1920 Dodge Brothers Series 20 Touring
Brothers John and Horace Dodge supplied engines and transmissions to Ransom Eli Olds and Henry Ford before launching their own automobile manufacturing operation in 1914.
Their first model featured a welded all-steel body and a 12-volt electrical system, achieving immediate market success with 45,000 units sold by the end of 1915 (the U.S. auto industry’s best first-year performance at that time).
The Series 20 arrived in 1920 with a slightly raked windshield, one of the few notable styling changes during the model’s production run. By this point, Dodge had expanded to eight body styles and held second place in U.S. sales behind Ford.
Powering the Series 20 was a 212 cubic inch L-head inline four-cylinder engine producing 35 horsepower at 2,200 rpm, fed by a single Stewart carburetor. The three-speed manual transmission used a sliding gear design, providing a more modern driving experience than the Model T’s planetary setup.
Semi-elliptic front and three-quarter elliptic rear leaf springs handled suspension duties, while mechanical rear drum brakes managed stopping power.
Both Dodge brothers died in 1920, and the company was eventually acquired by Walter P. Chrysler in 1928.
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