Durant Motors

Durant Motors, Inc.
IndustryAutomobile
Founded1921
FounderWilliam C. Durant
Defunct1931
FateDissolved
HeadquartersLansing, Michigan, United States
ProductsVehicles
DivisionsDurant
Flint
Eagle[1]
Star/Rugby
Mason Truck
SubsidiariesLocomobile Company of America

Durant Motors is a defunct American multinational automobile manufacturer, previously headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was incorporated on January 12, 1921 by William C. Durant, who was the former founder and CEO of General Motors.

The company introduced three automobiles originally, Star, Durant and Flint, but also acquired Locomobile shortly after the initial founding. In addition, Durant Motors added Mason Truck and created a rebadged version of the Star for international markets, called the Rugby. Five production locations were established: Lansing, Michigan; Flint, Michigan; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Oakland, California; and Leaside, Ontario, Canada.

While the company initially amassed good success, slowing sales and poor stock positions[2] up to and subsequently following the 1929 stock market crash caused the company to cease all production in August, 1931. The company went into liquidation in 1933.[3]

History

Initial founding and Durant brand

William Durant founded Durant Motors on January 12, 1921,[4] which came four months after his resignation from General Motors. After his leave from General Motors, he was able to quickly raise over $5 Million from New York banking friends and colleagues[5] to provide enough capital and planning to start the corporation.[2]

A prototype vehicle was announced in March 1921, designed around a 4-cylinder engine.[6]: 290  Durant had brought in Alfred Sturt and Fred Hohnesee to design and develop this prototype. Both men originally worked with Durant in the early days of Chevrolet.[7][8] The prototype car was displayed in New York City on August 4, 1921 and within days over 30,000 cars were pre-ordered, generating $31 million.[3]: 228 

Known as the Model A-22, it scheduled to be produced in the former Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company factory in Long Island City, New York.[9] Shortly after, Durant also purchased the Sheridan plant in Muncie, Indiana from General Motors and did not continue to produce cars under the Sheridan badge. The plant was used to start to manufacture 6-cylinder engine cars.[6]: 290 

Star Motor Company

The Star brand was announced in February, 1922. With a starting price of $348, the vehicle offered a 4-cylinder motor and 3-speed transmission, and was directly aimed at competing with the Ford Model T. This new vehicle garnered much acclaim due to modern features such as demountable rims and an electric starter.[6]: 294  At a recievership auction in June, Durant had purchased the former Willys-Overland plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. During the transaction, Durant outbid Walter Chrysler.[6]: 294  This was to be the new production plant for the Star.

Flint Motor Car Company

Within the purchase of the former Willys-Overland plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a large developmental 6-cylinder prototype vehicle. In July of 1922, Durant announced the formation of the Flint Motor Car Company, and used the 6-cylinder vehicle as the prototype, called the "Flint Six".[10]: 223  Production of the vehicle started in a factory, located on a 100-acre property south of downtown Flint, Michigan (a longtime favorite city of Durant's).[3]: 231  This vehicle was marketed as a competitor to Buick.[10]: 223  Production of the Flint Six Model E-55 began June 1923.

Locomobile Company of America

In July 1922, Durant acquired the established luxury-car brand Locomobile.[11] The company was struggling financially and underwent liquidation sale to Durant, who restructured the offerings to reduce the vehicle costs and incerase production volume.[3]: 231  This aquisition put Durant Motors under a similar organization to General Motors, with Locomobile being at the high price point in order to compete with Cadillac and Pierce-Arrow.

Additional brands

Durant co-founded a truck-making subsidiary, Mason Truck, and also acquired numerous ancillary companies to support Durant Motors.

Durant Motors had a relationship with the Dort, Frontenac, and DeVaux automobile name badges. The Rugby line was the export name for Durant's Star car line. However, from 1928 to 1931, Durant marketed trucks in the US and Canadian markets under the badge Rugby Trucks. The Princeton, a model aimed at the Packard and Cadillac price points, was planned but never realized; also planned was the Eagle car line, but it never made it off the drafting tables.

Late 1920s to ending operations

Initially, Durant Motors enjoyed success based upon Billy Durant's track record at General Motors, where he assembled independent makes Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. However, when sales failed to meet volumes sufficient to sustain Durant Motors holdings, the firm's financial footing began to slip. As a result, Durant Motors began losing market share and dealers.

In 1927, the Durant line was shut down to retool for a brand-new, modernized car for 1928, re-emerging in 1928 with Durant, Locomobile, and Rugby lines in place, and dropping the Mason Truck and Flint automobile lines and the top-selling Star car in April 1928.

In 1929, Locomobile went out of production.

The final Durant-branded models rolled off the US assembly line in August 1931 at Lansing, but continued in Canada into 1932 under Dominion Motors, which also built the Frontenac.[12]

Billy Durant died nearly broke at age 85 in 1947 (the same year as Henry Ford, aged 83).[4]

Manufacturing plants

Over the course of production, 5 manufacturing plants were established for the Durant Motors organization: Lansing, Michigan; Flint, Michigan; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Oakland, California; and Leaside, Ontario, Canada.

Subsequent plant history

The Lansing, Michigan, Durant plant on Verlinden Avenue opened in 1920. After the demise of Durant, it remained closed until GM purchased it in 1935. It restarted production for GM's Fisher Body Division, later becoming the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac factory. It was finally combined with another Lansing plant to become Lansing Car Assembly. That factory was closed on May 6, 2005.

Durant's Flint, Michigan, factory was bought by the Fisher Body Division of General Motors, and built mostly Buick bodies until its 1987 closure.[5][13]

Durant's Oakland, California, plant, located at the northeast corner of East 14th Street (now International Blvd.) and Durant Avenue (also the boundary between Oakland and San Leandro), later became a General Motors parts warehouse. Part of the plant survives as loft apartments and the Durant Square shopping center.[14]

The company's Canadian Leaside, Ontario, plant later became a factory for the Canadian Wire and Cable Company. While a large portion of the factory was demolished for a shopping centre, the main headquarters building constructed in 1928 remains and was designated a heritage property by the City of Toronto in 2020.[15][16]

Durant's former plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, housed one of the first supermarkets in the 1930s, and then was used as a cookie bakery by Burry Biscuits for many years. It was in use as a warehouse when it was destroyed by fire in December 2011.[17]

Enthusiast organization

The Durant Motors Automobile Club was founded in 1998 as a non-profit organization dedicated to educate the public and preserve the legacy of Durant Motors and its various brands. The club hosts meets and driving tours, as well as offering a place for technical information to be shared for members who preserve and restore Durant vehicles.[18] The club also maintains a registry of the remaining existing vehicles, which traces its original creation back to 1975.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Georgano, G. N. (1982). The New Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885 to the Present. Dutton Adult.
  2. ^ a b "WILLIAM C.DURANT, AUTO PIONEER, DIES". The New York Times. March 19, 1947. p. 25.
  3. ^ a b c d Gustin, Lawrence R. (1973). Billy Durant, Creator of General Motors. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
  4. ^ a b Niemeyer, Glenn A. & Flink, James J. (August 1, 1973). "The General Of General Motors". American Heritage. Retrieved April 29, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b Levin, Doron P. (December 9, 1988). "FLINT JOURNAL; Tribute to a 1908 Durant in the Auto's Future". The New York Times. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d Weisberger, Bernard (1979). Dream Maker: William C. Durant, Founder of General Motors. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316928748.
  7. ^ "HOHENSEE, 82, EARLY AUTO MAKER; Worked with 'Durant on First Chevrolet.--Ex-Official of General Motors Is Dead". The New York Times. July 26, 1952. p. 13.
  8. ^ Wellington County History. Vol. 22. CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF WELLINGTON. 2009. p. 67. ISSN 1186-6195.
  9. ^ "W. C. DURANT BUYS $2,000,000 TIREPLANT; Goodyear Company's Factory in Long Island City to Be Used by Durant Co. 25,000 CARS EVERY YEAR To Be the First of a Chain of Assembling Points Throughout Country". The New York Times. March 27, 1921. p. 7.
  10. ^ a b Madsen, Axel (1999). The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant Made General Motors. Wiley. ISBN 9780471395232.
  11. ^ "Locomobile and Durant Feature Active Trading; Industrials Unsettled". Detroit Free Press. July 25, 1922. p. 16.
  12. ^ Bradburn, Jamie (April 30, 2007). "Vintage Toronto Ads: Sound Policies and Quality Products from Leaside". Torontoist. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "GM's Famed, Old Fisher Body Plant Is Slowly Fading Into Auto History". Los Angeles Times. June 9, 1987. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "Durant Motors - Oakland". Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  15. ^ BY-LAW 332-2020 (PDF) (By-law). City of Toronto. April 30, 2020. Toronto, Ontario. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  16. ^ "HERITAGE PROPERTY RESEARCH AND EVALUATION REPORT" (PDF). Heritage Preservation Services, City Planning Division, City of Toronto.
  17. ^ Nutt, Amy Ellis (December 25, 2011). "Elizabeth fire claims a storied building". NJ.com. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  18. ^ "Durant Motors Automobile Club – Just a real good car". Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  19. ^ Donnelly, Jim (2018-09-23). "Billy Durant's World | The Online Automotive Marketplace | Hemmings, The World's Largest Collector Car Marketplace". The Online Automotive Marketplace. Retrieved 2025-12-17.

Further reading

  • Tad Burness, 1920–1939 Car Spotters Guide, Motorbooks International
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