Formerly | Fargo Motor Car Company of Chicago (1913–22) |
---|---|
Company type | |
Industry | Automotive |
Founded | 1913 |
Defunct | 1978 |
Fate | Acquired by Chrysler Corporation in 1928, became a brand. Sold to Askam Trucks in 1978, which ceased operations in 2015 |
Successor | Askam Ram Trucks |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Products | Trucks |
Fargo was a brand of trucks originally produced in the United States in 1913 by the Fargo Motor Car Company. Dropped in 1922, the name was reintroduced for a line of trucks manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation after purchasing Fargo Motors in 1928. Later, Chrysler absorbed Dodge and started producing its truck line, so over time, Fargo trucks became rebadged Dodges, similar to the parallel sale by General Motors of its GMC and Chevrolet truck lines, as well as the Mercury truck brand used by Ford in Canada. [1] [2]
The modern-day descendant of Chrysler's truck division is now known as Ram Trucks.
The first Fargo trucks were built in Pilsen, Chicago, by the Fargo Motor Car Company from 1913 until 1922. In 1928, Chrysler bought the business and created their own line of Fargo trucks. [3] Shortly after its creation, Chrysler also bought the Dodge Brothers Company, adding Dodge- and Graham Brothers-badged trucks to its product line. From then on, Fargo trucks were almost identical to Dodge models, save for trim and name, and were sold by Chrysler-Plymouth dealers.
U.S. sales of Fargo trucks were discontinued in the 1930s and replaced in the US by Plymouth-badged trucks in 1937, [4] In Canada, the name Fargo was used until 1972 for marketing reasons to differentiate the trucks as Chrysler-Plymouth dealer offerings apart from the Dodge trucks sold at Dodge dealers.
The Fargo brand lived longer in a variety of countries under the Chrysler Corporation's badge engineering marketing approach.
Manufactured in Detroit at the Lynch Road facility, Dodge trucks were also offered under the Fargo (or DeSoto) names in most of Latin America, while in Europe and Asia, they were mainly built in Chrysler's Kew (UK) plant and sold under either the Fargo or DeSoto badge names.
In Argentina, the make Fargo was used for the pickup D-100 and the D-400, [5] and DP-400 [6] diesel truck from 1960 to 1967.
In Australia, both American and British Dodge models, along with locally assembled units, were marketed by Chrysler Australia with Dodge, Fargo, or De Soto badges.
Additionally, heavy trucks made in Spain by Barreiros, Chrysler's Spanish subsidiary, including a 38-tonne tractor and rigid four-, six- and eight-wheelers, which were sold in the UK as the Dodge 300 Series, were exported to several countries as Fargo vehicles.
The use of the Fargo trademark came to an end in the US when Dodge pulled out of the American heavy truck business in 1976, and finally in 1978, when Chrysler Europe was sold to PSA Peugeot Citroën.
The Fargo brand existed in Turkey for years, and well into the 21st century because Fargo and De Soto light and heavy trucks were made by Turkish manufacturer Askam, with no technical or business connection with Chrysler in its final years. [7] However, Askam was the descendant of Chrysler Kamyon Montaj Fabrikası, founded in Istanbul in 1964. Askam went out of business in 2015, meaning that the LDV Maxus van was the last Fargo-badged (as the "Fargo Fora") vehicle offered in the world. [ citation needed ]
FCA US, LLC, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( KRY-slər), is one of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotive company Stellantis. Stellantis North America sells vehicles worldwide under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Trucks nameplates. It also includes Mopar, its automotive parts and accessories division, and SRT, its performance automobile division. The division also distributes Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Maserati vehicles in North America.
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis North America, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plymouth.
Eagle was a brand of the Chrysler Corporation following the purchase of American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1987 and marketed through the end of the 1998 model year. It was aimed at the enthusiast driver and promoted as more "European" than the automaker's similar models.
Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler. The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. It became a high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s. Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up until then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge.
Stellantis Canada is the wholly owned subsidiary of Stellantis through its North American division operating in Canada. Incorporated in 1925, the Chrysler Corporation of Canada acquired a Maxwell-Chalmers plant in Windsor, Ontario that had been used to manufacture some Chrysler models in the previous year. Initially called Chrysler Canada, Ltd, the name of the company changed to DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. following the merger of the two parent automotive conglomerates. In August 2007, the company was renamed Chrysler Canada Incorporated when Cerberus Capital Management purchased 80.1% of its parent company Chrysler.
