The Detroit Automobile Company (DAC) was an early American

automobile manufacturer The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

founded on August 5, 1899, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. It was the first venture of its kind in Detroit. Automotive mechanic

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that ...

attracted the financial backing of twelve investors; Detroit Mayor

William Maybury William Cotter Maybury (November 20, 1848 – May 6, 1909) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Early life Maybury was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 20, 1848, the son of Thomas Maybury. He attended public schools ...

, William H. Murphy and others. As with many early car ventures, the company floundered, and it was dissolved in January 1901. Twenty vehicles were built and $86,000 ($2.61 million in 2019) of investment was lost.

History

Detroit Automobile Company Delivery Truck 1900

Foundation

The company was founded with a paid-up capital of $15,000 ($455,490 in 2019). Henry Ford managed the manufacturing plant at 1343 Cass Avenue and Amsterdam in Detroit; initially with no pay until he left his job at the

Detroit Edison Company DTE Electric Company (formerly The Detroit Edison Company) was founded in 1886. DTE Electric's power generation portfolio includes renewable energy, but is primarily generated by fossil fuels. In 2021, 67.32% of electricity generated by DTE came ...

, after which he was given a monthly salary of $150 ($4,555 in 2019). He refused to put a car into production until he had perfected it to his satisfaction, infuriating investors who quickly began to lose confidence in Ford's ability to bring a product to market. The company's primary objective was to make a profit for its investors, who had seen the

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...

plant, where the Curved Dash Oldsmobile was built, which was profitable for its owner Samuel Smith. The company's first product was a gasoline-powered delivery truck engineered by Ford and completed in January 1900. It received favorable coverage in a local newspaper, but was not without its flaws; it was slow, heavy, unreliable and complicated to manufacture. Later in life, Ford recalled this period as one that was driven by profit rather than innovation., p. 37. 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. Little is known about the company's designs.

Demise

The Detroit Automobile Company was reorganized into the

Henry Ford Company The Henry Ford Company was an automobile manufacturer active from 1901 to 1902. Named for Henry Ford, it was his second company after the Detroit Automobile Company, which had been founded in 1899. The Henry Ford Company was founded November 190 ...

on November 20, 1901, after Ford gained further backing from investors because of his racing success. It later became the Cadillac Company under the ownership of

Henry Leland Henry Martyn Leland (February 16, 1843 – March 26, 1932) was an American machinist, inventor, engineer and automotive entrepreneur. He founded the two premier American luxury automotive marques, Cadillac and Lincoln. Early years Henry M. Lela ...

, who came in subsequently after Ford had left.History of the Ford Motor Company
/ref> 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.

References

{{Coord, 42.365766, -83.073593, region:US-MI_type:landmark, display=title Cadillac Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States Veteran vehicles Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1901 1899 establishments in Michigan 1901 disestablishments in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan