12-06-2015, 01:07 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-06-2015, 11:55 AM by mungojerry311.)
Starting Out 1900 - 1902
At the beginning of 1900, Great Lakes Motor Company was anything but a big company. At their first meeting in January, the board of directors found they had a meager budget, starting out with only 750,000 dollars worth of spending money. Their factory had room for only 5 production lines, and they had only one distribution center near the factory. Plus, only one dealership had signed on to sell their automobiles Still, they weren't about to let this company go down the tubes as the Brewer Motor Company had. Since they were undecided as to what vehicle to produce first, they decided on developing their own components to put in their automobiles while they decided.
The company hired a few mechanical engineers, some of which had worked at the previous company, to develop a chassis, an engine, and a gearbox. The engineering team decided on a simple naming system for the three components. All chassis's would be represented by the letter C, engines with E, and gearboxes with G. The engineers immediately began work on C-1, E-1, and G-1. These weren't the best as they had to cut back on many things to cut costs [1]. These components were all completed by the late spring of 1900.
![[Image: C-1specs_zpszkfefssd.png]](http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/skyballer455/Great%20Lakes%20Motors%20AAR/C-1specs_zpszkfefssd.png)
![[Image: E-1specs_zps102mjibg.png]](http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/skyballer455/Great%20Lakes%20Motors%20AAR/E-1specs_zps102mjibg.png)
![[Image: G-1specs_zpsao90wvtl.png]](http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/skyballer455/Great%20Lakes%20Motors%20AAR/G-1specs_zpsao90wvtl.png)
Meanwhile, the board of directors finally decided on a vehicle to put out on the market. Since most people who were buying cars at that time were wealthy, they decided to make a luxury sedan [2]. Since there wasn't much communication between the board and the engineering team, the board was unaware of the shortcomings the starting components had.
One of the directors, who was a skilled draftsman, submitted a design for it. The board of directors unanimously approved it. It was decided that the model would be named the Regent. Company engineers began work on it in June of 1900. As with the components, they had to make many necessary cutbacks [1]. It was ready to begin production by the spring of 1901.
![[Image: Regent01011903_zpsn7ifo3re.png]](http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/skyballer455/Great%20Lakes%20Motors%20AAR/Regent01011903_zpsn7ifo3re.png)
At the factory, 3 production lines were assigned to manufacture the Regent, with the other two left empty for future use. An emphasis was put on quantity, but with a focus on quality. It was reported that with those parameters, they would be able to make 70 Regents per month. A retail price of $1600 (about $45,000 in today's money) was set on it. With that, the Regent officially went into production.
According to company records, in it's first month of production, the Regent sold 38 units. The following month it sold 47 units. Sales dropped off slightly in late spring. By that time 82 Regents were sitting at the distribution center unsold. In response to this, production was reduced to two lines. At that rate they would make 46 cars per month.
By late summer, they had begun to sell most of the Regents that came off the assembly line. In the meantime, the board decided to develop a more affordable automobile. A phaeton was the obvious choice. They would use the same components they had used in the Regent. This resulted in their next model; the Cub:
![[Image: Cub01011903_zpsxejgtbgg.png]](http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp22/skyballer455/Great%20Lakes%20Motors%20AAR/Cub01011903_zpsxejgtbgg.png)
This model entered production in April of 1902.
Meanwhile, the Regent won Vehicle of the Year in North America in 1901. In that year the Regent sold 305 units with 178 unsold units.
The Cub was produced on 3 lines with an emphasis on quantity, resulting in a production rate of 75 Cubs per month. The Cub sold for half the price of the Regent at $800 (about $21,500 in today's money). In it's first month on the market, every Cub that came off the assembly line sold, with no units going unsold. It immediately became apparent that the Cub was the Great Lakes Motor Company's biggest success so far. In September, one of the production lines that was being used to manufacture the Regent was reassigned to the Cub. By this time, the amount of unsold Regents had grown to 298.
