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Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William Crapo Durant (also known as Billy Durant) following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers which financed GM.

nt Motors attempted to be a full-line automobile producer of cars and fielded the Flint
Flint (automobile)

The Flint was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Flint Motors Division, Flint, Michigan between 1923 and 1927. Flint Motors was a wholly owned subsidiary of Durant Motors Company ....
, Durant
Durant (automobile)

The Durant was a make of automobile assembled by Durant Motors Corporation of New York, New York from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1928 to 1932. Durant Motors was founded by William Crapo Durant after he was terminated as the head of General Motors Corporation....
, and Star
Star (automobile)

The Star was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Durant Motors Company between 1922 and 1928. Also known as the Star Car, Star was envisioned as a competitor against the Ford Model T....
 brands which were designed to meet Buick
Buick

Buick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Corporation. Since the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, it is GM's only North America-based entry-level luxury brand....
, Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand name of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory....
, Oakland
Oakland automobile

The Oakland was a brand of automobile manufactured between 1907–1909 by the Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan and between 1909 and 1931 by the Oakland Motors Division of General Motors Corporation....
 and Chevrolet
Chevrolet

Chevrolet is a brand of automobile, produced by General Motors . It is the top selling GM marque, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous with GM....
 price points.






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Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors CEO William Crapo Durant (also known as Billy Durant) following his termination by the GM board of directors and the New York bankers which financed GM.

Corporate relationships

Durant Motors attempted to be a full-line automobile producer of cars and fielded the Flint
Flint (automobile)

The Flint was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Flint Motors Division, Flint, Michigan between 1923 and 1927. Flint Motors was a wholly owned subsidiary of Durant Motors Company ....
, Durant
Durant (automobile)

The Durant was a make of automobile assembled by Durant Motors Corporation of New York, New York from 1921 to 1926 and again from 1928 to 1932. Durant Motors was founded by William Crapo Durant after he was terminated as the head of General Motors Corporation....
, and Star
Star (automobile)

The Star was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Durant Motors Company between 1922 and 1928. Also known as the Star Car, Star was envisioned as a competitor against the Ford Model T....
 brands which were designed to meet Buick
Buick

Buick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Corporation. Since the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, it is GM's only North America-based entry-level luxury brand....
, Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile

Oldsmobile was a brand name of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory....
, Oakland
Oakland automobile

The Oakland was a brand of automobile manufactured between 1907–1909 by the Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan and between 1909 and 1931 by the Oakland Motors Division of General Motors Corporation....
 and Chevrolet
Chevrolet

Chevrolet is a brand of automobile, produced by General Motors . It is the top selling GM marque, with "Chevrolet" or "Chevy" being at times synonymous with GM....
 price points. Billy Durant also acquired luxury car maker Locomobile
Locomobile

Locomobile was a company that produced automobiles in the United States from 1899 to 1929....
 of Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in and the former county seat of Fairfield County, Connecticut, the city had an estimated population of 137,912 in 2006 and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area....
 at its liquidation sale in 1922; in theory Locomobile gave him a product that would compete against Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited

Rolls-Royce Limited was a United Kingdom automobile and, from 1914, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls on 15 March 1906 and was the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
 and Pierce-Arrow
Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow was an United States automobile manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active between 1901 and 1938. Best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial motor truck, Fire apparatus, camp trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles....
. Durant Motors had a relationship with the Dort
Dort (automobile)

The Dort was an automobile built by the Dort Motor Car Company of Flint, Michigan from 1915 - 1924. Dort used Lycoming engine built engines to power their vehicles....
, Frontenac
Frontenac (automobile)

Two separate automobile manufacturers have produced cars under the Frontenac name brand....
 and DeVaux
De Vaux

The De Vaux was an automobile produced by the De Vaux Motors Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan and Oakland, California . Heavily based on the 1930 Durant , the vehicle was produced for the 1931 model year only....
 automobile name badges. The Rugby line was the export name for Durant's Star Car line. The Princeton, a model aimed at the Packard
Packard

Packard was an United States luxury automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana....
 and Cadillac
Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
 price point was planned, but never realized; also planned was the Eagle car line but it never made it off the drafting tables.

Production

Durant co-founded a truck-making subsidiary, Mason Truck
Mason Truck

Mason Truck, founded by A.C. Mason in cooperation with William C. Durant, was a United States truck manufacturer based in Flint, Michigan. As a subsidiary of Durant Motors, Mason Truck built Road King Speed Trucks in the early 1920s....
, and also acquired numerous ancillary companies to support Durant Motors. In 1927 the Durant line was shut down to retool for a brand new modernised 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 top-selling Star car in April 1928. In 1929 Locomobile went out of production.

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. The final models, produced under the Durant brand, rolled off the assembly line in 1931 but continued in Canada as Durant Frontenac.

Subsequent history

The Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the List of U.S. state capitals of the U.S. state of Michigan, and the state's sixth largest city. It is located about 80 miles west-northwest of Detroit, Michigan and is mostly in Ingham County, Michigan, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County, 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
Fisher Body

Fisher Body is an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan which is now an operating division of General Motors....
 division, later becoming the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac factory. It was finally combined with another Lansing plant to become Lansing Car Assembly
Lansing Car Assembly

Lansing Car Assembly was a General Motors Corporation automobile factory in Lansing, Michigan. It contained two elements, a 1901 automobile plant in downtown Lansing, and the 1920 Durant Motors factory on Lansing's Far Westside....
. That factory was closed on May 6, 2005.

Billy Durant died nearly broke at age 85 in 1947, the same year as Henry Ford, age 83.

Production model specifications

  • Durant Touring Car
    Durant Touring Car

    The Durant Touring Car was manufactured by Durant Motors...


See also

  • Star (automobile)
    Star (automobile)

    The Star was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Durant Motors Company between 1922 and 1928. Also known as the Star Car, Star was envisioned as a competitor against the Ford Model T....
  • Flint (automobile)
    Flint (automobile)

    The Flint was an automobile marque that was assembled by the Flint Motors Division, Flint, Michigan between 1923 and 1927. Flint Motors was a wholly owned subsidiary of Durant Motors Company ....
  • List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers


Sources

Tad Burness, 1920 - 1939 Car Spotters Guide, Motorbooks International

External links