Detroit Automobile Company
From Ford Wiki
The Detroit Automobile Company (DAC) was an early United States Automotive industry founded on August 5, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan, Michigan.[1] It was the first venture of its kind in Detroit.[2] Automotive mechanic Henry Ford attracted the financial backing of three investors; Detroit Mayor William Maybury, William H. Murray, and Senator Thomas W. Palmer. As with many early car ventures, the company floundered and was dissolved in January 1901.[1] Twenty vehicles were built and $86,000 ($2.11 million in 2007) of investment was lost.[3] [4]
Contents |
History
Foundation
The company was founded with a paid-up capital of $15,000 ($369,205 in 2007).[2] Henry Ford managed the manufacturing plant at 1343 Cass Avenue, Amsterdam in Detroit; initially with no pay until he left his job at the Detroit Edison, after which he was given a monthly salary of $150 ($3,692 in 2007).[5] [2] He refused to put a car into production until he had perfected it to his satisfaction,[6] infuriating investors who quickly began to lose confidence in Ford's ability to bring a product to market.[6] The company's primary objective was to make a profit for its investors, who had seen the Oldsmobile plant, where the Oldsmobile Curved Dash was built, profitable for its owner Samuel Smith.[4]
The company's first product was a gasoline-powered delivery truck engineered by Ford and completed in January 1900.[1] It received favorable coverage in a local newspaper, but was not without its flaws; it was slow, heavy, unreliable and complicated to manufacture.[7] Later in life, Ford recalled this period as one that was driven by profit rather than innovation.[8]
Catalog
A catalog produced by Detroit Automobile Company in 1900 showed, with a cost analysis, that the automobile was cheaper to maintain and operate than a horse and vehicle.[4] Little is known about the company's designs.[9]
Table 1. Detroit Automobile Car Costs[4]
| |
|---|---|
Automobile
| |
| Original cost | $1,000 |
| Cost of operating, 1⁄4 cents per mile, 25 miles per day | $114 |
| New tires | $100 |
| Repairs | $50 |
| Painting vehicle four times | $100 |
| $1,364 | |
Horse and Vehicle
| |
| Original cost, horse, harness and vehicle | $500 |
| Cost of keeping horse five years | $1,200 |
| Shoeing the horse | $180 |
| Repairs on vehicle, including rubber tires | $150 |
| Repairs on harness, $10 per year | $50 |
| Painting vehicle four times | $100 |
| $2,180 | |
Demise
The Detroit Automobile Company later became the Cadillac under ownership of Henry Leland, who came in subsequently after Ford had left.[8] It was reorganized into the Henry Ford Company on November 20, 1901, after Ford gained further backing from investors because of his racing success.[9]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bryan, Ford R., The Birth of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford Heritage Association, http://www.hfha.org/ford_story/birth_of_the_ford_motor_company.html, retrieved on May 23, 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Months past (an account of Henry Ford's first automobile factory)", History Today 49 (8): 50, August 1999
- ↑ Cabadas, Joe (2004), River Rouge: Ford's Industrial Colossus, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing, p. 17, ISBN 0760317089
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Weiss, H. Eugene (2003), Chrysler, Ford, Durant, and Sloan: Founding Giants of the American Automotive Industry, McFarland, pp. 7-9, ISBN 0786416114
- ↑ Peterson, Chester; Beemer, Rod (1997), Ford N Series Tractors, MBI Publishing, p. 10, ISBN 0760302898
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Black, Edwin (2007), Internal Combustion, Macmillan, p. 99, ISBN 031235908X
- ↑ Bryan, Ford Richardson; Evans, Sarah (1995), Henry's Attic: Some Fascinating Gifts to Henry Ford and His Museum, Wayne State University Press, p. 107, ISBN 0814326420
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ford, Henry (2007), My Life and Work, BiblioBazaar, p. 37, ISBN 1426422563
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Weiss, H. Eugene (2003), pp. 9-10
