The King 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 ...

built by the King Motor Car Company in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

from 1911 to 1923, and in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

in 1923.

History

Charles Brady King built his first car in Detroit in 1896. The original plan was to enter it in the November 1895 '' Chicago Times Herald'' auto race, but it was not completed in time. King finished it on March 6, 1896, and it became the first gasoline automobile to be successfully driven on the streets of Detroit.Kimes, Beverly Rae. ''Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942'' (Iola, WI: Krause, 1996), p.807. Henry Ford reportedly followed behind on a bicycle on the maiden voyage of the King. The situation in 1896 Detroit was not nearly as pro-automobile as it would be a decade later. Discouraged, King dismantled his car and sold the chassis to Byron Carter of future Cartercar fame. G.N. Georgano, Nick. ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile'' (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000), p.824. King worked for various other car companies before creating another car in 1910 and establishing the King Motor Car Company in February of the following year. The new King car incorporated a number of advanced features, such as a Gray Motors engine cast en bloc, cantilever springs, left-hand drive, and a centrally-located gearshift.Kimes, p.807. Possibly its most advanced feature was its lubrication system in which the flywheel served as a form of oil pump. The first factory was rented and located at 1559 West Jefferson, but soon outgrew the space and moved into the former Hupmobile plant at Jefferson and Concord in early 1912. Just a few months later, the firm was in

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

, possibly from over-expansion. The company was bought by chewing gum magnate Artemas Ward from New York City in 1912 for $40,000. He put automobile executive J. G. Bayerline in the president position. Two years later there was a disagreement between the two men and Ward replaced Bayerline in the presidency of the company. In December 1914, a

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

was introduced in the King, a scant two months after Cadillac announced its own V8-powered car. Starting in 1916, all Kings were 8-cylinder models. Production declined from a peak of 3,000 in 1916 to a company low of 240 in 1923. During the healthier years, the company exported cars to Europe, Australia, South America, South Africa, and Russia.Kimes, p.807. Early

4-cylinder 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 engine, Wankel engines are o ...

cars were medium-priced at $1,350 in basic form, and for $1,565 when fully equipped with windshield, hood, and gas lamps. By 1914, even the V8-powered car was only $1,350, and was advertised as the "World's First Popular-Priced V8". G.N. Georgano, p.824. By 1923, prices were $1,795–$2,550.

Decline

In the fall of 1920, with the Depression of 1920–1921, Artemas Ward and other company directors petitioned to have the company dissolved, citing not enough working capital and a failure to secure loans from banks. The auto press said it was due to inefficient management. Early the next year, Charles A. Finnegan of Buffalo bought the company for $500,000 and assumed company debts of approximately double that. The debt was paid off by late 1922 and the receivership was terminated. In October 1923, the firm moved to a much smaller Buffalo factory, but was bankrupt and finished by early 1924. While in bankruptcy hearings, remaining bodies and parts were shipped to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. There, 100 additional Kings were assembled in 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King (Automobile) Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan 1910s cars 1920s cars Cars introduced in 1911 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1911 Motor vehicle manufacturers based in New York (state)