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Saturday, November 14, 2009
HENRY FORD MOTOR CAR
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the American founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. He was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents. As owner of the Ford Motor Company he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism", that is, the mass production of large numbers of inexpensive automobiles using the assembly line, coupled with high wages for his workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration. Henry Ford's intense commitment to lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put a dealership in every city in North America, and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently
Krit Motor Car
K-R-I-T (or simply "Krit") was a small automobile manufacturing company (1909-1916) based in Detroit, Michigan.
Its name probably originated from Kenneth Crittenden who provided financial backing and helped design the cars. The emblem of the cars was a swastika. Krit occupied two different sites during its history, the first one it took over from the Blomstrom car and in 1911 moved to the works that had been used by R. M. Owen & Company who had moved to become Owen Magnetic. The cars were conventional 4 cylinder models and many were exported to Europe and Australia. The outbreak of World War I seriously damaged the company and it failed in 1915. A few cars were subsequently assembled from left over parts
The first motor car in Antarctica - 1908
These were the pioneer days of the motor car. Shackleton was given a car specially built for the expedition by the Arrol-Johnston company of Paisley, Scotland. The 4 cylinder, 15 horsepower air cooled car came from the intervention of William Beardmore a major sponsor of the expedition, he had recently taken over Arrol-Johnston to save them from bankruptcy and wanted Scotland to have its own motor industry.
The car was donated for free, though was expected to be used as an advertisement. Great things were expected of it:
Interview in "The Car"
Unfortunately however it would transpire otherwise, the petrol engine had not been tested in extreme cold and a suitable system for providing traction in snow had not been devised. The car was taken South without being properly tested in conditions that it was likely to encounter. One thing was abundantly clear to anyone with even a passing acquaintance with such conditions as might be encountered in Antarctica was that ordinary wheels didn't fare well in snow.
Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) British Imperial Antarctic Expedition "Nimrod - Expedition", 1907 -1909
Picture courtesy NOAA
1910 Chalmers Motor
Chalmers Motor Car Company was a United States based automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan.
Chalmers flourished in the 1910s and then faltered in the 1920s post-World War I recession. It merged with the Maxwell Automobile Company in the early 1920s, and ended all production in late 1923.
With a 115 in (2921 mm) wheelbase on 34 in (86 cm) wheels, Chalmers were expensive cars for the period. The 30 Touring and the 30 Roadster sold for US$1500, when the Black could be had as low as $375, the Brush Runabout for US$485, Western's Gale Model A US$500, and the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout for US$650, while Cole 30 was US$1500, and the Oakland 40 was US$1600. The Chalmers 30 Coupe at US2400 was nearer the US$2000 Enger 40,[4] while 40 Touring and 40 Roadster at US2750 and 40 Torpedo at US3000 were still below American's lowest-price model, at US$4250 (its highest was US$5250).
Taking part in early racing, a Chalmers won the 1910 Glidden Tour.
The company also originated the Chalmers Award in professional baseball.
Chalmers manufactured Chalmers automobiles on St. Luke Road until 1924 when it merged with Maxwell Motor Co. at its Tecumseh Road and McDougall plant. In the same year, it became Maxwell-Chrysler, fore-runner to Chrysler Canada.
Winton Motor Car
The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in of Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car.
The company was incorporated on March 15, 1897 by Scottish immigrant Alexander Winton, owner of the Winton Bicycle Company. Their first automobiles were built by hand. Each vehicle had fancy painted sides, padded seats, a leather roof, and gas lamps. B.F. Goodrich made the tires for Winton.
By this time, Winton had already produced two fully operational prototype automobiles. In May of that year, the 10 hp (7.5 kW) model achieved the astonishing speed of 33.64 mph (54.14 km/h) on a test around a Cleveland horse track. However, the new invention was still subject to much skepticism and to prove his automobile's durability and usefulness, Alexander Winton had his car undergo an 800-mile (1,300 km) endurance run from Cleveland to New York City.
Packard Motor Car
Packard was an American luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899 and the last in 1958.
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