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Cars, Boats, Planes, and Trains - Who Started The First American Automobile Company?

Who started the first American automobile company?

Charles Duryea (1861-1938), a cycle manufacturer from Peoria, Illinois, and his brother Frank Duryea (1869-1967), were the first to build cars for sale in the United States. They founded the Duryea Motor Wagon company in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1895. There they built gasoline-powered, horseless carriages similar to those built by Karl Benz (1844-1929) in Germany.

The distinction of building the first automobile factory (in which cars were mass-produced) in the United States goes to Ransom Eli Olds (1864-1950). In 1899, Olds built a factory in Detroit, Michigan, to manufacture his Oldsmobile. By April 1901, more than 10 vehicles a week were produced there. A total of 433 cars were produced in 1901. In 1902, Olds introduced the assembly-line method of production. His factory produced more than 2,500 vehicles in 1902 and 5,508 vehicles in...

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