Best selling cars (and truck) of all time

[1930fordpickup]

From Harrys post earlier .

From allpar.com:

Dodge manufactured every part of the Ford car except for the buckboard wooden seats and the rubber tires.

The Dodge Brothers knew all of the Model T’s weaknesses, so they set out to build their own car to compete with it. Dodge suggested several improvements to the Model T along the way, but Ford refused. The Dodge car, which they’d build in their own factory, would include all of these improvements. They would also use their profit from their dealings with Ford as well as dividends of the Ford stock they still owned to bankroll the new company

It says that Dodge would provide the Drivetrain but not who did the Design /Engineering work . I wonder if it was Fords or that of Dodge brothers that came up with it. Makes you wonder who did what when ti came to the cars Design.

Edited July 17, 2014 by 1930fordpickup

[Joe Handley]

If I'm reading that right, they were making the parts to Henry's specs, but he refused to listen to suggestions that would make the product better. Gotta admit that would get highly aggrevating, especially depending on his reasons for refusing the improvements.

[Harry P.]

If I'm reading that right, they were making the parts to Henry's specs,

I didn't see anything in the various articles I found and posted that said whether Dodge was manufacturing to Ford designs and specs... or whether Ford was simply buying engines and chassis that had been designed and built by Dodge.But since Dodge was also a supplier to several other car makers, and since Henry Ford was basically broke, my guess is that he was buying Dodge designed and built engines/chassis/drivetrains.

[1930fordpickup]

Harry the only reason I brought this up was because of the line that said they wanted to make changes and Ford said no.

I had a little idea who did what to what on these cars back in the day, but when I read this thread it started to make me wonder.

[Harry P.]

Some more interesting info I found from "The Dodge Brothers" by David G. Cox:

...in 1902, the Dodge brothers (who were running a fairly successful machine shop) began supplying parts exclusively to Ransom Olds of Oldsmobile fame. At the time, Oldsmobile was the top-selling automobile company in America and to the Dodge brothers, they thought they had arrived. Their business was booming and everything was going great for the boys. But just five years later, Oldsmobile was struggling and soon sold out to Billy Durant, in what was to become General Motors.

Suddenly, the boy’s future looked cloudy, when in walks this guy through the front door. Everyone in Detroit knew about this guy. He was a local celebrity who’d won a big time auto race, but he was also known as brash, arrogant and hard to get along with. He had previously founded two auto companies and both had ended in fiasco. One can only imagine the looks on the brother’s faces when Henry Ford came strolling in to see them.

Ford had brought along designs for a new model he called the "Fordmobile" (note: it's not clear if the "designs" Ford brought to the Dodge brothers were actual finished plans and machine drawings, or simply sketches of what Ford wanted the car to look like). The brothers liked Ford’s design but sensed what was coming next–Ford wanted credit from the brothers. In 1903, Henry Ford was just a guy; there was no Ford Motor Company with agents and offices around the world. Henry Ford was just a local guy, known around town for his bad attitude, his bad (business) history, and his bad credit. The brothers, on the other hand, had seen the declining sales of their best customer in Ransom Olds.

So the brothers struck a deal with Ford. While the Dodge’s had given Olds 60 days to pay, Ford’s first order would be paid cash on the barrel head and afterwards, Ford was given just 15 days to pay. The brothers also stipulated that if Ford defaulted on the debt, the ownership of all parts reverted to the Dodge’s brothers, installed or not. The terms were tough; this is what the Dodge brothers thought of Henry Ford’s chances. Ford had no choice–without the Dodge brothers to supply him; he would be out of business for a third and probably last time.

Henry Ford’s company at that time was known as the Ford and Malcomson Company. Malcomson was a Scottish immigrant who’d made a fortune in the coal business. He was what we’d today call an entrepreneur, investing in potentially lucrative businesses. By 1903, Malcomson had decided his project with Henry Ford wasn’t what he was looking for. Few questioned Ford’s ability as a mechanic, but many questioned Ford’s ability as a business person. Malcomson had had enough and saw in the Dodge brothers a potential reprieve from the foibles of Henry Ford.

Malcomson (not Ford!) offered the brothers a 10% stake in the company for $7,000 in parts and $3,000 in cash. It came to be known as one of the greatest bargains in American history, as the Dodge brothers eventually sold their shares for over $34 million dollars, but that is story for down the road. The road immediately ahead for Ford was still rocky; he sold his first "Fordmobile" (Model A) for $895 cash, with a company payroll due and only $223 in the bank. That was the low ebb for Ford. From that point forward sales exploded. In 1906, Ford sold 1,599 cars, a year later it was 8,000 cars. Six years more and the Ford Motor Company were producing a 1,000 cars per day, every day.