May 14, 2009 Timeline: How Chrysler Crashed
On May 14, 2009, Chrysler left 789 dealerships, about a quarter of its dealer base, out in the cold by rejecting their franchise agreements and giving them about a month to sell all their remaining new cars, factory parts and service equipment. After almost 95 years selling Dodges, Reed Brothers was one of the 15 dealerships in Maryland and 789 dealerships nationwide notified by Chrysler that their franchise agreement would not be renewed.
Here is a timeline on how Chrysler crashed:
1920s
Walter P Chrysler purchased the Dodge company and swiftly built a portfolio of auto brands including Plymouth and Chrysler. Within five years he was competing with Ford and General Motors.
1970s
After the 1973 energy crisis Chrysler’s range of big gas-guzzling cars and a couple of recalls left it with big problems. The legendary Lee Iacocca was hired in 1978. With the help of government loans, the former Ford executive rescued the firm and rebuilt it during the 1980s, buying Jeep along the way.
1990s
Iaccoca retired in 1992. In 1998 Chrysler merges with Daimler-Benz in a $37bn deal to become DaimlerChrysler, based in Germany. It was supposed to be a merger of equals, but Daimler was in the driving seat and Chrysler swiftly fell into losses.
2007
February 13,000 job cuts announced. Daimler says its open to offers for Chrysler.
April Activist investor Kirk Kerkorian tables a bid for Chrysler.
May Daimler sells 80% of Chrysler to private equity group Cerberus for $7.4B. The German group retains a 20% stake.
2008
October General Motors reported to be in merger talks with Chrysler. Nissan considers bidding for 20% of Chrysler to add to its alliance with Renault. Chrysler announces 5,000 job losses. Daimler says its 20% stake is worthless.
November Chrysler boss Bob Nardelli says the firm needs merger or bailout to survive. Sales down 35% in a year. GM asks US treasury department for $10bn so that it and Chrysler can merge. Cerberus demands $7B from Daimler to cover post-acquisition losses. German group says claims are baseless.
December The Senate refuses the bail-out. Chrysler says it is short of cash and likely to file for bankruptcy. All plants to close for a month. President George Bush finally approves a $13B rescue loan for the big three US carmakers.
2009
January US government provides $4B cash. Chrysler reported to be in talks to sell assets, maybe the Jeep brand, to Renault. Fiat proposes taking 35% stake in return for access to technology and overseas distribution networks
March Nardelli backs Fiat plan to save jobs and asks government for another $5B. Obama gives Chrysler 30 days to do a deal with Fiat – or go bankrupt.
April Chrysler’s banks talk to US government about debt for equity swap
Maryland Dealers shut down
Via: theguardian
Lewis Reed Photo: 1911 Speedwell Touring
Two ladies posing in a 1911 Speedwell Touring car. Photo by Lewis Reed
One of the things I enjoy doing is looking through all of the old photographs in my grandfather’s albums and trying to figure out who and what they are. Unfortunately, the majority of the photos are more than 100 years old and do not come neatly labeled on the back with names, dates, people or places. Anyway, I came across this cool looking car and thought it would be fun to try and identify it, so I went on a quest. The only real clue I had to go on was the “S” on the front of the car.
After some digging, my research has identified the car as a circa 1910 or 1911 Speedwell Touring car — pictured just below is a fully restored 1911 Speedwell Series 11 50HP. Looks the same to me. What do you think?
Fully restored 1911 Speedwell Series 11 50HP. In 2011, this car was offered for sale at auction. It was estimated to sell for $195,000-$225,000 but bidding fell short of the estimate and left the auction unsold.
The Speedwell Motor Car Company was an early United States automobile manufacturing company that produced cars from 1907 to 1914. In 1910, the Speedwell cars and the Wright aircraft were produced in the same factory building. Powering the cars was a Speedwell four-cylinder motor that offered 50 horsepower, making it more than capable of sustaining high speeds. The exterior designs of the Speedwell automobiles were inspired from multiple parts of the automotive industry. Speedwell declared bankruptcy in 1915.
