Flanders Automobile Company

The Flanders Automobile Company was a short-lived American automobile manufacturer that operated in Detroit, Michigan, from 1910 to 1913. Its cars were only sold with Studebaker dealerships.

The company was the brainchild of Walter E. Flanders (1871-1923), who held the position of General Factory Manager at Ford Motor Company's Piquette Avenue plant. There he co-invented the ingenious manufacturing methods that made the Ford Model T so famous.

In 1908, Flanders left the Ford Motor Company and founded, along with Bernard F. Everitt and William Metzger, the E-M-F Automobile Company in Detroit. This car, based on Flanders' experience with the Ford Model T, was the first mass-produced Flanders car. Initially it offered two models: the "30" model and the "20" model. The "30", although prone to many failures, became a huge success, but failed to outsell the Ford Model T. Although it came in second in its best year, it was surpassed by the Model T by a wide margin.

In this situation, Flanders convinced the Studebaker brothers, who had significant shares in E-M-F and were its sole distributor in the US, to buy the defunct DeLux Motor Company factory in Detroit and build a new Ford rival there. So, E-M-F abandoned the "20", concentrating on its "30" model. The new Flanders, appropriately named model "20", was inspired by this smaller E-M-F.

Flanders Model "20"

This small car had a 4-cylinder engine with 20 hp (15 kW), a wheelbase of 100 inches (2,500 mm) and in 1909 was priced at $750, then cheaper than Ford's "T". But, as Ford was able to reduce its price regularly, the Flanders became more expensive than the Model T. In its best year, 1911, E-M-F and Flanders jointly ranked second in the industry.

In its first year, only two body styles were offered: a 2-passenger runabout priced at $750 and a 4-passenger tourer for $790. More body styles became available in 1911. Prices were now lower, as at Ford: the model "20" runabout now cost $700, and the "suburban" that replaced the touring was set at $725. This was also the The price of a new three-passenger roadster and the first closed car in the range, a three-passenger coupe, cost $925. In its final year, the “20” model added a passenger car. Like the Suburban, it cost $800. The cheapest Flanders was the roadster for $750, followed by the runabout for $775. The Coupe was also a little more expensive: $1,000. The wheelbase was increased to 102 inches (2,600 mm) in 1912.

Flanders cars were also manufactured in Canada by E-M-F Company of Canada LTD in Walkerville, Ontario.

In 1912, however, Studebaker took the next logical step and took over E-M-F and Flanders entirely, selling the cars now as Studebakers. In its three years of existence, a total of 31,514 Flanders cars were manufactured.

Flanders Model "50-Six"

E-M-F's previous partners, Bernard F. Everitt and William Metzger, had also developed a new car. When they abandoned E-M-F in 1909, they built a car very similar to the Everitt "30" model and added, with the "Six-48" model, a much larger car with a starting device powered by pressurized air. There were two body styles, a 3-passenger roadster for $2,200 and a 7-passenger touring car for $2,250.

When Flanders was reunited with his former colleagues, a reorganization took place during which the company's name changed from Metzger Company to Everitt Motor Company and, in late 1912, it finally became Flanders Motor Company.

Under the Flanders label only the big 6-cylinder car appeared. This "50-Six" model was generally the Everitt Six-48 with the addition of electric lighting and starting.

Only a handful of these 130 wheelbase cars could have been built, as shortly after their introduction, Walter Flanders was asked by Benjamin Briscoe to help save the United States Motors Company, which was in deep trouble. . Flanders agreed. In the end, of the 12 or so brands involved, including its own Flanders, it closed all but one: Maxwell, ancestor of the later Chrysler Corporation.

• Flanders Automobile Company
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders_Automobile_Company