… Characters and Stories
Not much to look at, is it? Not to us today, nor to the people of 1886. But you might say this is where Billy Durant started the journey to create the largest industrial company of the early 20th century. Comeback! tells the story of how he stumbled upon it and how he ended up … Continue
Most writing experts tell you rewriting and editing is a huge part of writing. I’m finding that out. Along the way, pain. Several stories I like are ending up on the cutting room floor. Here is one. In Boston to create a new Buick regional sales office, Billy heard a man with a thick French … Continue
Every story has good guys and bad guys. It’s obvious Billy Durant is the hero, so who were the villains standing in his way? Apart from the entire Wall Street establishment who resented the amiable upstart from Michigan who kept showing them up, two individuals stand out. One was a close friend who betrayed him … Continue
Billy Durant soared like an eagle with the ego of a sparrow. To appreciate that, just look at the iconic buildings which dominated New York’s skyline for many decades: the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Few people know both were built with Billy Durant money. Let’s take a quick look at the man behind the … Continue
Last time we learned a little about John Raskob and the fortune he made with Billy Durant. The other player in this little drama is much better known. Walter Chrysler Billy never felt compelled to blow his own trumpet and, like John Raskob, was not overly concerned about his public persona. Such humility was never … Continue
Earlier we learned a little about John Raskob and the fortune he made with Billy Durant and last time we learned about another GM alumnus, Walter Chrysler. Raskob and Chrysler knew each other, because both were part of General Motors’ top leadership after Billy completed his comeback. But, like most successful people, they had more than a … Continue
Well, almost. Last week we bundled the little dog in the car and took off on a road trip to Detroit and Flint. Wanted to rub shoulders with Billy Durant; I heard there was a life sized statue of him, on the ground and not on a pedestal. We tracked him down, him and Dallas … Continue
That’s the most asked question by beta readers critiquing the manuscript. Why? Because Clara Durant hardly ever gets mentioned. Well, so what about her? And why is she hardly ever mentioned? Billy Durant’s main passion in life was not women (there’s no record of even a hint of any affairs). Nor was it family. Other … Continue
Did that headline make you frown? International Motors? Who was that? And what does it matter? More than you think. It started with great ambition. International Motors was the name J. P. Morgan chose for the automobile industry’s first merger. Morgan loved ‘International’ in its names. International Harvester was their creation, as was the International Mercantile … Continue
EMF? What was that? Who was that? A TV network? Some old-timers may recall many forgotten makes like Packard, Hudson, Duesenberg, Nash, even Hupmobile and Locomobile. But chances are nobody recalls EMF. That’s kind of strange, because it was larger in its time than any of those. Why is EMF so unknown, then? The birth … Continue