In 1926, Billy Durant was back in the saddle at General Motors, and was once again casting around for ways to expand GM's share of the market. Sitting there, ostensibly ripe for the plucking, was Dodge Brothers. Durant courted Dodge, but the deal never quite made it to fruition.
Suppose, then, that the deal had gone through. What are the implications for GM now that (for example) you have three makes capable of producing trucks, and now that there's another mid-level brand aiming at about the same demographic as Oldsmobile? And what does Walter Chrysler do, assuming he still goes after Maxwell/Briscoe? Could he have gone after REO (whose products were roughly comparable to the contemporary Dodge offerings), or perhaps worked out something with Studebaker?
Suppose, then, that the deal had gone through. What are the implications for GM now that (for example) you have three makes capable of producing trucks, and now that there's another mid-level brand aiming at about the same demographic as Oldsmobile? And what does Walter Chrysler do, assuming he still goes after Maxwell/Briscoe? Could he have gone after REO (whose products were roughly comparable to the contemporary Dodge offerings), or perhaps worked out something with Studebaker?