How Detroit Became the "Automotive Capitol of the World": The Story Behind the Founding of the U.S. Auto Industry

By Robert Tata

The author, a licensed Professional Engineer, has family roots in the Detroit area and has also been employed in an engineering capacity by all Big Three automakers; GM, Ford, & Chrysler. He has often wondered how the auto industry got its beginning in such a place as Detroit, Michigan, way off the beaten path, in an isolated glove-shaped piece of land thrust up between two lakes, where weather can be severe. Ohio and Indiana, who were also very active in the creation of the auto industry, are in the same general area of the country as Michigan and share the same climate. Why would anyone favor this three state area? One would think that other parts of the country would be more conducive to the formation of such an important part of the history of this nation. After all, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana were not members of the original 13 states and therefore have to be considered less developed territories than the original thirteen states around the turn of the 19th century when the American Gasoline-powered automobile was invented. Read how the author has searched for the answers to these somewhat perplexing questions on why Detroit became the Motor City.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481770736

Robert Tata

The author has a BSME from Case-Western University, Cleveland, Ohio. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio. He has had 40 years of Mechanical Engineering experience, 26 of which were with the General Motors Corporation. While there, he obtained U.S. Patent number 4,645,432, “Magnetic Drive Vehicle Coolant Pump”. He went on to become a leader in anti-friction bearing applications in both the automotive and industrial fields. Valuable experience was also gained in gears and mechanical power transmission. Prior to that he was employed by TRW, Cleveland, Ohio, where he was responsible for bearings, gears and mechanical power transmission in the aircraft and missile fields under the tutelage of Mr. Thomas Barish, a leading mechanical power transmission consultant. Also, Mr. Tata has authored 27 technical papers that are available on the internet and other sources for professional development hours. He is also the author of the book “The Development of U.S. Missiles During the Space Race with the U.S.S.R.”. It is based on his experience, early in his career, working as a Flight Test Engineer at Cape Canaveral, Florida during the Cold War with the U.S.S.R.. More recently, Mr. Tata has ventured outside the technical field in authoring his second book, “The Greatest American Presidents”. Following that is his third work, a part technical, part historical book titled “How Detroit became the ‘Automotive Capital of the World’ ”. The fourth book is a workbook sized publication titled “Mechanical Engineering Primer” complete with a multiple choice quiz for classroom use or any other party so inclined.

Book preview

HOW DETROIT BECAME THE AUTOMOTIVE CAPITOL OF THE WORLD

The story behind the founding of the U.S. auto industry

Robert Tata

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© 2013 Robert Tata. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 7/8/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7072-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-7073-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911487

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Overview

The Search Starts With a Process

The Material

The Cart

The Pioneers

The Companies

Summary

About the Author

Images by my daughter Judy and her husband Eric

OVERVIEW

T he author, a licensed Professional Engineer, has family roots in the Detroit area and has also been employed in an engineering capacity by all Big Three automakers; GM, Ford, & Chrysler. He remembers one cold and snowy wintry day, while walking on his way to a Detroit automotive plant, the thoughts that prevailed in his mind; How could the auto industry prosper in such a place, way off the beaten path, in an isolated glove-shape piece of land thrust up between two lakes, and in weather like this? Ohio and Indiana, who were also active in the creation of the auto industry in the U.S., are in the same general area of the country as Michigan and share the same climate. Why would anyone in the industry favor this three state area? One would think that other parts of the country would be more conducive to the formation of such an important part of the history of this nation. After all, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana were not members of the original 13 states and therefore have to be considered less developed territories than the original thirteen states around the turn of the 19 th century when the American gasoline powered automobile was invented. Read how the author has searched for the answers to these somewhat perplexing questions regarding why Detroit became The Motor City.

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THE SEARCH STARTS WITH A PROCESS

T he beginning of our story starts even further off the beaten path than Detroit – it starts in England.

The man responsible for, what the author believes, is one of the major engineering achievements in the last two hundred years was born in Charlton, Hertfordshire, England in 1813. This man’s father, Anthony, himself an engineer and inventor, was born in London but moved to Paris when he was 21 years old. There his advances in die making and improvements to the optical microscope earned him membership in the French Academy of Science when he was only 26 years old. Because of social unrest created by the French Revolution, he returned to England where he again was successful in inventing dies and a process for making gold chains. He earned enough money to buy an estate in the village of Charlton where our man Henry was born.

Henry, like his father, was an engineer and inventor. He left school early to work for his father at a type-setting foundry. He moved to London with his family when he was 17 years old where he began his career as an inventor and metallurgist. His first invention was a type setting machine which he patented. He made a fortune by using steam-powered machines to make bronze powder from which he formulated gold paint. He reduced the price of bronze powder by a fraction of what prevailed at the time from that produced in Nuremberg, Germany. In a national competition, he patented a steam driven machine to cut sugar cane into small pieces from which juice was extracted.

Henry’s early inventions gave him the funds he needed to pursue other interests such as metals. He proved to the British War Department that rifling or machining spiral grooves inside the barrel of a cannon would spin the projectile making it travel in a more accurate path. Henry then patented a method of making plate glass. During this time, he gained valuable experience in the use of high temperature furnaces to produce plate glass in a continuous process. It was this experience with furnaces that gained him fame in developing an economical means of transforming large quantities of a common occurring mineral found in the earth’s crust into a valuable engineering material. That mineral