For some people, it’s gotta be Mopar or No Car, but I bet none of those fanatics have a car built by the Dodge brothers that predates America’s involvement in World War 1. You know who does? Automotive journalist and generally excellent human Elana Scherr. She and her husband, Tom, recently bought a 1915 Dodge Bros Touring car and released a video showing how it works and what it’s like to drive on their YouTube channel, Challengeher.
What makes this pre-war oddball so cool? To start, it’s 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 car should run on 12 volts instead of six. This means that everything electrical works better, from the electric starter/generator (take that, Henry Ford), to the electric headlights.
Another cool feature of the 1915 Dodge Bros Touring is that, unlike the Model T, the Dodge used a water pump rather than a thermosiphon and a much more conventional (as we know it) pedal layout. It’s a surprisingly modern car.
It’s powered by a 212 cubic inch inline four-cylinder with magneto ignition and a single updraft carburetor. Its claimed power output of 35 hp was fairly healthy for the time, and its three-speed transmission makes it much more usable today, though LA traffic still looks like a challenge for the old jalopy.
In addition to their newest acquisition, Elana and Tom have a bunch of other rad cars that they feature on their channel, which is worth checking out. You can also find Elana’s work at Car and Driver.