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 three 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. 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.
Calling All Memories!
Share your memories and take a trip down memory lane with one of the nations oldest Dodge dealers.
I thought it would be fun to create a special blog post of employee, friends, and family memories of Reed Brothers. So far, I have already collected some great stories from a handful of people sharing their personal favorite highlights of Reed Brothers. If you have any favorite memories, stories, or even photos you would like to share, please send them to me via the “Contact Me” section at the top of this page or click on this link: https://reedbrothersdodgehistory.wordpress.com/about-2/contact-me/
I will compile and showcase them here in a special blog post. This really will tell a very personal story of our company from the perspective of those who contributed to its 97 years of success.
Let’s hear them!
Manufacturing Dodge Motor Cars, ca 1917
Get ready for a treat! Here is a film that the Dodge Brothers company made to promote their brand in 1917. Copied at 16 frames per second from a 35mm tinted print preserved by the Academy Film Archive from source material provided by the New Zealand Film Archive. Running Time: 28 minutes (silent, no music, incomplete).
In the 1900s, brothers John and Horace Dodge of Detroit became the major suppliers of drive trains to the Ford Motor Company. They achieved such a stellar reputation for quality that when they decided to manufacture their own automobiles, incorporating as the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company in 1914, 13,000 dealers registered to sell the new vehicles before a single auto had been produced. In 1915, Reed Brothers was franchised as a Dodge dealership and service facility; less than one year after the first Dodge automobile rolled off the assembly line.
In 1916, the company created a film department to promote the Dodge brand. This film appears to be one of its first products. It shows the company’s assembly line in action, demonstrating to viewers the workmanship and care invested in each vehicle. The beginning is missing, lending credence to the hypothesis that the film may be the three-reel profile of the company’s production process distributed in 1917 to Dodge dealerships. The film finishes with close up looks at the Dodge Brothers’ models of the day: the Sedan, Coupe, Roadster and Touring Car. It also demonstrates Dodge’s capabilities in the snow and on steep hills (particularly fun to watch!).
If you have a half-hour to spare, kick back and enjoy this rare treat! You will get a true insider’s look at how the very first Dodge automobiles were made!
Dodge Made a Car Just for Women
The Dodge La Femme stemmed from Chrysler’s marketing department’s observation that more and more women were taking an interest in automobiles during the 1950s, and that women’s opinions on which color car to buy was becoming part of the decision making process for couples buying an automobile. The La Femme was an attempt to gain a foothold in the women’s automobile market.
Dodge introduced the new La Femme option package in 1955: For $143, you could have the Custom Royal Lancer feminized, with rose paint, gold script, and a nauseating shade of Pepto-pink interior complete with rosebuds.
The accessories which came with the car as standard equipment were where things started getting weird. The car came with a calfskin purse in the same shade of pink as the car’s interior. There was a special compartment behind the passenger seat for this purse, where it could sit with the buckle facing outward. This buckle was large enough for owners to have their name engraved on them, and this is what they were encouraged to do. Inside the purse there was a makeup compact filled with pale pink powder, a lipstick holder, a gold-toned cigarette lighter and case, an imitation tortoiseshell comb, a cigarette lighter, a vanity mirror and silk change purse.
These accessories were all finished in gold-color metal and (you guessed it) pink. For those who wanted them, Dodge also offered an umbrella, boots, a cape (seriously?) and a hat, all matching the seat upholstery.
It went nowhere. La Femme became La Flop. Women stayed away in droves and men weren’t about to be seen driving around in the darling Rosebud. The Dodge La Femme was sold for two years in the U.S. — 1955 and 1956
(Line from a long-lost episode of “Leave it To Beaver”)
“Gee Wally…. all the guys are callin’ me a sissy…. a pink and white car and it says La Femme on the side …. I just can’t be driven to school in mom’s new car anymore …. Yeah, Beave …. I know what ya mean …. that’s why I ride with Eddie …. and besides, mom’s not all that thrilled with the car either!”
Info Source: Dodge La Femme Wikipedia
Featured Photo: 1914 Indian Motorcycle With Sidecar
Photo by Lewis Reed
This is a photograph taken by Lewis Reed of an Indian motorcycle with his brother, Edgar, seated in the sidecar next to Uncle Bernie Hanshew. From what I’ve been able to research, I believe it’s a 1914 Indian. The handle bars on a 1913 had no cross bar, the 1914 model had a cross bar that can be seen on this one. The tool box was mounted on the rear of the carrier in 1913 and moved to the top of the fuel tank in 1914. If anyone can help to date or confirm the identity of this machine please leave a comment.
In the early days, motorcycles were a staple of transportation, and both Lewis and Edgar Reed rode them.
Motorcyclists in the 1920s were more likely to wear a tie, goggles, and a sporty little cap than the leather of today.
A 1915 advertisement for the Indian Motocycle (spelling motocycle without the “r”)
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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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