Source: Wikipedia – Speedwell Motor Car Company
1920s: Dodge Dealers Tackle Snowy Goshen Road in Gaithersburg
Circa 1920 Hudson Six with Maryland Dealer License Plate on front. There weren’t heaters in these old cars, so motorists had to really bundle up. Photo by Lewis Reed
These previously unpublished photos from Lewis Reed’s album are what appears to be a caravan of circa 1920s cars all with Dealer license plates slowly making their way along a snowbound Goshen Road in rural Gaithersburg. The radiator badge on the front of the car in the above image identifies it as a Hudson. The only indication of where these photos were taken was a small piece of paper tucked behind one of the photos that was labeled “Goshen Road – outside Gaithersburg”.
Early motorists weren’t afraid to drive in the snow simply because they didn’t have 4-wheel drive and electronic assistance; they just got out and did it. In the spirit of the upcoming weekend snow storm, here are a few photos that recall the beauties and trials of winters past, from Lewis Reed’s collection.
Dealer car stopped (stuck?) on snowbound Goshen Road. Note the trailing cars slowly making their way up the hill. Although no tire chains are in evidence, they might have been useful coming up that hill. Photo by Lewis Reed
Line of Dealer cars stopped on Goshen Road. The car at the rear appears to be getting a helping hand to change a flat tire. Photo by Lewis Reed
Dealer in a circa 1920 Oldsmobile stopped along Goshen Road outside Gaithersburg. Photo by Lewis Reed
Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage sold more than just Dodges. During the early years, Reed Brothers represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Oldsmobile, Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Oldsmobile were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917 through 1921.
Who would dare go out in these conditions today without an AWD SUV and heated seats?
November 14, 1914: The First Dodge Car
Horace Dodge (left rear) and John Dodge (right rear) in “Old Betsy” in front of John Dodge’s Boston Boulevard home, 14 November 1914.
One hundred and one years ago on this date –November 14, 1914 — the very first Dodge car, “Old Betsy”, rolled off the assembly line. On that day, the Dodge Brothers (Horace and John) were photographed riding in the rear seat of the first car to bear their last name. It cost $785, had a 110-inch wheelbase, and was powered by an L-head 4-cylinder engine that proved so reliable it was continued until 1920 with very little modification. Total production for 1914 was a mere 249 touring cars. The following year. Dodge offered a two-passenger roadster which also sold for $785 and the plant went into full production.
According to “The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy” by Charles K. Hyde, here’s the full story:
The widely accepted history of the initial production of early Dodge Brothers automobiles in November 1914 is at odds with much of the evidence about the earliest Dodge Brothers cars. Automotive historians have thought that the first production car, later named “Old Betsy,” came off the assembly line at the Hamtramck factory on 14 November 1914. Guy Ameel, superintendent of final assembly for Dodge Brothers since the start of automobile production, served as John and Horace’s chauffeur that day. With the brothers in the back seat, Ameel stopped the first Dodge Brothers car in front of John Dodge’s mansion on Boston Boulevard in Detroit and a photographer recorded this important moment.
“Old Betsy” was more likely an experimental prototype car assembled several months before 14 November 1914 and not a production car at all…
The Dodge Brothers began an aggressive advertising campaign to promote their new automobiles and to attract potential dealers to sell their cars. Few people jumped onto the Dodge Brothers bandwagon earlier than Lewis Reed, and not many have lasted longer. Lewis Reed was an enterprising young man who put his future in the fledgling automobile industry. In 1915 he received his franchise to sell Dodge Brothers Motor Cars from John and Horace Dodge; less than one year after “Old Betsy” rolled off the assembly line. Lewis Reed and his brother Edgar, were the first to sell Dodge cars in Montgomery County, Maryland. That made Reed Brothers the oldest Dodge dealership under the same family ownership in Maryland, and one of the oldest in the entire nation.
