The Dodge brothers, who were destined to become one of the richest men in America, started life from the lowest point. John and Horace were born not exactly in poverty, but in poverty for sure. Their father, Daniel Dodge, ran a small foundry and barely made ends meet. Perhaps it was extreme need that rallied the children so much. Despite the four-year age difference (the eldest of the brothers, John was born in October 1864), the Dodges were inseparable like twins. From a young age, they tried to be useful to the family. John, for example, drove a neighbor's cow to pasture for 50 cents a week and helped a local cabman unload bags of bran.
Interest in technology overtook the Dodges at a very young age. Actually, the tomboys could not be interested in anything else, even if they wanted to. Their entire narrow little world was made up of their father's tiny workshop, where they spent days and nights as boys, and then as teenagers.
In 1891, the brothers from their hometown of Niles, on the border of Michigan and Indiana, moved to Detroit. It was better to work here. At first, the Dodges got a job at the Murphy Engine company, which specialized in the manufacture and repair of steam engines. And in just six months in a new place, John has grown from a handyman to a foreman. The brothers worked at Murphy Engine for about four years, gaining practical experience in the production and repair of a wide variety of vehicles. Then they moved to neighboring Canada, getting a job as a turner at Canadian Typograph. Here things got even better. John was soon promoted to shift supervisor, and Horace (I must say, of the two brothers, he was more gifted in technical terms, but John more than compensated for some lag in entrepreneurial vein) invented and patented the design of a wheel hub that was not afraid of dirt. This became the starting point. John found an investor (Detroit industrialist Fred Evans) and with his money the brothers built their first vehicle in a rented workshop. No, not yet a car, but just a bicycle. John and Horace set up production of the two-wheeled Evans & Dodge model - at the turn of the century it was in good demand.
At the end of the 19th century, bicycle shops in America opened by the hundreds. And hundreds of them closed. The two-wheeled business was actively concentrated in the hands of large players. And clearly realizing that it would not be possible to get rich on the release of bicycles, the Dodges returned to Detroit in 1901. After the sale of their bicycle business, they had a small capital, and the city, which was in anticipation of the automobile fever that would then overwhelm all of America, was just waiting to be conquered.
New case
The brothers judged soberly. Open own production they could not have cars - they probably had no less knowledge than the first overseas auto manufacturers, but the available $ 7,500 for such a scale was clearly not enough. But neat, responsible and cherishing their own reputation, the Dodges have become excellent performers. They started a small parts business. Six turners, six apprentices, plus John and Horace themselves, who did not disdain to stand behind the machine and keep financial records, carried out a wide variety of orders: from minor repairs to engine assembly.
The brothers, it must be admitted, were very lucky with the customers. One of the first clients of the family firm was Ransom Eli Olds himself. The founder of Oldsmobile and the creator of the first mass-produced US car ordered single-cylinder engines from the brothers for his “Rounded Front”, and then two-speed transmissions. This contract alone brought the young company everything one can dream of - money, fame, reputation. But an even bigger, as it turned out, client appeared on the horizon - a certain Henry Ford.
The Dodges have been partners with the Ford Motor Company since the company was founded in 1903. Motors, transmissions, and then bridges bearing the brand of the Dodge brothers were on all the first Fords, from the Model A to the legendary Ford T. Already in 1904, John became one of the five directors of the Ford Motor Company. At the same time, the inseparable brothers provided for themselves and their families for life. A relatively small shareholding - fifty per brother in 1903 and another thousand each in 1908 - made them multimillionaires. When, nine years later, Henry Ford, having decided to concentrate control over the company in his own hands, began to buy up the shares of former partners, he had to shell out $ 25 million for the brothers' shares! And this is in 1917 money. At the current exchange rate, it turns out all 330 million ...
Themselves with mustaches
However, by that time, John and Horace were already known as well-known auto manufacturers themselves. The brothers decided to go on an independent voyage for several reasons. First, Henry Ford gradually abandoned the practice of outsourcing, concentrating the production of components within the walls of his own company. Plus, as John aptly puts it, they are "just tired of being small change in Ford's vast pocket." And in 1914 the brothers organized their own car company. This, as they would say today, start-up was doomed to success.
In automotive circles in America at that time, the reputation of the Dodge reached the sky with its shoulders. No one has yet seen their first car, and the number of people who want to sell it has broken all conceivable records. The brothers received cooperation offers from more than 22,000 dealers from all over the country! Only a frankly failed product could spoil such a beginning. But the Dodges have been part of the secret to the success of America's premier car - the Ford T, of course - for too long to make a mistake. The brothers were well aware of all the pros and cons of the hit "Lizzie Tin", so they quickly decided on the concept of the first independent model. It should not be the cheapest, but still affordable quality mass car for the general consumer. So much more perfect, how much more expensive than "Lizzy".
In a nutshell, the Dodge Model 30 was an improved Ford T. The undoubted advantages of the Dodge were a 3-speed gearbox (Ford only has a two-speed), a 35-horsepower 3.5-liter 4-cylinder engine (at that time "Teshka" could boast of only 20 horses) and a completely all-metal body from Budd. Here, the Model 30 had no analogues at all. In any case, in the mass segment. True, the price of $ 785 was almost twice the base price of Lizzy. But the brothers did not doubt their success.
It looked so colorful and unusual at first corporate emblem Dodge. Moreover, the sign, similar to the Star of David, is actually only an inverted Latin D, symbolizing the names of the brothers. However, over time, after the death of the Dodges, they decided to change the ambiguous design of the corporate emblem, which caused rumors. After World War II, some Dodge models were decorated with such a heraldic coat of arms. For a long time a simple Dodge nameplate was used instead of the emblem. Only in the 90s trademark became the famous ram's head, and after Ram became a separate brand, the company logo changed again. Now it is a cross and the inscription Dodge, inscribed in the field of the heraldic shield
Tell me, what will the army of Ford-T owners do when they want to buy real car? - John chuckled, answering questions about the prospects of the model.
Everything turned out that way. Already in the first year of sales, the brothers managed to sell 45 thousand "thirties". In 1916, sales exceeded 70 thousand, which allowed Dodge, or rather, Dodge brothers - under this name the company existed until 1930 - to become the fourth automobile company in the United States, after only Ford, Willys-Overland and Buick.
"Gasoline Millionaires"
True, it cannot be said that the world of the rich and famous received the automotive nouveaux riches with open arms. Let's not forget, the Dodges came from a very simple family and were known as men, to put it mildly, of a simple warehouse. Both loved to take a sip of the bottle and often got into trouble. What a mess in a drinking establishment with the obligatory breaking of bottles and a savory scuffle, the inseparable brothers knew firsthand. Not surprisingly, the slightly straightforward Dodges were not particularly favored in high society, contemptuously calling John and Horace "gasoline millionaires." Those, whenever possible, tried to answer the high society with the same coin.
When, due to their difficult nature and dubious reputation, the Dodges were denied membership in the prestigious Detroit Country Club, they decided to take revenge. Dodge and Horace bought the plot of land adjacent to the pretentious club with the intention of building an absurdly large and as gaudy mansion as possible on it, which would literally cast a shadow over the Country Club building. Fortunately, the matter did not come to the construction itself, they stopped at the stage of verbal threats and shaking their fists. In any case, the general level of relations between the Dodges and the Detroit establishment in light of this incident is exhaustively understandable.
