Why Michigan?
By the 1890s, Michigan was a national leader in carriage making, with
more than 125 carriage companies, including the Durant-Dort Carriage Works
headed by William Durant. Skilled workers used draftsmen's tools to
design carriages. They carved bodies, shaped the wheels and forged
the metal for the horse-drawn vehicles. Workers used the same talents to build horseless carriages.
We looked like red devils, our fingers got sore; And we cursed Escanaba
and her damned iron ore
— Traditional Great Lakes song
By the 1890s, Michigan was also the nation's leading iron ore
producer. The availability of iron spurred the development of
foundries and machine shops, where stoves, steam engines, railcars,
farming implements and other items were made. The auto industry
needed both the iron and the skilled workers to make its machinery and
parts.
One of the 19th-century offshoots of the Michigan shipbuilding industry
was making gasoline engines for boats. R. E. Olds and Charles King
both experimented with such engines, then used that expertise in making
gasoline-powered horseless carriages.
Billy [Durant] always gets what he wants here.
—Arthur Bishop, Genesee
Savings Bank president, c. 1910
Michigan bankers such as Bishop were more willing than eastern bankers
to invest in automotive ventures like those led by William Durant,
president of General Motors. As Michigan's timber resources dwindled
and mines stabilized in the late 19th century, some of the state's wealthy
lumber barons and mining magnates looked to the precarious new auto
companies as investments.
We have already a large number of people in this country interested in
the coming revolution, the motor vehicle.
— Charles B. King.
engineer and inventor, October 8, 1895
 On March 6, 1896, King drove Michigan's first gasoline-powered
horseless carriage through the streets of Detroit. Between 1906 and
1909, the auto industry became Michigan's largest manufacturing enterprise
with more than 270 companies. Some companies built only one or two
cars. Others produced thousands. Unique names, advertising
slogans and performance claims attracted the buying public.
Auto pioneers experimented with different power sources—gasoline,
batteries and steam. Gradually, stronger transmissions, the electric
starter and other innovations resulted in a durable, reliable machine that
was easy to drive. As engines became more powerful, auto bodies were
built to accommodate more passengers.
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