The Tragic True Story of the Men Behind Chevrolet and Dodge
Yesterday’s Voices
198 views
Three men put their names on American automobiles. Not one of them kept what he built.
Louis Chevrolet was a Swiss watchmaker's son who became the most respected racing mechanic in America — and then sold his own name to William Durant in 1915 over an argument about a cheap car. He spent the next twenty-six years drawing a wage from other men while his name became the best-selling automobile in the United States.
John and Horace Dodge did the opposite. They turned a ten thousand dollar stake in an unproven Ford Motor Company into nearly thirty-five million dollars, built a car under their own name, and then sued Henry Ford in a case that still governs American business today. They won. And within a single year, both brothers were dead.
Tonight, two quiet stories about the price of a name — and the 1919 court ruling that decided, once and for all, who a company actually belongs to.
Gentle pacing throughout. No graphic content. Made for listening in the dark.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold Open
4:25 The Watchmaker's Son
12:53 Faster Than Anyone Wanted
21:50 A Name Worth More Than a Man
30:10 Cigarettes and Cigars
38:50 The Frontenac Years
47:08 What the Crash Took
56:11 The Man on the Payroll
1:07:17 Niles
1:15:27 The Ball Bearing
1:23:09 Ten Thousand Dollars
1:31:13 The Men Detroit Could Not Place
1:39:14 Their Own Name on the Hood
1:46:54 The Suit
1:55:43 The Last Year
Yesterday's Voices — where history is spoken.
This episode uses AI-assisted narration and dramatized visual reconstructions. Historical events, dates and quotations are sourced; where accounts conflict, the conflict is stated in the narration rather than resolved.
The Tragic True Story of the Men Behind Chevrolet and Dodge
Yesterday’s Voices
198 views
Three men put their names on American automobiles. Not one of them kept what he built.
Louis Chevrolet was a Swiss watchmaker's son who became the most respected racing mechanic in America — and then sold his own name to William Durant in 1915 over an argument about a cheap car. He spent the next twenty-six years drawing a wage from other men while his name became the best-selling automobile in the United States.
John and Horace Dodge did the opposite. They turned a ten thousand dollar stake in an unproven Ford Motor Company into nearly thirty-five million dollars, built a car under their own name, and then sued Henry Ford in a case that still governs American business today. They won. And within a single year, both brothers were dead.
Tonight, two quiet stories about the price of a name — and the 1919 court ruling that decided, once and for all, who a company actually belongs to.
Gentle pacing throughout. No graphic content. Made for listening in the dark.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Cold Open
4:25 The Watchmaker's Son
12:53 Faster Than Anyone Wanted
21:50 A Name Worth More Than a Man
30:10 Cigarettes and Cigars
38:50 The Frontenac Years
47:08 What the Crash Took
56:11 The Man on the Payroll
1:07:17 Niles
1:15:27 The Ball Bearing
1:23:09 Ten Thousand Dollars
1:31:13 The Men Detroit Could Not Place
1:39:14 Their Own Name on the Hood
1:46:54 The Suit
1:55:43 The Last Year
Yesterday's Voices — where history is spoken.
This episode uses AI-assisted narration and dramatized visual reconstructions. Historical events, dates and quotations are sourced; where accounts conflict, the conflict is stated in the narration rather than resolved.