With the demise of the Oldsmobile brand from the General Motors lineup several years ago, the current generation may not even realize that Oldsmobile was just one of several successful ventures created by Ransom Eli Olds. In his early years, Ransom E. Olds was granted many patents, which led others in the industry to label him one of America's most important automotive founders.
The 1906 REO Motor Car Company...
The 1906 REO Motor Car Company Model B runabout.
The Beginning
Born in Geneva, Ohio, on June 3, 1864, Ransom-the fourth son of a machinist father- moved to Lansing, Michigan, as a teenager. The family business, P.F. Olds and Son, was a small machine shop located in the heart of a growing industrial community. The firm specialized in manufacturing and repairing steam engines. As the third manager of the new business, Ransom learned a variety of skills necessary to enter a mechanical career. Like many others of this period, he didn't finish high school but managed to attend Lansing Business College.
An early high point for Ransom was his development of a steam engine equipped with a gas burner. Ransom installed his new creation in a small boat, then put another in a horse-drawn carriage. The steam engine worked so well in the car that he installed a companion mill to create a dual-motor machine capable of running at 15 mph.
Ransom became interested in the novel gasoline engine and traveled to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 to see one run. This mill must have sparked his creative genius, as Ransom himself had a patent pending and an internal combustion engine of his own design in production by 1896. In fact, he was granted the first patent in the United States for an automotive carriage
Looking to partner with an existing carriage maker and expand his facilities, Ransom sought out investors. Edward W. Sparrow, a real-estate mogul, stepped in and helped launch the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897. Sparrow became the president of the new company and immediately had problems with Ransom. So in twenty-four months, Ransom left the Olds Motor Vehicle Company and started Olds Motor Works, which merged with his father's machine shop operation.
A retired copper-mine mogul named Samuel L. Smith paid the bills this time and leaned on Ransom to move to Detroit. So Olds Motor Works, with its offices and plant located on the Detroit River, became the first permanent automotive manufacturer located in the Detroit city limits.
Olds Motor Works' first product was a curved dash runabout. Designed by Ransom, the simple machine was an instant hit with the masses. Professional people and women were attracted to this familiar buggy-like platform, and with a retail price of $650.00, 300 units were pre-sold before the company began production in 1901.
A massive fire in March of 1901 destroyed the entire Olds Motor Works factory, forcing Ransom to farm out most of the machine and subassembly work to outside vendors. Suffering from stress and health problems, Ransom also decided to move some of the production facility back to Lansing.