The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the Midlands and the distribution and dealers business in the south of England. In the decade beginning 1928 the Rootes brothers, William and Reginald, made prosperous by their very successful distribution and servicing business, were keen to enter manufacturing for closer control of the products they were selling.
The Hillman Avenger is a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured by the former Rootes division of Chrysler Europe from 1970–1978, badged from 1976 onward as the Chrysler Avenger. Between 1979 and 1981 it was manufactured by PSA Peugeot Citroën and badged as the Talbot Avenger. The Avenger was marketed in North America as the Plymouth Cricket and was the first Plymouth to have a four-cylinder engine since the 1932 Plymouth Model PB was discontinued.
Mopar is an American car parts, service, customer care, and organization, being a business division of the former Chrysler Corporation, now owned by Netherlands-based automobile manufacturer Stellantis. It serves as a primary OEM accessory seller for Stellantis companies under the Mopar brand. The name is a portmanteau of the words "MOtor" and "PARts". "Mopar" is also used as a nickname by enthusiasts of Chrysler-built products to refer to any product built by the company.
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for a vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system.
Chrysler Europe was the American automotive company Chrysler's operations in Europe from 1967 through 1978. It was formed from the merger of the French Simca, British Rootes and Spanish Barreiros companies. In 1978, Chrysler divested these operations to PSA Peugeot Citroën.
The Dodge Ram Van is a range of full-size vans that were produced by Chrysler Corporation from the 1971 to 2003 model years. Replacing the Dodge A100, the Ram Van transitioned to a front-engine drivetrain configuration. Mostly offered as a cargo van and a passenger van, the model line was also initially offered as a cutaway van chassis.
The A100 is a range of compact vans and trucks manufactured and marketed from 1964 to 1970 by Chrysler Corporation under the Dodge marque in the United States and the Fargo marque in Canada.
DeSoto was an American automobile marque that was manufactured and marketed by the DeSoto division of Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to the 1961 model year. More than two million passenger cars and trucks bore the DeSoto brand in North American markets during its existence.
Stellantis Pty Ltd, is the official Stellantis subsidiary in Australia and New Zealand, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Leapmotor vehicles. However, there had previously been a "Chrysler Australia Ltd" which had operated as a vehicle manufacturer in Australia from 1951 until 1980, and was subsequently taken over by Mitsubishi Motors Australia.
The history of Chrysler involves engineering innovations, high finance, wide alternations of profits and losses, various mergers and acquisitions, and multinationalization. Chrysler, a large automobile manufacturer, was founded in the 1920s and continues under the name Stellantis North America.
Askam was a Turkish automotive manufacturer of trucks and commercial vehicles. The company was established as a joint venture with US-based Chrysler under the name of Chrysler Sanayii A.Ş., commercialising its products under the Chrysler, Dodge, Fargo and DeSoto brands. Askam was the largest truck manufacturer in Turkey.
Ram Trucks is an American brand of light to mid-weight pickup heavy duty trucks and other commercial vehicles, and a division of Stellantis. It was established in a spin-off of Dodge in 2010 using the name of the Ram pickup line of trucks. Ram Trucks's logo was originally used as Dodge's logo. Ram 1500 "Classic" trucks will be made at the Warren Truck Plant in Warren, Michigan, United States, and at the Saltillo plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, until their discontinuation after the 2024 model year. New series Ram 1500 pickups are made at Sterling Heights Assembly in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Since its inception, the brand has used the slogan "Guts. Glory. Ram."
The Dodge LCF was a series of medium- and heavy-duty trucks built by Dodge from 1960 until 1976. They replaced the Dodge COE range of cabover trucks built in the 1950s. The 500 through 700 series were medium duty only, while 800 through 1000 series were reserved for heavy-duty versions.
A coupé utility is a vehicle with a passenger compartment at the front and an integrated cargo tray at the rear, with the front of the cargo bed doubling as the rear of the passenger compartment.
Chrysler Fevre Argentina S.A. was the Argentina subsidiary of US-based automotive manufacturer Chrysler Corporation. Originally established in 1890 as a supplier for tanning industry, the firm began to commercialise vehicles after an agreement signed with Dodge Brothers Company in 1916, which allowed it to import and commercialise automobiles and trucks in Argentina.