| Graham Brothers Trucks
The Graham Brothers, Joseph B., Robert C. and Ray A. Graham, began building truck kits for the Model T and TT cars in Evansville, Indiana. That led to the brothers building their trucks using engines of various manufacturers, eventually settling on Dodge Brothers engines. In 1921 Dodge Brothers contracted the Graham Brothers to manufacture one and 1 1/2-ton trucks from mechanical parts supplied by Dodge with Graham manufactured cabs and bodies. The Grahams offerered an extensive range of wheelbases, cabs, and bodies to suit the customer's requirements. The Graham Brothers trucks were sold exclusively through Dodge Brothers dealers. The 1924 3/4-ton Dodge Brothers' pickup was actually built by the Graham Brothers. Graham Brothers expanded, opening plants in Detroit, MI, and Stockton, CA. The Canadian market was supplied by the Canadian Dodge Brothers plant. The Graham Brothers became a division of Dodge Brothers on October 6, 1924 because this arrangement worked so well. In November 1925 Dodge Brothers bought a 51 percent majority position in Graham Brothers, and the three Graham brothers took on executive positions at Dodge Brothers. Late in 1926 all the name plates of each truck was changed from Dodge Brothers to Graham Brothers. In 1927 the banking syndicate that controlled Dodge Brothers looked to sell out under pressure from Chrysler's Fargo & Desoto. So the Graham brothers decided to enter the auto manufacturing business on their own. In 1927 they purchased the Paige-Detroit Motor Company whose history dated back to 1909, for $4 million and renamed it Graham-Paige Motor Company. As the Graham Brothers had previously resigned from Dodge Brothers to start a new car company, Mr. Chrysler quickly changed the name plates on all trucks back to Dodge Brothers early in January 1929, upon purchasing Dodge Brothers. Graham-Paige Motor Company suspended manufacturing in September, 1940, only to reopen its plant for military production for World War II. Graham-Paige resumed automobile production in 1946 and it also began production of farm equipment under the Rototiller name. In August 1945 Graham-Paige announced plans to resume production under the Graham name, but the plan never materialized. On February 5th, 1947, Graham-Paige's assets were sold to Kaiser-Frazer. Chrysler eventually bought the plant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham-Paige
|
