1923 Dodge Tourer

Description

The Dodge brothers made their initial fortune supplying Ford with engines and transmissions and such was their reputation, Dodge's first automobile, announced in 1914 for the 1915 model year, immediately leapt to third place in the sales race. After building some military vehicles in World War I, the Dodge brothers moved into civilian commercial vehicles in 1916 and teamed up with the Graham Brothers in the 1920s to build a range of body styles. Dodge began exporting cars to Australia in 1916, the first official dealership being S A Cheney of Adelaide and before long agencies had sprung up in all states. The ability of the Dodge to withstand punishment made the car popular in Australia and most of those exported here were bodied locally by the likes of Holden. Dodge's 1923 model was essentially a carryover from the previous year, using the same 114-inch wheelbase chassis and L-head four-cylinder engine. The motor displaced 212 cubic inches from its cast iron block, had solid valve lifters and produced 35 horsepower while the transmission was via selective sliding unit with three forward speeds. Braking was on the rear wheels only but Dodge promoted their use of quick action brakes with larger than normal 14-inch drums to provide superior stopping power. The biggest innovation to occur in 1923 was the introduction of all-steel bodywork, an industry first, starting with a business coupe and followed by a four-door sedan. Other body styles available included the tourer, roadster and several custom bodies. Dodge produced 151,000 cars in 1923 and was ranked sixth in the industry. Sadly the death of the Dodge brothers in 1920 saw the company fall into slow decline until was sold to Chrysler in July 1928 and the brand remains in integral part of this corporation to the present day.