Using a dirt-proof ball bearing Horace invented and patented, in 1897 Dodge arranged a deal for the brothers to join with a third-party investor to manufacture bicycles.

Within a few years, they sold the bicycle business and in 1900 used the proceeds of the sale to set up their own machine shop in Detroit.

In 1902 the Dodge brothers won a contract to build transmissions for the Olds Motor Vehicle Company upon which they built a solid reputation for quality and service.

They began building motor trucks for the United States military during the arms buildup for World War I, and in October 1917 they produced their first commercial car.

[citation needed] Nevertheless, his wealth made him an influential member of the community and he became active in Republican Party politics in Michigan.

They had three children: Following Ivy (Hawkins) Dodge's death from tuberculosis, he secretly married Isabelle Smith (who was his housekeeper) in Walkerville, Ontario, on December 8, 1902.

Five years after Dodge's death in 1920, Matilda married Alfred Wilson and they built the Meadow Brook Hall at the Rochester estate.

[7] Horace died the following December, and in 1925 their widows sold the Dodge Brothers automobile business to Dillon Read, investment bankers, for $146 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2023[8]).

His son Daniel drowned in the waters off Manitoulin Island after falling overboard while being transported to hospital following an accident involving dynamite.