And the Model 10, painted all white with snappy brass trim, was Buick’s most popular model. (He couldn’t convince rival Henry Ford, the other visionary of the burgeoning industry.) Buick, the first company Durant acquired, became GM’s core brand. ![]() When General Motors incorporated in the fall of 1908, its CEO, William “Billy” Durant, went on a buying spree, building his empire by gobbling up the lion’s share of the competition within the first year. BUICK MODEL 10Ī moderately popular early bid to build a car for the massesĪ Buick Model 10 at the Long Island Automotive Museum in New York State, circa 1950s. It remained in production through 1904 and inspired the hit song “In My Merry Oldsmobile:”Īutomo-bubbling, you and I. Its rugged 7-horsepower single-cylinder engine, simple 2-speed planetary transmission, chain drive and high ground clearance were strong enough to survive the rigors of the nation’s largely rugged, rutted dirt tracks. Its tiller steering and buggy-like body were familiar to the horse-trained public. Priced at just $650, the Curved Dash was accessible to a wide range of prospective customers. The only survivor: the Model R, popularly known as the Curved Dash for its curved, buggy-like footboard.īy the end of the year, Olds had built some 425 of them. ![]() Ransom Eli Olds, who had started experimenting with self-propelled vehicles in 1887, was working on several different prototypes in his company’s Detroit factory in 1901 when a fire destroyed the building and three of those prototypes. The first practical, reliable, mass-produced American automobile This subjective list reflects a varied cross-section of a century's worth of American automobile development. Many were testosterone-fueled under the hood, while others had to go up the hills backward. The cars here range from plain and utilitarian to sporty and fun to fantastically opulent. We see brand wizards tapping deep into the national psyche, evoking core American values of freedom, self-reliance and practicality. ![]() In this rundown of influential American cars, we see visionary engineers scheming ways to go faster and farther, in greater comfort and style. Failures (and there were many) often informed later successes. But each time, the entrepreneurs, marketers, designers, engineers and managers who guided American automobile production learned something. Other times they slid slowly to an ignominious grease puddle on the floor. Sometimes ideas thrown at the wall stuck. That’s why our “Cars That Made America” list draws from all those categories-and from the duds as well.īecause in the brutally competitive auto industry, the Edsels and Vegas can be as important as the Model Ts and Mustangs. Or the reliable, practical vehicles that move steadily off the lot. American automotive history isn’t just about impressively brawny engines.
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