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Their brawn and their skill serve democracy in the forge plant of an automobile factory now working full capacity on production of shells for the Army. Oldsmobile, Lansing, Michigan

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Their brawn and their skill serve democracy in the forge plant of an automobile factory now working full capacity on production of shells for the Army. Oldsmobile, Lansing, Michigan

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Summary

Public domain photograph of 1930s-1940s US industrial development, Second World War, US war production, indusry, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Co. in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In 1901, the company produced 425 cars, making it the first high-volume gasoline-powered automobile manufacturer. (Electric car manufacturers such as Columbia Electric and steam powered car manufacturers such as Locomobile had higher volumes a few years earlier). Oldsmobile became the top selling car company in the United States for a few years around 1903-4. Ransom Olds left the company in 1904 because of a dispute and formed the REO Motor Car Company. The last Curved Dash Oldsmobile was made in 1907. General Motors purchased the company in 1908. The 1901 to 1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash was the first mass-produced car,[1] made from the first automotive assembly line, an invention that is often miscredited to Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. (Ford was the first to manufacture cars on a moving assembly line.) After Olds merged Olds Motor Vehicle Co. with the Olds Gas Engine Works in 1899, it was renamed Olds Motor Works and moved to a new plant in Detroit. By March 1901, the company had a whole line of models ready for mass production. However, a mistake by a worker caused the factory to catch fire, and it burned to the ground, with all of the prototypes destroyed. The only car that survived the fire was a Curved Dash prototype, which was wheeled out of the factory by two workers while escaping the fire. A new factory was built, and production of the Curved Dash commenced.

date_range

Date

01/01/1942
person

Contributors

Palmer, Alfred T., photographer
United States. Office for Emergency Management.
place

Location

ingham county
create

Source

Library of Congress
copyright

Copyright info

Public Domain

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