Perhaps high society manners were indeed alien to the brothers, but to call them headless hillbilly - big mistake. Suffice it to recall that Horace was perhaps the main patron of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also invested a lot of money in the construction of a new city concert hall, and his daughter learned to be an excellent pianist.
villainous fate
An amazing phenomenon in the world of big business. Over the years and even decades, the sincere friendship between John and Horace has never given a crack. In wealth and prosperity, the brothers were as inseparable as in the years of half-starved youth. Both John and Horace started families a long time ago - wives, kids, everything is as it should be, but anyway, for each of them brother remained the closest person in the world. It has always been so. Until the end.
As they say in bad novels, nothing foreshadowed trouble. In the early days of the new 1920, Horace went to the New York auto show and ... caught the flu. The disease turned into pneumonia and progressed rapidly. The best doctors shrugged their shoulders - at that time the flu was really very, very dangerous. But Horace still recovered. Perhaps thanks to the support of his brother, who literally did not leave his bed. But things turned out even worse ... Now the flu has already twisted John himself, and on January 14, at the age of 55, he died without regaining consciousness in the Ritz-Carlton hotel room.
Horace, completely devastated by the loss of the closest person, seemed to have immediately lost interest in life. He will last less than a year and die in December of the same tragic year for the Dodges in 1920. The entire Detroit Symphony Orchestra played at his funeral.
One of the largest automobile companies in the United States was inherited by the widows of John and Horace. In 1925, the young ladies sold the Dodge brothers to financial investment specialists Dillon Read And Co. Those, in turn, having been busy with the company for a couple more years, realized that the production of cars is a somewhat more complicated business than banking fraud, and gave way to the company to Walter Chrysler, who was building his own auto empire at an accelerated pace.
Back then, Chrysler's takeover of Dodge was compared to a sardine that managed to swallow a whale. However, it was this transaction that became a landmark for the buyer. Having at your disposal production capacity and the broad distribution network of the Dodge brothers, Walter Chrysler eventually built his empire to the size of Ford and General Motors. Dodge is still an integral part of FIAT-Chrysler, specializing in the production of sports models.
Danila Mikhailov
Top 10
10 best models Dodge according to Auto Mail.Ru
Model 30 (1914)
The first and such an important car that laid the foundation for the prosperity of the company. True to the uncomplicated “improved Ford T” philosophy, the Dodge Model 30 looked like its role model even in appearance. Moreover, like "Tin Lizzy", "thirty" for the first few years was also offered on the market only in black.
Dart GTS (1968)
Dodge began to earn its current glory as a muscle brand in the second half of the 60s. The company was far from being the first to enter the muscle car market, but it made the most of the opportunities of the new segment. Dodge had a sports car for every age and income. For example, a modest-looking and very inexpensive Dart GTS with a 7.2-liter V8 was essentially a road-legal dragster. common use. Power - 375 hp, torque - 650 N∙m. In 1968, this provided acceleration to hundreds in just 5 seconds.
Coronet (1969)
Another budget sedan that has become a muscle car. In the base, the Coronet was not a very powerful and rather dull-looking vehicle. In charged Super versions Bee or Six Pack, this Dodge turned into a ruthless vehicle for tires and rivals to increase driving potency. With a power of under 400 hp. and thrust for 660 N∙m, this wolf in sheep's clothing cannot be better described.
Charger (1970)
In our area, Dodge muscle cars are less known than Ford or Chevrolet products. In fact, at the turn of the 70s in the States there were no more cool cars than the R/T (Road and Track) Charger. The Hemi V-shaped eight-cylinder engine produced 425 hp only according to the passport. Many, not without reason, believed that the real power of the car was close to 500 horses, and it was underestimated solely for insurance reasons. Add to this a stunning design with a chrome-plated front bumper loop and recognizable tail light surrounds, and you will understand why this car has long been in the pantheon of great classics.
Challenger (1970)
Another name from the golden fund of muscle building. In the early 70s (as, indeed, today), the Challenger did not let the charged Mustangs and Camaros breathe. V-shaped eight with three twin Six Pack carburetors, according to the passport, it produced 290 hp. In real life, the power reached 350 horses, but the main thing is that the more compact and light Challenger was at least not inferior to more powerful, but also heavier competitors. He did a quarter mile from the start in just 14 seconds, and disc brakes and a specially tuned suspension made this Dodge stand out among ponic classmates.
Dodge is a brand of cars produced by the American by Chrysler. The Dodge brand produces cars, pickups, SUVs and commercial vehicles. The company was founded in 1900 by the Dodge brothers to produce automotive components. In 1914, the production of their own cars began. Dodge was sold to Chrysler Corporation in 1928, was part of the DaimlerChrysler alliance from 1997 to 2008, and is now part of Fiat-Chrysler LLC. The new Dodge logo features "Dodge" with two red stripes; the old logo (bighorn head) is now used on Ram cars.
Brothers John Dodge and Horace Dodge entered the auto industry long before they founded their own car company. As early as 1897, they started manufacturing bicycles in Detroit, and in 1900 they founded machine building plant, which produced parts for cars. They supplied transmissions for Oldsmobile, helped Henry Ford in 1903 ( Henry Ford) with funding from the Ford Motor Company and built engines for it, and John Dodge was even vice president of this company until 1913.
All-metal bodies from Budd brought early models Dodge popular with buyers.
The products of the Dodge brothers have gained a high reputation for their quality and reliability. Deciding that it was time to produce cars themselves, the brothers created a company based on their factories in 1913, which was called the Dodge Brothers. The first Dodge car was born on November 14, 1914. It had a 3.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with 35 hp. and was positioned as a budget, but "real" car, in contrast to the popular, but primitive Ford T. Yes, and it cost only one and a half times more expensive. This strategy was successful: inexpensive and reliable cars were in good demand. By 1919, Dodge sales exceeded 100,000 copies. In 1916, Dodge became the world's first mass-produced all-metal body car manufactured by Budd, which was produced in both open and closed versions. Since 1917, trucks have also been produced under the Dodge brand.
Dodge WC23 1941, one of the representatives of the military vehicles of the WC family.
However, in 1920, the company suffered an unexpected blow: John Dodge became one of the victims of the Spanish flu pandemic, which in those years mowed down people cleaner than machine guns on the fronts of the World War that had just ended. Horace did not long outlive his brother, dying six months later from complications from the same Spanish flu. The company was left without firm leadership, and oddly enough, no one was particularly interested in its prosperity, despite the fact that in 1925 it ranked fourth in terms of production in the United States.
In the post-war years, Dodge was distinguished by a solid, but unimpressive design.
The annual production of cars was 200 thousand copies. In the same year, it was acquired by the banking consortium Dillon, Read & Company for $148 million, at the time the largest corporate transaction in history. Around the same time, Walter Chrysler, who had recently founded his corporation and was looking for opportunities to expand it, laid eyes on the company. Despite the newly founded divisions of Plymouth and DeSoto, he still bought a Dodge in 1928, which at that moment was like swallowing an elephant by a boa constrictor. Dodge's huge production capacity has allowed Chrysler to become one of the members of the Detroit trio of auto giants, along with General Motors and Ford - and at some points Chrysler history even overtook Ford in terms of production. Initially, Dodge as part of the new corporation was positioned in second place, a class above DeSoto, and was second only to Chrysler itself in prestige.
In the 50s Italian firm Ghia built some interesting prototypes for Chrysler. This is one of them - Dodge Firearrow (fiery arrow).
