For a few people, it must be Mopar or No Car, but I bet none of those fanatics had a car built by the Dodge brothers before America entered World War 1. You know anyone? Excellent human and automotive journalist Elana Scherr in general. She and her husband, Tom, recently purchased a 1915 Dodge Bros Touring car and released a video showing how it works and drives. on their YouTube channel, Challengeher.
What makes this quirky pre-war game so interesting? For starters, it lived its entire 108-year lifespan in Los Angeles, which means it’s pretty original. Next, unlike basically every other car company in 1915, the Dodge boys decided their cars should run on 12-volt electricity instead of six. This means everything electrical works better, from the starter/generator (take that one, Henry Ford), to the electric headlights.
Another cool feature of Dodge Bros Touring 1915 is, unlike Model T, Dodge used a water pump instead of a thermal siphon and a much more conventional (as we know) pedal layout. It’s a surprisingly modern car.
It was powered by a 212 cubic inch inline four-cylinder with magnetic ignition and a single engine upgrade.carburetor raft. Its claimed 35hp output was pretty decent at the time, and the three-speed transmission makes it more usable today, though LA traffic still looks like a challenge for the car. old jalopy.
In addition to the latest product they bought, Elana and Tom have a lot of other rads that they showcase on their channel, well worth checking out. You can also find Elana’s job at Car and Driver.
