The Briscoe was an American automobile manufactured at

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

, by a group headed by

Benjamin Briscoe Benjamin Briscoe (May 1867 – June 26, 1945) was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was an automobile pioneer and industrialist. Briscoe entered business for himself at the age of 18 with capital of $472, organizing the firm of Benjamin Briscoe ...

. Briscoe cars were made between 1914 and 1921. A few months after his departure from the United States Motor Company in 1913, Benjamin Briscoe established a plant at Billancourt, France to design and manufacture the first automobile in France built by American methods. The business was called Briscoe Freres; Billancourt was the home of

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

. In 1915, Briscoe offered what he called "The First French Car at an American Price." Briscoe claimed that the auto had been designed by a French design studio. It featured a single

headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...

in the front, faired into the

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

shell. The auto was priced at

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

750.00 but this price did not include a top,

windshield The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

, or starter. The company also produced the

Argo In Greek mythology, the ''Argo'' ( ; ) was the ship of Jason and the Argonauts. The ship was built with divine aid, and some ancient sources describe her as the first ship to sail the seas. The ''Argo'' carried the Argonauts on their quest fo ...

, the Hackett, and the Lorraine.

References

*Purdy, Ken W., Motorcars of the Golden Past, Galahad Books, 1965, pp. 82–83. {{JacksonCars Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan American companies established in 1914 American companies disestablished in 1921 Manufacturing companies established in 1914 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1921