The Harroun was an American

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

manufactured in

Wayne, Michigan Wayne is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Wayne is located about southwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,713. Wayne has a long history of autom ...

, by the Harroun Motor Sales Corporation from 1916 to 1920. The company was named after its founder,

Ray Harroun Ray Wade Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968) was an American racing driver and pioneering race car constructor. He is most famous for winning the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Biography Harroun was born on January 12, 1879, ...

Harroun Motor Sales Corporation

The Harroun Motors Corporation raised $10,000,000 in stock to begin a car company. Harroun bought the buildings and equipment of the former Prouty and Glass Carriage Company in 1916 for $40,000. The old carriage factory was 80,000 square feet and used for paint and upholstery, and in 1917, Harroun built a new 1,220,000 square foot factory next door for other processes. The company operated for 12–18 months producing 200 cars per day. There were three models offered: a roadster, a touring car priced at $595 and a sedan priced at $850, each powered by the company's

four-cylinder engine The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...

. The cars were only available with a green body, brown roof, black fenders and black upholstery. The roadster was only available in

midnight blue Midnight blue is a dark shade of blue named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit night sky around a full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromag ...

. The goal was to get the price of cars below $500 to remain profitable. In 1918, Harroun invented and patented a shock absorbing steering wheel to reduce driver fatigue. HarrounRoadster

World War I

In the spring of 1918, the company got a government contract to produce 200,000 artillery shells during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The plan was to produce cars and artillery shells together in the factory, but the government sent an arbitrary order limiting the factory to only 25 cars per day. Harroun produced 23,899 155 mm

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

high-explosive, Mark I, Type B shells for the war. The shells weighed 93 pounds and were stamped with the letter "R", the only marking to indicate the maker. Shells were loaded onto the

Detroit United Railway The Detroit United Railway was a transport company which operated numerous streetcar and interurban lines in southeast Michigan. Although many of the lines were originally built by different companies, they were consolidated under the control o ...

streetcar that ran through Wayne and whisked to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, where they were filled and capped. HarrounFactory

Closure

After the war, the company tried to get started again, creating a new model for 1920. Representatives took the car on a tour from Detroit to Montana and on to Denver to prove its reliability. The company was still closed in 1920. Fewer than 3,000 cars were built and two are known to survive. In 1923, the company's assets were sold off, and the factory was bought by the Gotfredson Truck Company in 1924. A 1919 Harroun Model A-1 was sold at auction in September 2019 for $33,000. Harroun

References

* * Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct companies based in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1917 Companies based in Wayne County, Michigan 1917 establishments in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923 1923 disestablishments in Michigan Cars introduced in 1916 Cars discontinued in 1920 {{Brass-auto-stub