But in 1933, after a restructuring, Dodge found itself in second place from the bottom, between DeSoto and the cheaper Plymouth. Such castling was done in order to increase sales of the brand. This strategy paid off, especially since the Dodge lineup did not include the advanced but unpopular Airflow model, which hurt sales of Chrysler and DeSoto. Dodge production after the end of the Great Depression grew steadily and in 1937 came close to 300,000. In 1942-1945, the production of Dodge cars, like other American stamps, stopped, but for army needs, light all-wheel drive trucks of the WC series (Weapon Carrier, literally - “Weapon Carrier”) were produced, which were supplied in large quantities under Lend-Lease to our country.
The 1960 Dodge Dart is Dodge's first "intermediate" model and is still in the Forward Look style.
After the war, the production of popular Dodge Power Wagon pickups was started on their basis. Post-war Dodge cars, like all Chrysler products, were distinguished by a solid but inexpressive design. The situation changed in the second half of the 1950s, when, under the guidance of designer Virgil Exner, the successful Forward Look style was developed, which, according to the then fashion, was distinguished by huge fins. model dodge series of those years consisted of the Coronet, Royal and Custom Royal series. In 1960, full-sized Dodges were named Polara and Matador, and in addition to them, more compact Dart models began to be produced, which immediately gained popularity. The success of small models forced the corporation's management to make a strategic mistake - in the early 1960s, Dodge and Plymouth (DeSoto ceased production in 1961) were deprived of full-size models. Sales immediately fell, and the situation had to be urgently corrected, starting in the middle of the 1962 model year, the production of a full-size Dodge Custom 880 car. The lineup finally stabilized by 1966. It consisted of full-size Polara and Monaco models, an intermediate Coronet and a compact Dart. In the same year, the corporation established itself as a serious player in the nascent muscle car market, releasing the Dodge Charger model based on the mid-size Coronet.
Dodge models of the early 60s were distinguished not only by their small size, but also by their controversial design, which did not cause delight among the public.
It was two-door car with a fastback body, with headlights that were hidden behind decorative shields, but most importantly, with a range of engines starting from the “eight” with a capacity of 230 hp. and ending with the legendary 426 Hemi (volume - 426 cubic inches, that is, 7 liters, with hemispherical-type combustion chambers), which developed 425 hp.
A full-size next-generation Dodge is the 1965 Dodge Polara.
From 1967, the Charger could be ordered in the popular R/T trim, which was powered by a 375-horsepower 440 Magnum engine. In 1969, the Charger Daytona was built on the basis of the Charger, designed for NASCAR racing. Daytona, like the similar Plymouth Superbird, was distinguished by a sharp nose and two huge keels with a wing. In accordance with the rules of NASCAR, this model was produced in the amount of 503 units and immediately became the favorite of the races. Daytonas left no chance for rivals, and in 1971 NASCAR management effectively banned them, limiting the maximum engine size to five liters.
The Dodge Charger Daytona has given all NASCAR racers a thumbs up.
Along with the Charger and Daytona, Dodge produced other muscle cars, including cars such as the Coronet 500, Coronet R/T, Super Bee, all of which could be equipped with a 426 Hemi engine. The compact Dart in “charged” trim levels, such as GTS, Swinger 340, Demon 340, was also distinguished by solid speed qualities. It was equipped with a standard 340 cc (5.6 l) engine of 275 hp, which could be replaced in 383 (6.3 l) and even in 440 (7.2 l) cubic inches, with a power of 300 hp. and 375 hp respectively.
Typical muscle car from Dodge. Dodge Coronet R/T (Road and Track) with the legendary Hemi engine.
Finally, since 1970, the very popular Dodge Challenger has been produced, which can rather be classified as a pony car. It was also offered in R/T and Hemi trim levels, and a T/A homologation version for Trans Am racing. This model was equipped with a 290-horsepower 340 Six Pack engine (with three two-barrel carburetors).
Dodge Challenger RT - the presence of the Hemi engine is indicated by the “shaker” of the air intake in the middle of the hood.
The muscle car era, and with it the prosperity of the American auto industry, ended with the fuel crisis of the early 1970s. This crisis put the Chrysler Corporation in a particularly difficult position, as it could not offer customers a small subcompact car.
Dodge Super Bee is a classic muscle car. Affordable "Super Bee" powered by the Charger.
As such, under the brand name Dodge Colt had to be sold Japanese model Mitsubishi Lancer (and since 1979 - Mitsubishi Mirage). In the future, the dependence on the so-called captive import remained great. Cars sold under the Dodge brand Mitsubishi Galant(Dodge Challenger, 1978-1983), Mitsubishi Starion (Dodge Conquest, 1984-1986), Mitsubishi GTO (Dodge Stealth, 1991-1996), SUV Mitsubishi Pajero(Dodge Raider, 1987-1989) and pickup dodge ram 50 (1979-1983) also manufactured by Mitsubishi.
Dodge Dart Swinger is one of the most powerful models among compact cars that time.
Dodge had its own subcompact only in 1978, with the launch of the Dodge Omni. In fact, this car was developed by the French company Simca, which at that time was owned by Chrysler, and after the sale of this company to the Peugeot-Citroen concern, the model was produced in Europe as the Talbot Horizon. However, by that time, Chrysler Corporation was on the verge of bankruptcy, and its products were notorious for being extremely unreliable. To a large extent, the reputation of the brand was spoiled by the Dodge Aspen model (1976-1980), which replaced the compact Dodge Dart and was famous for its very poor build quality. The situation was aggravated by the full-size model Dodge St Regis (1979-1981), which was born at an extremely unfortunate moment: the start of its production coincided with the second, even more serious, oil crisis of 1979.
The Dodge Aspen is a handsome compact notorious for its lousy build quality.
Large Dodges were willingly used by the police.
The situation was saved by the new manager of the corporation, Lee Iacocca, who convinced US congressmen to provide the corporation with a large government loan. Iacocca bet on the new front-wheel drive K-platform, on the basis of which a whole family of cars was produced since the early 1980s, including the Dodge Aries, Dodge 400 and Dodge 600. The Dodge 400 was produced with a convertible body, becoming the first Dodge convertible since 1971 and one of first american convertibles after their production was temporarily stopped in 1976.
Dodge St Regis is a large car released in 1979. Then, when the Americans did not need big cars.
The biggest Dodge after the discontinuation of the unsuccessful St Regis was the mid-size rear-wheel drive Dodge Diplomat (1977-1989), which was more popular with police and taxi drivers than with private buyers. It was not until 1988 that the larger Dodge Dynasty appeared. Due to the decline of the Plymouth brand, the Dodge division has consistently ranked first in Chrysler Corporation in terms of passenger car production since 1983.
Dodge 600: One of the first convertibles to appear in 1984 after a six-year hiatus.
In the 1980s, Dodge again tries its hand in the sector of high-speed cars: this time includes a collaboration with renowned designer Carroll Shelby, which led to the release of a series sports cars based production models Dodge. These included Shelby Lancer (1987), Shelby Charger (1983-1987), Shelby CSX (based on Dodge Shadow, 1987-1989), Shelby GLH-S (based on Dodge Omni, 1986-1987) and even "charged" Shelby Dakota pickup truck (1989). In 1992, Dodge entered the supercar market with the Viper, which was equipped with an 8-liter V10 engine with 400 hp. An even more powerful 450-horsepower engine was installed on the Viper GTS model from 1996 to 2002, and the power of the Viper SRT / 10 model, which has been produced since 2003, reaches 510 hp. In 1998, Dodge, as a result of the merger of Chrysler with Daimler-Benz, became part of the DaimlerChrysler Corporation. Dodge models by this time had acquired Chrysler's signature cab forward style with a relatively small hood and large interior.
