More Horseless Carriages

Byron J. Carter, of Jackson, Mich., built a steam car in 1902 and joined with two fellow Jackson investors, George Matthews, owner of Fuller Buggy Co., and Charles Lewis, president of Lewis Spring and Axle Co., in 1903 to form Jackson Automobile Co. to manufacture steam and gasoline engine cars. Carter left to pursue his idea of friction drive with the Cartercar and Jackson built gasoline cars until 1923. Matthews, who had taken over the company, sold it in 1923 to Associated Motor Industries, which also acquired Dixie Flyer, of Louisville, and National, of Indianapolis. All were gone by the end of 1924.This is a 1908 Jackson taking part in an Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Mich.

The air-cooled engine was an early form of the internal combustion motor, most of which used water for cooling. Best of the early air-cooled engines was the Franklin. Shown here is a 1909 model. Air-cooled engines are unusual now, but in recent years were used in the Volkswagen Beetle, Chevrolet Corvair, Renault Dauphine and Saabs of the early '60s. The VW Beetle was the highest-production car in history, but the Franklin was the biggest-volume American air-cooled car. The first Franklin was built in 1902 in Syracuse, N.Y., by John Wilkinson. Herbert H. Franklin put up the money and got his name on the car. Famous for building sporty runabouts, the company ran into trouble with bankers in the Depression and they pressured it to build large, V-12 (water-cooled) luxury cars. In 1933, Franklin walked away from his bankrupt firm.

When the Hudson was introduced in 1909, it was the most successful new model up to that time, selling 4,000 in its first year. Its success should not have been a surprise, as it was the work of Roy Chapin and Howard E. Coffin, both veterans of Olds Motor Works, and builders of the Thomas-Detroit and Chalmers-Detroit cars. They were joined by George Dunham and Roscoe B. Jackson, also formerly of Olds. Jackson was married to a niece of Joseph L. Hudson, owner of Detroit's most successful department store, who put up the money for the venture. Chapin prudently named the company for Hudson. This spiffy 1911 Hudson 33 was designed by Coffin and is considered the first true Hudson.

This 1914 Chevrolet "Baby Grand" touring car was found in 1992 in a garage in Harper Woods, Mich., where it had been stored for several decades. Chevrolet collector and superfan Pinky Randall acquired the car and Chevrolet Division assisted in a restoration project to mark the 80th anniversary of the nameplate. Here, Randall, of Houghton Lake, Mich., gives the car a quick wash. Chevrolet was founded in 1912 by William Durant along with Louis Chevrolet. Chevrolet designed a grand luxury car, but while he was visiting Europe, Durant put two smaller cars into production, the Baby Grand touring and the Royal Mail roadster. An angry Chevrolet quit the company, but Durant used Chevrolet to regain control of General Motors and the nameplate eventually became the largest selling U.S. brand.