Durant Motors

The Durant Motors Inc. was founded in 1921 by former Director General William Crapo Durant Motors, after he had been at the request of the New York bankers who financed GM, fired by GM.

Car brands

Durant Motors tried his hand as a full-range in the automotive industry and brought automobiles from Durant, Flint and Star out. You should compete with the car from Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Oakland. William Durant bought the luxury car manufacturer Locomobile after its liquidation in 1922; theoretically this company provided him with a product that he wanted to compete against Rolls- Royce, Pierce -Arrow and especially Packard. Plans for a new brand called Princeton which aimed at the same market segment, has therefore been abandoned shortly before the launch. Durant was there friends since their time together in their Durant There Carriage Company, a carriage manufacturer in Flint ( Michigan), with Josiah Dallas. This cooperated with his There Motor Car Company with Durant. Rugby welcomed the Star -Automobile in export and from 1928 to 1931 sold Durant trucks with the name rugby in the USA and Canada. Furthermore, a brand called Eagle was planned that never was also reality.

Production

Durant co-founded the truck manufacturer Mason Truck, officially a subsidiary of Durant, which also produced many vendor parts. Durant maintained plants in Lansing ( Michigan), Elizabeth (New Jersey) (Long Iceland ) (New York) and Oakland ( California). The construction of the series bodies outsourced to suppliers. closed bodies for Durant, Star and Flint automobiles built the Hayes - Hunt Corporation in Detroit ( Michigan). Under the brand names Frontenac Durant cars were also built in Canada.

1927, the production of the Durant Automobile was set to switch the production line on a completely newly designed model that came out in the model 1928 (similar to Ford this made in the same year the Model T ). 1928 more models of the makes Durant, Locomobile and rugby were offered; Mason Truck, Flint and the very well-running Star disappeared in April 1928. 1929 the production of the Locomobile was adjusted.

Collapse

First utilized Durant Motors quite successful on the developed by William Durant for GM concept to produce various brands ( Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac ). But when the sales figures for the Durant brands did not reach the expected heights, wiggled the financial foundation of the company. So Durant Motors lost market share and dealer. The stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing economic crisis hit Durant Motors and its founder particularly hard.

The last models with the name Durant left the tapes in 1931. In Canada Durant Frontenac were built a while. The plant in Oakland was taken over by the De Vaux Motors Company, which built here and in Grand Rapids ( Michigan) a development of Durant with its own engine.

More history

The Durant plant in Lansing, established in 1920. After the collapse of Durant Motors, it remained closed until the purchase by GM in 1935. Then there bodies were built for the GM- Fisher Body Division and later brand automobiles Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac. Finally, it was merged with another plant in Lansing to Lansing Car Assembly. This factory closed its doors on 6 May 2005. The plant in Oakland was taken over by the De Vaux Motors Company and then went to the Continental Motors Company and then also to GM. The Continental emerged from the De Vaux. Both were made ​​without the participation of William Durant. Dominion Motors also built versions of it.

Willam Durant died in 1947 at the age of 85 years, almost completely depleted.

Brand cars Durant

Swell

  • Kimes, Beverly Ray & Clark jr. Henry Austin: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942, Krause Publications, Iola WI (1985 ), ISBN 0-87341-045-9
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