The Dodge Shelby Charger is a collaboration between Dodge and Carroll Shelby.
The completely updated lineup, in addition to the Viper, consisted of the full-size Intrepid (1993-2004), the mid-size Stratus (1995-2006, sold in Europe as the Chrysler Stratus), the Avenger coupe (1995-2000) and the compact Neon (1995-2005). Also produced are the Caravan and Grand Caravan minivans, which, with the Plymouth Voyager in the 1980s, allowed Chrysler to actually create a minivan market. In the SUV sector, Dodge is represented by the Durango model (since 1998), to which the compact Nitro was added in 2007. The place of Intrepid since 2006 has been occupied by dodge sedan Charger, as well as the Dodge Magnum station wagon that appeared a year earlier on the same platform, which is sold in Europe as the Chrysler 300 Touring. Since 2006, a compact Dodge Caliber, which replaced Neon.
Dodge Stealth - twin brother Japanese coupe Mitsubishi GTO (aka 3000GT).
In accordance with the new strategy of the corporation, the Dodge brand has ceased to be purely American. Official Dodge sales have also begun in Europe, including Russia, where customers are offered Caliber models. In search of a way out of the crisis in which the entire American auto industry and the Chrysler division in particular found themselves, Dodge once again relies on speed, exploiting the images of its legendary muscle cars. Evidence of this is the Dodge Challenger concept that appeared in 2006, which repeats its style of the classic Challenger of the 1970s.
History of the brand "Dodge"
Brief Biography of the Dodge Brothers
History of the Dodge brand- This story that brought to life the great american dream, a story of brotherly love and loyalty to ideals.
Once in America, in the small town of Niles, in the state of Michigan, two brothers were born. In 1864, the eldest was born - John, and then in 1868 the youngest - Horace. Their father Daniel Dodge together with his brothers, he owned a small foundry and a workshop for the repair of railway equipment. Life was hard, John worked part-time unloading wagons, the younger Horace, at nine years old, worked as a shepherd.
In 1882, the brother of the head of the family died Dodge. Daniel has difficulties in doing business, and the family has to leave his hometown. The family first moved to Port Huron. There, 17-year-old John and 14-year-old Horace got jobs at Upton Manufacturing Compny. Here the brothers in practice comprehend the skill of working with mechanisms.
In 1886, another move to Detroit took place, where John soon finds a job at the Murpwy Boil Works. After working there for a year, John helps his younger brother get a job there. John had a "punching" character and organizational skills - this was noticed by the management and he received the position of shop manager. Things were not going badly, but in the early 1890s, a misfortune happened - John fell ill with tuberculosis. John was forced to quit, and Horace took over all the financial hardships of the family.
Goras also leaves his previous job due to low pay, and gets a job new job in the workshop of Henry Leland. The workshop produced a wide range of products - from bicycle parts to steam boilers. At this time, John's health improved, but he still could not work in smoky workshops. John and Horace decide to find a greener place to work.
That's how they get there dodge brothers to the Dominion Typograph Company. Here the older brother quickly rose to the foreman. And Horace, with the help of his invention, significantly improved the bicycle bearing. In fact, he came up with a bicycle hub, and received a patent for his invention.
Fred Evans - managing director of "Dominion Typograph Company" decided to open with Dodge brothers a subsidiary company, "Evans & Dodge Bicycle", leasing part of its enterprise for this. The company produced bicycles with bearings improved according to Horace's idea. The company prospered until the end of the 19th century. Then a redistribution began in the bicycle market in the USA and Canada, and competitors managed to absorb the enterprise. doji successfully sold a share in the bicycle business and opened their own business. At the same time, their personal life was also getting better - both brothers got married and became fathers of many children.
Soon formed new firm "Dodge Brothers". The company was engaged in a lot of things - one-time orders related to the manufacture of parts, equipment repair, etc. The company Dodge renowned for its reliability and quality of work. Drawn attention to this Henry Ford and turned to dojam with a proposal for cooperation. Within this union, dodge brothers supplied two-thirds of the components for machines Ford. John Dodge served as Vice President Ford Motor Company". This cooperation ceased to exist 11 years later, in 1914, due to disagreements in the conduct of business. The brothers always showed specialization in work. John Dodge did business and Horace Dodge was immersed in inventions and improvement of mechanisms. It's time to produce your own cars on your own.
doji equip their workshops for the production of their own machines. The first car, the Dodge Model 30, was jokingly nicknamed Old Betsy. he had a four-cylinder engine of 35 forces, which was developed personally by Horace, an electric starter, a speedometer. The body of Betsy was made of metal (before this, the cases were mainly made of wood). The model cost more than Ford, but was more technically advanced and reliable. Appeared on the Dodge Model 30 high demand among the population. The business prospered and brought huge profits.
To the First World War doji helped the Allied army by supplying military trucks, which at the end of the war turned into commercial vehicles.
Brief information about the company:
Brand name:"Dodge" (Dodge Division) - a branch of the Chrysler Corporation
A country: USA (Headquarters - Highland Park (suburb of Detroit))
Specialization: production of passenger cars and off-road vehicles
Dodge is one of the oldest brands of American engineering. History of Dodge began as a small auto parts store opened by brothers John and Horace Dodge.
Then in 1914, they founded their own firm. They were among the first to start manufacturing cars with all-metal bodies developed by Budd. Also, their product range consisted of a wide range of transmission parts, internal combustion engines, drive axles and gearboxes.
A small firm, absorbed all the technological innovations of the time, including Ford technology in standardization and in-line assembly.
So gradually the brothers came up with the idea of organizing their own Dodge Brothers car manufacturing company.
First car Dodge Brothers, which was later jokingly nicknamed "Old Betsy", equipped with a 35 horsepower engine and a three-speed gearbox, left the factory on November 14, 1914 - and after it, Dodge produced 249 more exactly the same cars before the end of the year.
By 1920, Dodge was the second largest car manufacturer after Ford, but in the same 1920, with a difference of a month, both brothers (owners of the company) died - one from pneumonia, the other from cirrhosis of the liver.
The fortune of the Dodge brothers was impressive and amounted to more than $ 20 million each. In addition, the brothers' heirs (and they had no one left except for widows) received 50% of the authorized capital each. The widows-heirs did not possess entrepreneurial talents, and the company began to suffer losses. The new head of the company was Frederick Hines, who became both Vice President and CEO. But not for long.
In 1925, the annual production level was 200,000 cars. That same year, New York bankers bought the brothers' property for $146 million. On the eve of the economic crisis, Dodge was again on the verge of bankruptcy, and its management decided to sell the company to Walter Chrysler, the owner of his own auto empire. In 1928, the Dodge concern became part of the corporation.
Since then dodge cars began to be unified with the products of other members of the concern. In 1935 and 1939, Dodge cars received new streamlined bodies. In 1939, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary by restyling all of its models. During the war, Dodge produced light cargo-passenger off-road army vehicles.
In 1953, the company presents a car with an automatic transmission and the most economical engine in terms of oil consumption. In honor of its fiftieth anniversary, the company produces a limited edition sports car.
Then there are "worldwide" models, i.e. car models produced simultaneously in several countries.
