… Characters and Stories
Henry Leland, like Billy Durant, is one of the most prominent automobile pioneers whose name is virtually unknown. Unlike Henry Ford or Ransom Olds, Leland was never enamored with automobiles. He was a machine tool man, driven by his passion for precision. Early Life As a young man H.M., as he was often called, worked … Continue
The book Comeback! is not about cars, despite what you might think, but about the intrigues surrounding the people making cars. A few cars were game changers, though, none more than the Curved Dash Oldsmobile–it’s what started the automobile industry as we know it today. Most people think the Ford Model T was the first … Continue
Nothing cast a shadow over the early automobile industry like the bicycle fad of the 1890s. Bicycles first became popular with the introduction of the “ordinary” bicycle. That’s the one in the picture to the right with the big front wheel. What? Why did those contraptions become popular? you ask. Speed, my friends. Gears for bicycles … Continue
Alexander Brownell Cullender Hardy probably won’t make the list of most popular boys’ names, would it? His friends simply called him ABC. Hardy ran a small buggy company in Davidson, MI called Wolverine. The Panic of 1893 hurt Wolverine just like it did thousands of businesses across America. The panic (recession) also affected the Flint … Continue
Who knows where Billy Durant might have ended had he not teamed up with Josiah Dallas Dort? The two men were the same age and good friends when Billy returned from that fateful trip to nearby Coldwater, MI finding himself the surprise owner of a manufacturing company. If only he knew the first thing about … Continue
Billy Durant’s middle name should have been Positive–he invariably took the most positive view of any circumstance, especially recessions. In those days they didn’t call them recessions, of course, they called them Panics. (Hmm… considering their unpredictability and the pain and devastation they cause, panic probably is a better name than recession. Perhaps we should … Continue
Bond investing was the norm in Billy’s time, as we saw last time, because investors wanted cash every year. If an investment didn’t pay cash, they had little use for it. There’s another reason investors liked bonds. Bonds are usually issued at $1,000 each. Investors like uniformity, because it makes it easy to compare one bond … Continue
Billy Durant started companies like kids grab candy on Halloween, and Comeback! mentions several. Entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and, yes, Billy Durant, all made their wealth not from their salaries but from their stock. The final act of the Billy Durant comeback centers around stock, so this mini-series of posts might help you … Continue
Billy Durant was regarded as one of the best salesmen ever. However, he was nowhere close to the stereotype image which that description brings to mind. He didn’t talk a lot–he listened… and listened a lot. When he spoke, it was softly, not fast. Whatever he sold never needed a hard sell: Billy Durant only … Continue