Dawning of a New Age
Setting the Stage for the Battle of the Titans
The late 19th century was a period of profound transition. While the draft horse remained a vital part of everyday life, providing power for agriculture and transportation, and many homes still lacked the conveniences of indoor plumbing and electric light, a tangible sense of change permeated the atmosphere. In the American West, the horse-mounted posse continued to symbolize law and order, yet, particularly in burgeoning urban centers, the subtle shift was increasingly defined by the unmistakable aroma of automobile exhaust.
By 1897, the fundamental technologies underpinning the "horseless carriage" had matured to a point where they held the potential to revolutionize society. However, a significant hurdle remained. The issue wasn’t simply the notorious unreliability of these early automobiles. The biggest problem was expense.
In an era where a dependable horse and a team could be acquired for approximately $500, and the annual cost of boarding these animals amounted to less than $200, the prospect of investing several thousand dollars in an automobile relegated these noisy, smoking machines to the exclusive domain of the wealthy and famous. This created a very limited market, hindering the widespread adoption of the new technology. The landscape changed dramatically in 1901 with an unexpected event: a devastating fire at the Olds Motor Vehicle Company.
This pioneering company had risen to prominence in the nascent American automobile industry at the dawn of the century. Offering both gasoline and electric-powered vehicles, Olds managed to attract a sufficient number of affluent customers to sustain the production of an impressive eleven distinct, hand-built models. This was, for a while, a profitable endeavor.
Nevertheless, by late 1900, executives at Olds, along with those at several other automobile manufacturers, began to question the wisdom of exclusively catering to the elite. The fire of 1901, which reduced the company’s inventory to a single, low-cost experimental gasoline model, effectively resolved the debate. Necessity dictated a shift in strategy.
Driven by sheer desperation, Olds commenced production of the one-cylinder curved dash Oldsmobile. Priced at a comparatively affordable $650 and boasting surprising dependability for its time, the vehicle rapidly captured the hearts of the American public. Songs were composed in its honor, long-distance driving records were established, and sales figures soared. Over 12,000 models were sold in less than three years, establishing the curved dash Olds as a commercial success. This was the start of the dawning of a new age.
The curved dash Olds wasn’t the sole entity to emerge from the ashes of the fire that ravaged the Olds Motor Vehicle Company. In a twist of fate, the fire played a pivotal role in the genesis of two automotive legends, shaping the future of the industry in ways no one could have predicted.
Prior to the fire, Olds executives had intended to maintain their established course, concentrating on the manufacture of automobiles for affluent clientele. This is where Henry Leland enters the picture. Leland was a highly skilled precision machinist who had served as an apprentice under the renowned Samuel Colt, the inventor of the revolver.
Beyond possessing one of the most reputable machine shops in Detroit, Leland was also a mechanical designer and engineer of considerable stature. Shortly before the fire, Olds had contracted with Leland to develop a novel engine for a model intended to represent the pinnacle of automotive technology and set a new benchmark for automotive prestige. This was a part of dawning of a new age.
As the aspirations and plans for a luxurious new Olds smoldered in the aftermath of the fire, the directors of another automobile manufacturing company were reaching a point of acute desperation. They had invested in a promising mechanical prodigy named Henry Ford, but the anticipated profitable return on their investment was rapidly diminishing due to Ford’s prioritization of experimentation over the development of a commercially viable automobile.
In a last-ditch attempt to salvage the Henry Ford Motor Company, the board of directors made the decision to hire Henry Leland as a consulting engineer. Ford, deeply offended by what he perceived as an insult, demanded an $800 cash settlement and insisted that his name be removed from the company.
Of course, Henry Ford would eventually go on to achieve even greater success. Meanwhile, Leland stepped into the void at the former Henry Ford Motor Company and proposed the development of an automobile powered by the engine that had originally been commissioned for Olds.
The company directors accepted Leland’s proposal and initiated a reorganization. One of their first orders of business was to select a suitable name for the new enterprise.
The precise individual who proposed naming the company in honor of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the French explorer who established the first settlement at the site of Detroit, remains a matter of speculation. However, it is undeniable that the decision to apply the name Cadillac to the company proved to be an inspired choice. It was the dawning of a new age.
By 1904, Cadillac and Olds had achieved a dominant position in the American automobile manufacturing landscape. Among the hundreds of companies offering minimal or no competition was Buick, which managed to produce a mere 37 automobiles in 1904.
This situation, however, was about to undergo a dramatic transformation with the arrival of the flamboyant entrepreneur William Crapo Durant at the helm of David Buick’s namesake company. Within a span of three years, Durant had transformed Buick into a veritable powerhouse, propelling the company to become the second-largest manufacturer of automobiles in the nation. But this was merely a prelude to even greater ambitions.
Benjamin Briscoe, a highly successful manufacturer of sheet metal in Detroit, had ventured into the automobile industry by initially backing David Buick and subsequently forming a partnership with Jonathan Maxwell. While their automotive enterprise proved to be quite profitable, by 1905, it was becoming increasingly evident that a finite market being served by hundreds of companies hindered any single company from realizing its full potential. Briscoe conceived of a strategy to remedy this situation, dominate the market, and eliminate the competition.
His vision involved creating an automotive combine that produced a vehicle for every budget and need. This would ultimately become a reality, but not precisely as he had initially envisioned. The preliminary meetings aimed at unifying the manufacturing facilities of Olds, Ford Motor Company, Buick, Maxwell-Briscoe, and several smaller companies proved to be unsuccessful.
Durant, however, recognized the concept as the key to achieving absolute dominance of the American automobile industry. On September 16, 1908, in Hudson County, New Jersey, he filed incorporation papers and established the General Motors Company. With remarkable speed, he acquired a controlling interest in manufacturers of automobiles and related components through purchases, leverage, stock swaps, or other means. These acquisitions included the Dort-Durant Company, one of the largest manufacturers of wagons in the country, Buick, Olds, Cadillac, Oakland, and numerous other companies, both large and small. This was a significant period in the dawning of a new age.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Briscoe had not abandoned his vision. Utilizing Maxwell-Briscoe as the foundation, he set about establishing an automotive empire, the United States Motor Company, which would provide formidable competition for Durant’s General Motors.
The dawning of a new age was at hand. America was on the cusp of becoming an automobile nation, and the battle of the titans was about to commence. This was truly the dawning of a new age.
