Thursday, November 6th, 2008
Dodge was founded in 1914 and is based out of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge manufactures commercial trucks, passenger vehicles, muscle cars, SUVs, pick up trucks and sports cars. Dodge is manufactured in over 60 countries worldwide. The company was originally founded in 1900 by the Dodge brothers as the Dodge Brothers Company to supply parts to the growing automotive industry in Michigan. Dodge did not begin manufacturing their own vehicles until 1914. Dodge became a part of the Chrysler Corporation in 1928, was part of the DaimlerChrysler merger from 1998-2007 and is now part of the new Chrysler LLC.
Horace and John Dodge were the brothers responsible for the founding of the Dodge Company in 1900. Their business produced chassis and engines for the growing automotive market in the Michigan area before they released their first vehicle in 1914. Their first model was the Dodge Model 30, somewhat of a takeoff from the Ford Model T. Dodge, like many other vehicle manufacturers within the country, produced models for military use. The first time that Dodge’s vehicles were used by the United States military was when the United States sent troops into Mexico on the Mexican Expedition which was in search of Pancho Villa.
Dodge, prior to the war years in the United States, produced many luxury liner models such as the D11 4-door sedan. In the 1950s and 1960s Dodge began producing more and more coupes and sedans. A couple of their models were the Dodge Coronet 440 sedan of 1966 and the 1977 Dodge Diplomat sedan. Once Dodge became part of the Daimler Chrysler merger in 1998, their design and success took off at an even higher level.
Once the merger took place the company began reworking the designs of many of its successful models to make them more attractive to the customer. Those models that Dodge redesigned were the Intrepid, the Stratus and the Neon.
Aside from their passenger vehicles, Dodge has become widely popular with their pick up trucks, SUVs, commercial vehicles and vans. Their pick up trucks have become the backbone of the company and are most known for their durable pick ups. Dodge’s first civilian pick up truck was the Power Wagon, which was released shortly after the conclusion of World War II. The Dodge Dakota and the Dodge Ram trucks are two of their most popular pick up trucks on the market today.
Throughout their history, Dodge has gone through a handful of name changes, which means they have also gone through a handful of logo changes. Their first logo was a circular emblem with the letters D and B intertwined for Dodge Brothers. The logo Dodge used until the mid 1990s was the pent-a-star, which is a pentagon with its five points and a star in the middle. Their current logo is the Dodge Ram head. It appears on all of their models except for the Dodge Viper. The ram head is also part of the company’s slogan which is, “Grab life by the horns.”
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Friday, October 3rd, 2008
GMC earlier announced its intention to lure the medium duty truck market to go for gasoline engines instead of diesel units. In this regard, the automaker will be renaming a company website that touts medium-duty gasoline engines as an excellent alternative to diesel engines. However, critics in the industry are saying that the strategy seems so strange.
The change of domain name occurred when GM was battling the notion that it is behind the Toyota Motor Corp. and other auto giants with regards to production of eco vehicles. GM launched the website to pump up sales of its medium-duty gasoline engines, which cost anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000 less than its diesel counterparts.
The website gives reasons why people should shift to gasoline engines. For one, gasoline engines cost less than diesel engines. They are also more universally available, easy to service, have fast cab heater warm-up and a good solution for lower-mileage applications. Gasoline engines are also quiet in operation. The site also provides a calculator that suggests how much a customer could save in purchasing a gas engine over a diesel.
GM is capitalizing on the difference to sell more gasoline engines over diesel for commercial trucks. The website touts gasoline engines used in dump trucks, ambulances, some large trucks, and U-Haul moving vans. It also offers potential customers a coffee mug worth $10 if they ask information about gas engines.
GM is currently working in a partnership with other companies like QUANTUM Technologies, Inc. and General Hydrogen to further its engines, strut mount and other auto parts. Automakers are continuously upgrading their auto parts and accessories. Toyota, the world leader in hybrid manufacture is entertaining more innovations. Auto parts like Volvo and Ford engines are also showing different levels of sophistication. Hence, GM, as the leader in the field must be cautious about the mounting competition.
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Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Every year hundreds of children and adults are injured and some are killed as a result of vehicles backing over these victims. Most back up accidents involve children under the age of 5 and elderly persons over 60 years of age. These backing up deaths occur in SUVs, passenger cars, new and used trucks and commercial trucks as well.
In 2003 there were 91 deaths associated with people backing over people (although only 44 were from cars, SUV’s or pickup trucks). We’ve spent millions of dollars developing back-up alarms and back-up cameras – some cars even come equipped with them.
But, in that same year, 143 people died as a result of a rear end accident to a passenger car or truck. So why don’t we make stronger rear bumpers or relocate the gas tank to protect the 143 people that die from fires resulting from a rear end accident?
Fires occur in approximately 2.4 percent of all fatal crashes. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates approximately 310 deaths per year are caused by post-collision vehicle fires. The largest cause of these fire-related fatalities, are rear impacts.
Although fires are rare, they are not as rare as accidentally backing over someone. If you just take the statistics from 2003, and you consider only passenger cars, SUV’s or light duty trucks, you are over 3 times more likely to burn to death in a rear-end collision than you are to kill someone by backing over them!
When you consider just pickup trucks, you are over 2 times more likely to burn to death in a rear end collision than you are to back over someone driving a pickup truck. And it’s a gruesome death. Usually the frame of the vehicle gets crushed to the point where the doors jam shut. And, because it’s almost impossible to punch your way through the safety glass, you end up trapped.
77% Of Fuel System Ruptures Were The Result Of Rear End Collision Damage. Why? Because The Fuel Tank On Most Vehicles Is In The Rear! And, rear-end impacts are three times as likely to result in fatal fire crashes. Although today’s gas tanks have protective bladders, the tank sometimes ends up separating from the filler hose and the gas starts leaking.
There are only two ways the problem can be fixed? Relocating the gas tank and/or shielding it from rupture or puncture. These are the two single and most practical solutions to fuel fed fires.
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