In 1970-1980, the production of stylish pickup trucks began in the United States. They were able to carry small loads, and at the same time they were distinguished by a special sporty style. As an example, we can recall the Dodge Sweptline series, namely the D100 model. This car was equipped with sports wheels, a vinyl roof, chrome bumpers, and high-tech sports seats. In the US in 1978, the Dodge Lil Red Express pickup becomes the fastest stock car. The company produces the first front-wheel drive pickup Dodge Rampage.
At the end of the same decade, a car was produced based on the Dodge Viper concept car, which became one of the most successful cars in your class. In its cars, Dodge embodies the whole the richest experience to create "cool" and hardy cars. They race in NASCAR.
The Dodge brand continues to strengthen its position in the international market. Today Dodge - one of the most famous and oldest American brands - comes to Russia. The revolutionary design and dynamic performance of its models give a complete picture of the brand, which has been creating cars for more than a hundred years, many of which have become real American legends.
Having achieved success in this area, the Dodge brothers decided it was time to start producing their own car.
The first Dodge Brothers car, which was later jokingly nicknamed Old Betsy, left the factory on November 14, 1914 - and after it, the Dodges produced 249 more exactly the same cars before the end of the year. Each of them had the company logo on the top tank of the radiator - a globe placed in the center of the star of David: the brothers remembered their roots. By 1920, the company ranked second in production of cars after Ford, but in the same 1920 both brothers died, and Fred J. Haynes became the new head of the company. The fortune of the Dodge brothers was solid - more than 20 million dollars each. In addition, the heirs of the brothers (and they had no one left except for widows) received 50% of the authorized capital each. But both widows did not possess entrepreneurial talents, and the company's business began to decline. The owners of the enterprise were their widows, who in 1925 sold it to the investment group Dillon, Read & Co for $146 million. Despite the efforts of the new owners, Dodge was losing ground in the market, and investors began looking for a buyer for the company. That person was Walter Chrysler, and in 1928 the company became part of the Chrysler Corporation.
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During World War II, Dodge was mainly engaged in the production of heavy jeeps (series and WF), as well as the production of aircraft engines. Dodge WC was delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease and was called “Dodge three-quarters” in the jargon of drivers because of its carrying capacity of 750 kg (similar to the “one and a half” GAZ-MM).
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At the end of 1945, production resumed. civilian vehicles. Like other American automakers, Dodge offered pre-war models to buyers.
by the most famous models Dodge marques of the 1960s and 70s were the Challenger and Charger sports coupes.
In an attempt to gain a foothold in the compact car segment, the company began to sell the Japanese subcompact Mitsubishi Colt under its Dodge Colt brand.
The release of Dodge WC under the name Dodge Power Wagon continued. In the future, this car served as the basis for a family of pickup trucks, including the Dodge Ram.
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In the late 1970s, Chrysler found itself in a deep crisis. However, with government bailouts, Chrysler managed to avoid bankruptcy. As part of the crisis recovery program, several new “anti-crisis” models were created, such as the Dodge Aries sedan and the Dodge Caravan minivan, which became the founder of a new class of cars.
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With
The lineup
| Year | Model |
|---|---|
| Modell 30-35 | |
| Modell 30-35 | |
| Modell 30-35 | |
| Model 30 | |
| Model 30 | |
| Model 30 | |
| Model 30 | |
| Model 30 | |
| Modell 30, Serie 116 | |
| Series 116 | |
| Series 116 | |
| Series 116 | |
| Series 126 | |
| Serie 126/124, Fast Four 128/129, Senior 2249 | |
| Fast Four 128/129, J-Serie, M-Serie, Senior 2249/2251/2252, S-Serie, Standard 140/141, Victory 130/131 | |
| DA-Serie, DB-Serie, J-Serie, M-Serie, S-Serie | |
| DA-Serie , DB-Serie , DC-Serie , DD-Serie | |
| DC-Serie, DD-Serie, DG-Serie, DH-Serie | |
| DC-Serie , DD-Serie , DG-Serie , DH-Serie , DK-Serie , DL-Serie | |
| DO-Serie, DP-Serie | |
| DR-Serie, DRXX-Serie, DS-Serie | |
| New Value DU-Series | |
| Beauty Winner D2-Serie | |
| D5-Series | |
| D8-Series | |
| Luxury Liner D11-Serie | |
| Luxury Liner Deluxe D14-Serie , Luxury Liner Special D17-Serie | |
| Custom D19-Serie , Deluxe D19-Serie | |
| Custom D22-Serie , Deluxe D22-Serie | |
| Custom D24C-Serie , Deluxe D24S-Serie | |
| Custom D24C-Serie , Deluxe D24S-Serie | |
| Custom D24C-Serie , Deluxe D24S-Serie | |
| Coronet D30-Serie , Wayfarer D29-Serie | |
| Coronet D34-Serie , Wayfarer D33-Serie | |
| Coronet D42-Serie, Meadowbrook D42-Serie, Wayfarer D41-Serie | |
| Coronet D42-Serie, Meadowbrook D42-Serie, Wayfarer D41-Serie | |
| Coronet D46/D48-Serie , Meadowbrook D46/D47-Serie | |
| Coronet D51/D52/D53-Serie , Meadowbrook D50/D51-Serie , Royal D50/D53-Serie | |
| Coronet D55/D56-Serie , Custom Royal D55-Serie , La Femme , Royal D55-Serie | |
| Coronet D62/D63-Serie , Custom Royal D63-Serie , La Femme , Royal D63-Serie | |
| Coronet D66/D72-Serie , Custom Royal D67-Serie , Royal D67-Serie | |
| Coronet , Custom Royal , Royal | |
| Coronet , Custom Royal , Royal | |
| Matador, Phoenix, Pioneer, Polara, Seneca | |
| Lancer, Phoenix, Pioneer, Polara, Seneca | |
| Custom 880 , Dart 330 , Dart 440 , Lancer 170 , Lancer 770 , Polara 500 | |
| , , , Custom 880 , Dart 170 , Dart GT , Polara , Polara 500 | |
| , , , Custom 880 , Dart 170 , Dart GT , Polara | |
| Coronet , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Custom 880 , Dart 170 , Dart 270 , Monaco , Polara | |
| Charger , Coronet , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Dart , Dart GT , Monaco | |
| Charger , Coronet Deluxe , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Coronet R/T , Dart , Dart 270 , Dart GT , Monaco , Monaco 500 , Polara | |
| Charger , Charger R/T , Coronet Deluxe , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Coronet R/T , Dart , Dart 270 , Dart GT , Monaco , Monaco 500 , Polara , Polara 500 , Super Bee | |
| Charger , Coronet Deluxe , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Coronet R/T , Dart , Dart GT , Dart Swinger , Monaco , Polara , Super Bee | |
| Challenger , Charger , Coronet Deluxe , Coronet 440 , Coronet 500 , Coronet R/T , Dart , Dart Custom , Polara , Polara Custom , Super Bee | |
| Challenger , Charger , Colt , Coronet , Coronet Brougham , Coronet Crestwood , Dart , Demon , Monaco , Polara , Super Bee | |
| Challenger , Charger , Colt , Coronet , Dart , Demon , Monaco , Polara | |
| Challenger , Charger , Colt , Coronet , Dart , Dart Sport , Monaco , Polara | |
| Challenger , Charger , Colt , Coronet , Dart , Dart Sport , Monaco | |
| Charger , Colt , Coronet , Dart , Dart Sport , Monaco | |
| Aspen, Colt, Coronet, Dart, Monaco | |
| Aspen, Colt, Diplomat, Monaco | |
| Aspen, Colt, Diplomat, Magnum, Monaco, Omni | |
| Aspen, Colt, Diplomat, Magnum, Omni, St. Regis | |
| Aspen , Colt , Diplomat , Mirada , Omni , St. Regis | |
