discontinued, and Dodge returned to pre-war models of cars. There were no new developments for any manufacturer, and the buyers had to settle for old cars, morally and physically obsolete. Only in 1960, Dodge developed two new Challenger and Charger models. Both cars were sporty with a coupe, and the demand for them was kept for ten years. Based on the Jeep Dodge WC, the Dodge Power Wagon was developed and built, which became the ancestor for the whole family of pickups. In general, the Dodge business was not bad, until in the late 70-ies the company Chrysler did not overtake the crisis. The corporation was threatened with bankruptcy, and if it were not for help from the state, the firm would be sold for debts. This time Chrysler, and with him and Dodge, managed to swim, but new projects were needed, and there were no fresh design developments.
But still managed to release two new cars: the Dodge Aries, a beautiful stylish sedan, and the Dodge Caravan. The most successful car Dodge Stratus was released in 2001. The model was not single, it was immediately modified, and the serial release continued in five versions. The Dodge Stratus coupe was the most interesting. Sedans differed in engine power: 202, 154 and 135 hp, and the coupe had engines with a power of 202 and 148 hp. All the engines were carburetor. The predecessor of this five Stratus was another car, created in 1995. This Stratus was produced before 2001. Two years later, the Dodge Stratus 2003, the last of the Stratums family, came off the assembly line.