Dorris Motor Car Company

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Advertisement for Dorris Motor Car Co. 1921

The Dorris Motor Car Company was an American automaker .

history

In 1897, at the age of 23, George Preston Dorris built his first experimental vehicle powered by petrol in his parents' bicycle shop in his hometown of Nashville , Tennessee . Two years later, he moved to St. Louis , Missouri and began making small, simple automobiles. These vehicles were equipped with one- and two-cylinder engines and initially carried the St. Louis brand name .

In August 1905, the Dorris Motor Car Company was founded with the financial support of the businessman H. Benjamin Krenning . The capital base was initially 55,000  dollars and was later increased to 1 million US dollars. Krenning became President, Dorris Vice President, and Webster Colburn Secretary. The first vehicle of the newly founded company was a touring car with a four-cylinder engine , had a wheelbase of 2600 mm and was presented at the New York Automobile Show .

Advert for Dorris Automobile 1909

In 1911 the production of trucks started. These initially received branded transmissions and engines with OHV valve control . Timken Company axles have been used since 1920 . In 1916 a vehicle with a six-cylinder engine was introduced.

Production numbers

From 1910 to 1920, only 180 to 284 vehicles were built annually. The low demand was also contributed by the relatively high selling price: The hand-made vehicles were not sold at $ 2,000, while in Production Line produced Ford was available for less than $ 400. 1921 was the most successful year with a production of around 1,000 trucks and passenger cars. In 1922, however, production fell back to below 400.

15 vehicles should still exist.

End of production

The low revenue caused by the low vehicle production led to annual financial losses. The main shareholder and president of the company HB Krenning therefore decided in 1923 to withdraw his financial commitment. At the end of 1923 the company was liquidated . In the following year there was a revival of commercial vehicle production; Production continued in small numbers until 1926. This year the vehicle production finally ended.

Web links

Commons : Dorris Motor Car Company  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dorris - St. Louis Missouri (1906-1926) ( Memento of April 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b Automobile Quarterly Volume 37, Issue 2.
  3. ↑ Built to last (accessed March 30, 2014)