| Aries , Colt , Diplomat , Mirada , Omni , St. Regis | |
| , Aries , Colt , Diplomat , Mirada , Omni | |
| , , Aries , Charger , Colt , Diplomat , Mirada , Omni | |
| , Aries , Charger , Colt , Colt Vista , Conquest , Daytona , Diplomat , Lancer , Omni | |
| , Aries , Charger , Colt , Colt Vista , Conquest , Daytona , Diplomat , Lancer , Omni | |
| , Aries , Charger , Colt , Colt Vista , Conquest , Daytona , Diplomat , Lancer , Omni | |
| , Aries , Charger , Colt , Colt Vista , Daytona , Diplomat , Lancer , Omni , Shadow | |
| , Aries , Colt , Colt Vista , Daytona , Diplomat , Dynasty , Lancer , Omni , Shadow | |
| Aries , Colt , Colt Vista , Daytona , Diplomat , Dynasty , Lancer , Omni , Shadow , Spirit | |
| Colt , Colt Vista , Daytona , Dynasty , Monaco , Omni , Shadow , Spirit | |
| Colt, Colt Vista, Daytona, Dynasty, Monaco, Shadow, Spirit, Stealth | |
| Colt , Colt Vista , Daytona , Dynasty , Monaco , Shadow , Spirit , Stealth , Viper | |
| Colt, Colt Vista, Daytona, Dynasty, Intrepid, Shadow, Spirit, Stealth, Viper | |
| Colt, Colt Vista, Daytona, Intrepid, Shadow, Spirit, Stealth, Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Spirit , Stealth , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stealth , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Intrepid , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Intrepid , Magnum , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Magnum , Neon , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Caliber , Charger , Magnum , Stratus , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Caliber , Charger , Magnum , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Caliber , Challenger , Charger , Magnum , Viper | |
| Avenger , Brisa , Caliber , Challenger , Charger , Viper |
Modern lineup
Cars
automatic transmission) An excerpt characterizing Dodge
There were two sharp, definite parties in command of the army: the party of Kutuzov and the party of Benigsen, the chief of staff. Boris was with this last game, and no one, like him, was able, paying obsequious respect to Kutuzov, to make it feel that the old man was bad and that the whole thing was being conducted by Benigsen. Now came the decisive moment of the battle, which was supposed to either destroy Kutuzov and transfer power to Benigsen, or, even if Kutuzov won the battle, make it feel that everything was done by Benigsen. In any case, big awards were to be distributed for tomorrow and new people were to be put forward. And as a result, Boris was in an irritated animation all that day.
After Kaisarov, other of his acquaintances approached Pierre, and he did not have time to answer the questions about Moscow with which they bombarded him, and did not have time to listen to the stories that they told him. Every face showed excitement and anxiety. But it seemed to Pierre that the reason for the excitement expressed on some of these faces lay more in matters of personal success, and he could not get out of his head that other expression of excitement that he saw on other faces and which spoke of not personal, but general questions. , matters of life and death. Kutuzov noticed the figure of Pierre and the group gathered around him.
“Call him to me,” said Kutuzov. The adjutant conveyed the wish of his Serene Highness, and Pierre went to the bench. But even before him, an ordinary militiaman approached Kutuzov. It was Dolokhov.
- How is this one? Pierre asked.
- This is such a beast, it will crawl everywhere! answered Pierre. “Because he is disgraced. Now he needs to get out. He submitted some projects and climbed into the enemy’s chain at night ... but well done! ..
Pierre, taking off his hat, bowed respectfully to Kutuzov.
“I decided that if I report to your grace, you can drive me away or say that you know what I am reporting, and then I will not be lost ...” Dolokhov said.
- So-so.
“And if I am right, then I will benefit the fatherland, for which I am ready to die.”
- So-so…
“And if your lordship needs a man who would not spare his own skin, then if you please remember me ... Maybe I will be useful to your lordship.
“So ... so ...” repeated Kutuzov, looking at Pierre with a laughing, narrowing eye.
At this time, Boris, with his courtly dexterity, advanced next to Pierre in the vicinity of the authorities, and with the most natural look and not loudly, as if continuing the conversation that had begun, said to Pierre:
- The militia - they directly put on clean, white shirts to prepare for death. What heroism, Count!
Boris said this to Pierre, obviously in order to be heard by the brightest. He knew that Kutuzov would pay attention to these words, and indeed the brightest turned to him:
What are you talking about the militia? he said to Boris.
- They, Your Grace, in preparation for tomorrow, for death, put on white shirts.
- Ah! .. Wonderful, incomparable people! - said Kutuzov and, closing his eyes, shook his head. - Incredible people! he repeated with a sigh.
- Do you want to smell gunpowder? he said to Pierre. Yes, nice smell. I have the honor to be an admirer of your wife, is she healthy? My retreat is at your service. - And, as is often the case with old people, Kutuzov began to absently look around, as if forgetting everything he needed to say or do.
Obviously, remembering what he was looking for, he lured Andrei Sergeyich Kaisarov, the brother of his adjutant, to him.
- How, how, how are Marina's poems, how are poems, how? That he wrote on Gerakov: “You will be a teacher in the building ... Tell me, tell me,” Kutuzov spoke, obviously intending to laugh. Kaisarov read ... Kutuzov, smiling, nodded his head in time with the verses.
When Pierre moved away from Kutuzov, Dolokhov, moving towards him, took his hand.
“I am very glad to meet you here, Count,” he said to him loudly and not embarrassed by the presence of strangers, with special determination and solemnity. “On the eve of the day on which God knows which of us is destined to remain alive, I am glad to have the opportunity to tell you that I regret the misunderstandings that have been between us, and would like you not to have anything against me. Please forgive me.
Pierre, smiling, looked at Dolokhov, not knowing what to say to him. Dolokhov, with tears in his eyes, hugged and kissed Pierre.
Boris said something to his general, and Count Benigsen turned to Pierre and offered to go with him along the line.
“You will be interested,” he said.
“Yes, very interesting,” said Pierre.
Half an hour later, Kutuzov left for Tatarinov, and Bennigsen, with his retinue, including Pierre, rode along the line. Benigsen descended from Gorki along the high road to the bridge, to which the officer from the mound pointed out to Pierre as the center of the position, and near which rows of mowed grass, smelling of hay, lay on the bank. They drove across the bridge to the village of Borodino, from there they turned left and past a huge number of troops and guns drove to a high mound on which the militias were digging the ground. It was a redoubt, which did not yet have a name, then it was called the Raevsky redoubt, or barrow battery.
Pierre did not pay much attention to this redoubt. He did not know that this place would be more memorable for him than all the places in the Borodino field. Then they drove across the ravine to Semyonovsky, where the soldiers were pulling away the last logs of huts and barns. Then, downhill and uphill, they drove forward through the broken rye, knocked out like hail, along the road to the flushes [a kind of fortification. (Note by L.N. Tolstoy.) ], also then still dug.