The Beginning of Dodge | Chrysler Historical Video
Source: “The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars, and the Legacy“
October 1915: The Beginning of a Legacy
Woodrow Wilson was President of the United States; the Green Bay Packers did not yet exist; the United States was two years away from joining World War I; the cost of a stamp was two cents, and Reed Brothers Dodge in Rockville, Maryland was founded.
This is when it all began. It was 100 years ago in October 1915 that Rockville automobile pioneer Lewis Reed, founder of Reed Brothers Dodge, signed a franchise agreement with Horace and John Dodge in Detroit; less than one year after the first Dodge automobile rolled off the assembly line. Since then, the business that Lewis Reed founded, grew and transformed into the oldest family-owned and operated Dodge dealership in Maryland, and one of the oldest in the entire nation.
This photograph of the original 1915 Rockville Garage shows a 1916 model 44 Oldsmobile with V8 and sedan body parked in front. The original owners of Rockville Garage are standing in front. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield. (click on photo to enlarge)
The photo shows the Rockville Garage where Lewis Reed got his start by becoming a partner with Robert L. and Griffith Warfield in 1915. Previously Lee Ricketts and Sons who ran the local Overland Agency, used the building until selling it to the Warfield brothers in July 1915. The Rockville Garage continued to operate under this name until Lewis Reed bought out his partners in 1918.
Lewis Reed and his brother Edgar, who joined him in business in 1919, were the first to sell Dodge cars in Montgomery County Maryland. The company continued for two generations later under the Gartner family and sold tens of thousands of cars to generations of local drivers.
In 1928, when Walter P. Chrysler took over after Horace and John Dodge died, Lewis Reed became an original member of the Chrysler family. By 1929, the year of the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, nobody could afford to buy cars. Like most other businesses, the Great Depression hit hard. Reed Brothers had to rely on its Service Department to make ends meet. But, the dealership survived through these lean times.
Reed Brothers faced another setback during World War II. All U.S. car manufacturers stopped production of cars in order to concentrate on equipment for the military. Reed Brothers had no new cars to sell for three and a half years. When manufacturers halted car production and many dealers went bankrupt, Lewis Reed converted his car showroom into a display room and sold GE washing machines and other large appliances.
The dealership survived The Great Depression, World War II, the first Chrysler Bailout and resurgence under Lee Iacocca, the sale of Chrysler to Daimler and the sale to the private equity firm Cerberus. Reed Brothers has, in fact, survived everything but Chrysler itself. Whether a franchise is run by a second- or third-generation dealer or is older than even Chrysler itself didn’t seem to matter when Chrysler decided to cut dealership ranks during their 2009 bankruptcy process. After almost 95 years selling Dodges, Reed Brothers was one of the 15 dealerships in Maryland and 789 dealerships nationwide notified by Chrysler that their franchise agreement would not be renewed.
During this time when many car dealers had to close their doors, Reed Brothers made behind-the-scenes tweaks to withstand the economic downturn and the loss of their franchise. The signs standing outside on Rockville Pike still said Reed Brothers Dodge, but inside, a new business was forming: Reed Brothers Automotive.
A business landmark in the Rockville area since 1915, Reed Brothers underwent a change in its structure – and its name – but still catered to the local community as it had for decades. Reed Brothers changed its name from Reed Brothers Dodge to Reed Brothers Automotive, and continued on as a used car dealer and repair shop until May 2012, when Reed Brothers announced the closing of their 97-year old Rockville, Maryland dealership.
When Lewis Reed opened his car dealership in 1915, he never knew he was starting a family tradition that would be carried out for 97 years and three generations. When I stop to think about what Reed Brothers Dodge has experienced over the last decade, from World War I, The Great Depression, World War II, to economic recessions and numerous Chrysler setbacks, I could not be more proud to be part of such an amazing story.
Our family will be eternally grateful for Lewis Reed’s foresight and thankful for our employees and their families, and the surrounding community that have allowed Reed Brothers Dodge to achieve such an historic milestone.
It is in keeping with Lewis Reed’s spirit, that I proudly honor and preserve the legacy he left as the founder of his family’s 97-year old dealership that spanned three generations and over nine decades.
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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