Founded | August 5, 1899 |
---|---|
Defunct | November 20, 1901 |
Fate | Reorganized |
Successor | Henry Ford Company |
Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan |
The Detroit Automobile Company (DAC) was an early American automobile manufacturer founded on August 5, 1899, in Detroit, Michigan.[1] It was the first venture of its kind in Detroit.[2] Automotive mechanic Henry Ford attracted the financial backing of twelve investors; Detroit Mayor William Maybury, William H. Murphy and others. As with many early car ventures, the company floundered, and it was dissolved in January 1901.[1] Twenty vehicles were built and $86,000 ($2.61 million in 2019) of investment was lost.[3][4]
The company was founded with a paid-up capital of $15,000 ($455,490 in 2019).[2] Henry Ford managed the manufacturing plant at 1343 Cass Avenue and Amsterdam in Detroit;[5] initially with no pay until he left his job at the Detroit Edison Company, after which he was given a monthly salary of $150 ($4,555 in 2019).[2][6] He refused to put a car into production until he had perfected it to his satisfaction,[7] infuriating investors who quickly began to lose confidence in Ford's ability to bring a product to market.[7] The company's primary objective was to make a profit for its investors, who had seen the Oldsmobile plant, where the Curved Dash Oldsmobile was built, which was 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.[8] Later in life, Ford recalled this period as one that was driven by profit rather than innovation.[9]
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.[10]
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 |
The Detroit Automobile Company was reorganized into the Henry Ford Company on November 20, 1901, after Ford gained further backing from investors because of his racing success.[10] It later became the Cadillac Company under the ownership of Henry Leland, who came in subsequently after Ford had left.[9][11] The factory location for the Detroit Automobile Company is less than a mile away southeast from Mr. Ford's Piquette Avenue Plant, which opened four years later.