Bennigsen stopped at the fleches and began to look ahead at the Shevardinsky redoubt (which had been ours yesterday), on which several horsemen could be seen. The officers said that Napoleon or Murat was there. And everyone looked eagerly at this bunch of riders. Pierre also looked there, trying to guess which of these barely visible people was Napoleon. Finally, the horsemen drove off the mound and disappeared.
Benigsen turned to the general who approached him and began to explain the whole position of our troops. Pierre listened to Benigsen's words, straining all his mental powers to understand the essence of the upcoming battle, but felt with chagrin that his mental abilities were insufficient for this. He didn't understand anything. Bennigsen stopped talking, and noticing the figure of Pierre listening, he suddenly said, turning to him:
- You, I think, are not interested?
“Oh, on the contrary, it’s very interesting,” Pierre repeated, not quite truthfully.
From the flush, they drove even more to the left along the road, winding through a dense, low birch forest. In the middle of it
forest, a brown hare with white legs jumped out in front of them on the road and, frightened by the clatter of a large number of horses, was so confused that he jumped for a long time along the road in front of them, arousing general attention and laughter, and only when several voices shouted at him, rushed to the side and hid in the thicket. Having traveled two versts through the forest, they drove out to a clearing on which stood the troops of Tuchkov's corps, which was supposed to protect the left flank.
Here, on the extreme left flank, Bennigsen spoke a lot and ardently and made, as it seemed to Pierre, an important order from a military point of view. Ahead of the disposition of Tuchkov's troops was an elevation. This elevation was not occupied by troops. Bennigsen loudly criticized this mistake, saying that it was foolish to leave the high ground unoccupied and place troops under it. Some generals expressed the same opinion. One in particular spoke with military vehemence that they were put here to be slaughtered. Bennigsen ordered in his name to move the troops to the heights.
This order on the left flank made Pierre even more doubtful of his ability to understand military affairs. Listening to Bennigsen and the generals who condemned the position of the troops under the mountain, Pierre fully understood them and shared their opinion; but precisely because of this, he could not understand how the one who placed them here under the mountain could make such an obvious and gross mistake.
Pierre did not know that these troops were not sent to defend the position, as Benigsen thought, but were placed in a hidden place for an ambush, that is, in order to be unnoticed and suddenly strike at the advancing enemy. Bennigsen did not know this and moved the troops forward for special reasons, without telling the commander-in-chief about it.
On this clear August evening on the 25th, Prince Andrey was lying, leaning on his arm, in a broken barn in the village of Knyazkov, on the edge of his regiment. Through the hole in the broken wall, he looked at the strip of thirty-year-old birch trees with the lower branches cut off along the fence, at the arable land with smashed heaps of oats on it, and at the bushes, along which smokes of bonfires could be seen - soldiers' kitchens.
No matter how cramped and no one needs and no matter how hard his life now seemed to Prince Andrei, he, just like seven years ago in Austerlitz on the eve of the battle, felt agitated and irritated.
Orders for tomorrow's battle were given and received by him. There was nothing more for him to do. But the simplest, clearest and therefore terrible thoughts did not leave him alone. He knew that tomorrow's battle was to be the most terrible of all those in which he participated, and the possibility of death for the first time in his life, without any relation to worldly things, without considerations of how it would affect others, but only in relation to himself, to his soul, with liveliness, almost with certainty, simply and terribly, she presented herself to him. And from the height of this idea, everything that had previously tormented and occupied him was suddenly illuminated by a cold white light, without shadows, without perspective, without distinction of outlines. All life seemed to him like a magic lantern, into which he looked for a long time through glass and under artificial light. Now he suddenly saw, without glass, in bright daylight, these badly painted pictures. “Yes, yes, here they are, those false images that agitated and delighted and tormented me,” he said to himself, turning over in his imagination the main pictures of his magic lantern of life, now looking at them in this cold white light of day - a clear thought of death. - Here they are, these roughly painted figures, which seemed to be something beautiful and mysterious. Glory, public good, love for a woman, the fatherland itself - how great these pictures seemed to me, what deep meaning they seemed to be filled with! And it's all so simple, pale and crude in the cold white light of that morning that I feel is rising for me." The three main sorrows of his life in particular caught his attention. His love for a woman, the death of his father and the French invasion that captured half of Russia. “Love! .. This girl, who seemed to me full of mysterious powers. How I loved her! I made poetic plans about love, about happiness with her. O dear boy! he said out loud angrily. - How! I believed in some kind of ideal love, which was supposed to keep her faithful to me during the whole year of my absence! Like the gentle dove of a fable, she must have withered away from me. And all this is much simpler ... All this is terribly simple, disgusting!
My father also built in the Bald Mountains and thought that this was his place, his land, his air, his peasants; and Napoleon came and, not knowing about his existence, like a chip from the road, pushed him, and his Bald Mountains and his whole life fell apart. And Princess Marya says that this is a test sent from above. What is the test for, when it no longer exists and will not exist? never again! He is not! So who is this test for? Fatherland, death of Moscow! And tomorrow he will kill me - and not even a Frenchman, but his own, as yesterday a soldier emptied a gun near my ear, and the French will come, take me by the legs and by the head and throw me into a pit so that I don’t stink under their noses, and new conditions will develop lives that will also be familiar to others, and I will not know about them, and I will not be.
He looked at the strip of birch trees, with their motionless yellowness, greenery and white bark, shining in the sun. "To die so that they would kill me tomorrow, so that I would not be ... so that all this would be, but I would not be." He vividly imagined the absence of himself in this life. And these birches with their light and shadow, and these curly clouds, and this smoke of bonfires - everything around was transformed for him and seemed something terrible and threatening. Frost ran down his back. Rising quickly, he went out of the shed and began to walk.
Voices were heard behind the barn.
- Who's there? - called Prince Andrew.
The red-nosed Captain Timokhin, Dolokhov's former company commander, now, due to the loss of officers, the battalion commander, timidly entered the shed. Behind him entered the adjutant and treasurer of the regiment.
Prince Andrei hurriedly got up, listened to what the officers had to convey to him in the service, gave them some more orders and was about to let them go, when a familiar, whispering voice was heard from behind the barn.
– Que diable! [Damn it!] said the voice of a man who had bumped into something.
Prince Andrei, looking out of the barn, saw Pierre coming up to him, who stumbled on a lying pole and almost fell. It was generally unpleasant for Prince Andrei to see people from his own world, especially Pierre, who reminded him of all those difficult moments that he experienced on his last visit to Moscow.
- That's how! - he said. - What fates? That's not waiting.
While he was saying this, there was more than dryness in his eyes and the expression of his whole face - there was hostility, which Pierre immediately noticed. He approached the barn in the most lively state of mind, but, seeing the expression on Prince Andrei's face, he felt embarrassed and awkward.
“I arrived ... so ... you know ... I arrived ... I’m interested,” said Pierre, who had so many times that day meaninglessly repeated this word “interesting”. “I wanted to see the fight.
– Yes, yes, but what do the Masons brothers say about the war? How to prevent it? - said Prince Andrei mockingly. - What about Moscow? What are mine? Have you finally arrived in Moscow? he asked seriously.
- We've arrived. Julie Drubetskaya told me. I went to them and did not find. They left for the suburbs.
The officers wanted to take their leave, but Prince Andrei, as if not wanting to remain eye to eye with his friend, invited them to sit and drink tea. Benches and tea were served. The officers, not without surprise, looked at the fat, huge figure of Pierre and listened to his stories about Moscow and the disposition of our troops, which he managed to travel around. Prince Andrei was silent, and his face was so unpleasant that Pierre turned more to the good-natured battalion commander Timokhin than to Bolkonsky.
