Bill Crowell
Well-Known Member
'When asked why the Dodge Brothers wanted to build their own car, John Dodge replied, "Just think of all the Ford owners who will someday want an automobile."'
I noticed that FABO member tmj91 has been using that famous quote as his byline in his posts. Dodge said that because the Model T Ford didn't have a distributor, a water pump or an electric starter, and the Bros. thought that a modern car (around 1910) should include these items. The Dodges were one of Ford's biggest parts suppliers and had a close working relationship with him. They were also stockholders in the Ford Motor Co. and were on its Board of Directors. They tried to get Ford to modernize the Model T, but Ford repeatedly refused over a period of a number of years. Finally the Dodge Bros. got tired of "being carried around in Henry's vest pocket", as they put it, and decided to make their own car.
Henry Ford was a weird one. He would never produce a 6-cylinder engine because he said he had no use for a motor that had more cylinders than a cow has teats. Good, scientific reason, huh? It must have been really terrible for the Dodge Bros. to work for Henry because he could be so unreasonable. For example, he breached the very first contract he had with the Dodges. He was supposed to pay cash on the barrelhead for all the chassis, differentials and frames that the Dodges delivered, but when the Dodges delivered them Henry was short of money and wanted to pay for them only after the cars were sold. So the Dodges refused to deliver them, and Henry had to agree to give them corporate stock in order to get them delivered. That's how the Dodges became stockholders in Ford Motor. Later that stock became worth many millions, and the Dodges sold it when they began producing their own car, using the proceeds to build their new factory.
I noticed that FABO member tmj91 has been using that famous quote as his byline in his posts. Dodge said that because the Model T Ford didn't have a distributor, a water pump or an electric starter, and the Bros. thought that a modern car (around 1910) should include these items. The Dodges were one of Ford's biggest parts suppliers and had a close working relationship with him. They were also stockholders in the Ford Motor Co. and were on its Board of Directors. They tried to get Ford to modernize the Model T, but Ford repeatedly refused over a period of a number of years. Finally the Dodge Bros. got tired of "being carried around in Henry's vest pocket", as they put it, and decided to make their own car.
Henry Ford was a weird one. He would never produce a 6-cylinder engine because he said he had no use for a motor that had more cylinders than a cow has teats. Good, scientific reason, huh? It must have been really terrible for the Dodge Bros. to work for Henry because he could be so unreasonable. For example, he breached the very first contract he had with the Dodges. He was supposed to pay cash on the barrelhead for all the chassis, differentials and frames that the Dodges delivered, but when the Dodges delivered them Henry was short of money and wanted to pay for them only after the cars were sold. So the Dodges refused to deliver them, and Henry had to agree to give them corporate stock in order to get them delivered. That's how the Dodges became stockholders in Ford Motor. Later that stock became worth many millions, and the Dodges sold it when they began producing their own car, using the proceeds to build their new factory.
