Gray-Dort Motors was a Canadian automobile manufacturing company in Chatham, Ontario, which operated from 1915 to 1925.
Gray-Dort Motors started as the carriage works of William Gray & Sons Company Ltd., founded in 1855 by William Gray. [1] In the mid-1900s, William's father and president of the company, Robert Gray, began to build car bodies for the Ford factory in Walkerville, Ontario, until 1912.
In 1915, Robert Gray obtained the Canadian rights to manufacture the Dort automobile from manufacturer Josiah Dallas Dort, in Flint, Michigan. Later that year, Gray-Dort Motors Ltd. was formed. [1] Gray-Dort produced two models in its first year of operation: the Model 4 roadster and the Model 5 touring car.
Throughout its lifetime, Gray-Dort manufactured around 26,000 automobiles. [2] During this period, they also produced bodies for the locally built Chatham automobiles. Three body styles were offered: the tourer, coupe and the sedan. [3]
In 1923, after several years of successful but stressful business, Josiah Dallas Dort left the business. A few months later, Dort died during a golf session. As the company's easy access to U.S. mechanical parts abruptly came to a close, Gray-Dort Motors began to lose money. They scrambled to find another U.S.-based partner to no avail. The last few years of the business were spent liquidating assets. [4]
McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited was a Canadian manufacturer of automobiles headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario. Founded by Robert McLaughlin, it once was the largest carriage manufacturing factory in the British Empire.
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the firm was originally a coachbuilder, manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses.
The E-M-F Company was an early American automobile manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1909 to 1912. The name E-M-F was gleaned from the initials of the three company founders: Barney Everitt, William Metzger, and Walter Flanders.
William Crapo Durant was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each seemingly independent, with different automobile lines – bound under a unified corporate holding company. Durant, along with Frederic L. Smith, co-founded General Motors, as well as Chevrolet with Louis Chevrolet. He also founded Frigidaire.
Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. Riley became part of the Nuffield Organization in 1938 and was merged into the British Leyland Motor Corporation in 1968. In July 1969 British Leyland announced the immediate end of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK automotive industry and many cars from Riley's inventory may have been first registered in 1970.
The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages.
The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps" – Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow – the company was known for building high-quality luxury automobiles. Peerless popularized a number of vehicle innovations that later became standard equipment, including drum brakes and the first enclosed-body production cars.
Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William "Billy" Durant following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers who financed GM.
The Dort Motor Car Company of Flint, Michigan, built automobiles from 1915 to 1924.
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford automobiles in Canada and the British Empire. It was originally known as the Walkerville Wagon Works and was located in Walkerville, Ontario. The founder, Gordon Morton McGregor, convinced a group of investors to invest in Henry Ford's new automobile, which was being produced across the river in Detroit, Michigan.
The Russell Motor Car Company was an automobile manufacturer in Toronto, Canada, that produced cars from 1904 to 1916. The company is considered to have produced Canada's first successful automobile.
The Flanders Automobile Company was a short-lived US-American automobile manufacturer which operated in Detroit, Michigan, from 1910 to 1913. Its only product was sold through Studebaker dealerships.
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The Regal was an American automobile produced by the Regal Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, from 1907 to 1918.
Durant-Dort Carriage Company was a manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, Michigan. Founded in 1886, by 1900 it was the largest carriage manufacturer in the country.
The W. H. Kiblinger Company and the W. H. McIntyre Company produced Brass Era automobiles in Auburn, Indiana from 1907 to 1915.
Josiah Dallas Dort was an American engineer and automobile pioneer of the United States automobile industry. He was born in Inkster, Michigan on February 27, 1861. His father was a well-to-do country squire and merchant, well connected politically, who died in 1871 when Josiah was 10. Dort left school at age 15 to help his mother in business and to work at a crockery firm. He moved to Flint, Michigan in 1879. In 1881, he began working at a Flint hardware store, and within a few years opened his own hardware store.
Flint Wagon Works of Flint, Michigan, manufactured wagons from the early 1880s. One of the world's most successful horse-drawn vehicle makers they formed with their Flint neighbours a core of the American automobile industry. In 1905 Flint was promoting itself as Flint the Vehicle City. The former site is now located in the neighborhood of Flint known as "Carriagetown".
Durant-Dort Factory One is a former cotton textile, carriage, and automobile factory in Flint, Michigan, that is now an archive and a center for research, meetings, and the community. The building was constructed in 1880 as a cotton textile factory. It produced carriages for the Durant-Dort Carriage Company from 1886 to 1917 and then produced cars for the Dort Motor Car Company from 1917 to 1924. It is often considered the birthplace of General Motors (GM).
The Nova Scotia Carriage and Motor Car Co., Ltd. was established in 1912 by brothers John W. and Daniel C. McKay. The company evolved from the brothers’ previous company, the Nova Scotia Carriage Co., which they had purchased in 1908 after moving to Kentville from Prince Edward Island. The Nova Scotia Carriage and Motor Car Co., Ltd. was created to manufacture and sell automobiles and horse-drawn carriages. The McKay car was the first production car in Nova Scotia.