Pierre did not pay much attention to this redoubt. He did not know that this place would be more memorable for him than all the places in the Borodino field. Then they drove across the ravine to Semyonovsky, where the soldiers were pulling away the last logs of huts and barns. Then, downhill and uphill, they drove forward through the broken rye, knocked out like hail, along the road to the flushes [a kind of fortification. (Note by L.N. Tolstoy.) ], also then still dug.
Bennigsen stopped at the fleches and began to look ahead at the Shevardinsky redoubt (which had been ours yesterday), on which several horsemen could be seen. The officers said that Napoleon or Murat was there. And everyone looked eagerly at this bunch of riders. Pierre also looked there, trying to guess which of these barely visible people was Napoleon. Finally, the horsemen drove off the mound and disappeared.
Benigsen turned to the general who approached him and began to explain the whole position of our troops. Pierre listened to Benigsen's words, straining all his mental powers to understand the essence of the upcoming battle, but felt with chagrin that his mental abilities were insufficient for this. He didn't understand anything. Bennigsen stopped talking, and noticing the figure of Pierre listening, he suddenly said, turning to him:
- You, I think, are not interested?
“Oh, on the contrary, it’s very interesting,” Pierre repeated, not quite truthfully.
From the flush, they drove even more to the left along the road, winding through a dense, low birch forest. In the middle of it
forest, a brown hare with white legs jumped out in front of them on the road and, frightened by the clatter of a large number of horses, was so confused that he jumped for a long time along the road in front of them, arousing general attention and laughter, and only when several voices shouted at him, rushed to the side and hid in the thicket. Having traveled two versts through the forest, they drove out to a clearing on which stood the troops of Tuchkov's corps, which was supposed to protect the left flank.
Here, on the extreme left flank, Bennigsen spoke a lot and ardently and made, as it seemed to Pierre, an important order from a military point of view. Ahead of the disposition of Tuchkov's troops was an elevation. This elevation was not occupied by troops. Bennigsen loudly criticized this mistake, saying that it was foolish to leave the high ground unoccupied and place troops under it. Some generals expressed the same opinion. One in particular spoke with military vehemence that they were put here to be slaughtered. Bennigsen ordered in his name to move the troops to the heights.
This order on the left flank made Pierre even more doubtful of his ability to understand military affairs. Listening to Bennigsen and the generals who condemned the position of the troops under the mountain, Pierre fully understood them and shared their opinion; but precisely because of this, he could not understand how the one who placed them here under the mountain could make such an obvious and gross mistake.
Pierre did not know that these troops were not sent to defend the position, as Benigsen thought, but were placed in a hidden place for an ambush, that is, in order to be unnoticed and suddenly strike at the advancing enemy. Bennigsen did not know this and moved the troops forward for special reasons, without telling the commander-in-chief about it.
No matter how cramped and no one needs and no matter how hard his life now seemed to Prince Andrei, he, just like seven years ago in Austerlitz on the eve of the battle, felt agitated and irritated.
Orders for tomorrow's battle were given and received by him. There was nothing more for him to do. But the simplest, clearest and therefore terrible thoughts did not leave him alone. He knew that tomorrow's battle was to be the most terrible of all those in which he participated, and the possibility of death for the first time in his life, without any relation to worldly things, without considerations of how it would affect others, but only in relation to himself, to his soul, with liveliness, almost with certainty, simply and terribly, she presented herself to him. And from the height of this idea, everything that had previously tormented and occupied him was suddenly illuminated by a cold white light, without shadows, without perspective, without distinction of outlines. All life seemed to him like a magic lantern, into which he looked for a long time through glass and under artificial light. Now he suddenly saw, without glass, in bright daylight, these badly painted pictures. “Yes, yes, here they are, those false images that agitated and delighted and tormented me,” he said to himself, turning over in his imagination the main pictures of his magic lantern of life, now looking at them in this cold white light of day - a clear thought of death. - Here they are, these roughly painted figures, which seemed to be something beautiful and mysterious. Glory, public good, love for a woman, the fatherland itself - how great these pictures seemed to me, what deep meaning they seemed to be filled with! And it's all so simple, pale and crude in the cold white light of that morning that I feel is rising for me." The three main sorrows of his life in particular caught his attention. His love for a woman, the death of his father and the French invasion that captured half of Russia. “Love! .. This girl, who seemed to me full of mysterious powers. How I loved her! I made poetic plans about love, about happiness with her. O dear boy! he said out loud angrily. - How! I believed in some kind of ideal love, which was supposed to keep her faithful to me during the whole year of my absence! Like the gentle dove of a fable, she must have withered away from me. And all this is much simpler ... All this is terribly simple, disgusting!
My father also built in the Bald Mountains and thought that this was his place, his land, his air, his peasants; and Napoleon came and, not knowing about his existence, like a chip from the road, pushed him, and his Bald Mountains and his whole life fell apart. And Princess Marya says that this is a test sent from above. What is the test for, when it no longer exists and will not exist? never again! He is not! So who is this test for? Fatherland, death of Moscow! And tomorrow he will kill me - and not even a Frenchman, but his own, as yesterday a soldier emptied a gun near my ear, and the French will come, take me by the legs and by the head and throw me into a pit so that I don’t stink under their noses, and new conditions will develop lives that will also be familiar to others, and I will not know about them, and I will not be.
He looked at the strip of birch trees, with their motionless yellowness, greenery and white bark, shining in the sun. "To die so that they would kill me tomorrow, so that I would not be ... so that all this would be, but I would not be." He vividly imagined the absence of himself in this life. And these birches with their light and shadow, and these curly clouds, and this smoke of bonfires - everything around was transformed for him and seemed something terrible and threatening. Frost ran down his back. Rising quickly, he went out of the shed and began to walk.
Voices were heard behind the barn.
- Who's there? - called Prince Andrew.
The red-nosed Captain Timokhin, Dolokhov's former company commander, now, due to the loss of officers, the battalion commander, timidly entered the shed. Behind him entered the adjutant and treasurer of the regiment.
Prince Andrei hurriedly got up, listened to what the officers had to convey to him in the service, gave them some more orders and was about to let them go, when a familiar, whispering voice was heard from behind the barn.
– Que diable! [Damn it!] said the voice of a man who had bumped into something.
Prince Andrei, looking out of the barn, saw Pierre coming up to him, who stumbled on a lying pole and almost fell. It was generally unpleasant for Prince Andrei to see people from his own world, especially Pierre, who reminded him of all those difficult moments that he experienced on his last visit to Moscow.
- That's how! - he said. - What fates? That's not waiting.
While he was saying this, there was more than dryness in his eyes and the expression of his whole face - there was hostility, which Pierre immediately noticed. He approached the barn in the most lively state of mind, but, seeing the expression on Prince Andrei's face, he felt embarrassed and awkward.
“I arrived ... so ... you know ... I arrived ... I’m interested,” said Pierre, who had so many times that day meaninglessly repeated this word “interesting”. “I wanted to see the fight.
– Yes, yes, but what do the Masons brothers say about the war? How to prevent it? - said Prince Andrei mockingly. - What about Moscow? What are mine? Have you finally arrived in Moscow? he asked seriously.
- We've arrived. Julie Drubetskaya told me. I went to them and did not find. They left for the suburbs.