The Cub won the industry award for best phaeton for 1902. Although the company had only two models on the market, one a flop and the other a goldmine, it was already apparent: Great Lakes Motors had arrived on the scene.
[1] Thanks Shepherd!
[2] Thanks WolveNZ!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, that's enough for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this exciting first chapter in the saga of Great Lakes Motors. As always, if you have any advice to give me, please do so.
Thanks for reading!
At the beginning of 1900, Great Lakes Motor Company was anything but a big company. At their first meeting in January, the board of directors found they had a meager budget, starting out with only 750,000 dollars worth of spending money. Their factory had room for only 5 production lines, and they had only one distribution center near the factory. Plus, only one dealership had signed on to sell their automobiles Still, they weren't about to let this company go down the tubes as the Brewer Motor Company had. Since they were undecided as to what vehicle to produce first, they decided on developing their own components to put in their automobiles while they decided.
The company hired a few mechanical engineers, some of which had worked at the previous company, to develop a chassis, an engine, and a gearbox. The engineering team decided on a simple naming system for the three components. All chassis's would be represented by the letter C, engines with E, and gearboxes with G. The engineers immediately began work on C-1, E-1, and G-1. These weren't the best as they had to cut back on many things to cut costs [1]. These components were all completed by the late spring of 1900.
Specs of the C-1, E-1, and G-1
Meanwhile, the board of directors finally decided on a vehicle to put out on the market. Since most people who were buying cars at that time were wealthy, they decided to make a luxury sedan [2]. Since there wasn't much communication between the board and the engineering team, the board was unaware of the shortcomings the starting components had.
One of the directors, who was a skilled draftsman, submitted a design for it. The board of directors unanimously approved it. It was decided that the model would be named the Regent. Company engineers began work on it in June of 1900. As with the components, they had to make many necessary cutbacks [1]. It was ready to begin production by the spring of 1901.
Regent with specs and sales history as of January 1, 1903
At the factory, 3 production lines were assigned to manufacture the Regent, with the other two left empty for future use. An emphasis was put on quantity, but with a focus on quality. It was reported that with those parameters, they would be able to make 70 Regents per month. A retail price of $1600 (about $45,000 in today's money) was set on it. With that, the Regent officially went into production.
According to company records, in it's first month of production, the Regent sold 38 units. The following month it sold 47 units. Sales dropped off slightly in late spring. By that time 82 Regents were sitting at the distribution center unsold. In response to this, production was reduced to two lines. At that rate they would make 46 cars per month.
By late summer, they had begun to sell most of the Regents that came off the assembly line. In the meantime, the board decided to develop a more affordable automobile. A phaeton was the obvious choice. They would use the same components they had used in the Regent. This resulted in their next model; the Cub:
Cub with specs and sales history as of January 1, 1903
This model entered production in April of 1902.
Meanwhile, the Regent won Vehicle of the Year in North America in 1901. In that year the Regent sold 305 units with 178 unsold units.
The Cub was produced on 3 lines with an emphasis on quantity, resulting in a production rate of 75 Cubs per month. The Cub sold for half the price of the Regent at $800 (about $21,500 in today's money). In it's first month on the market, every Cub that came off the assembly line sold, with no units going unsold. It immediately became apparent that the Cub was the Great Lakes Motor Company's biggest success so far. In September, one of the production lines that was being used to manufacture the Regent was reassigned to the Cub. By this time, the amount of unsold Regents had grown to 298.
The Cub won the industry award for best phaeton for 1902. Although the company had only two models on the market, one a flop and the other a goldmine, it was already apparent: Great Lakes Motors had arrived on the scene.
[1] Thanks Shepherd!
[2] Thanks WolveNZ!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alright, that's enough for tonight. I hope you enjoyed this exciting first chapter in the saga of Great Lakes Motors. As always, if you have any advice to give me, please do so.
Thanks for reading!