Everything about White Motor Company totally explained
White Motor Company was an
American automobile and
truck manufacturer, in existence from 1902 to 1981. The company also produced
bicycles,
roller skates, automatic
lathes, and
sewing machines. Auto production was handled by founder Thomas White's son, Rollin. At first,
Rollin H. White's steam-powered cars were sold under the
Rollin Motors brand, with another company,
Cleveland Tractor, producing a steam-powered
tractor. The White name eventually became associated with automobiles, lasting in auto-related production through
1981.
Automobile manufacturing
In
1876, Thomas H. White incorporated his business in
Cleveland, Ohio, as the White Sewing Machine Co., later to evolve into
White Consolidated Industries (WCI), now owned by AB
Electrolux. His three sons (
Windsor,
Rollin, and
Walter) eventually became involved in their father's very successful sewing machine manufacturing business and in 1901 they set up operations to build automobiles.
Their first automobile, offered to the public in 1900, was chain-drive, tiller-steered, and run by a two-cylinder, steam-powered engine mounted under the floorboards. The following year, the White family created the White Motor Company as a separate entity from the rest of their business. White automobiles grew in both size and power, and provided chassis for light duty buses and other larger vehicles. The
1904 White was a
touring car model. Equipped with a
tonneau, it could seat 4 passengers and sold for
US$2500. The vertical compound 2-cylinder
steam engine, situated at the front of the car, produced 10 hp (7.5 kW). The steel-framed car weighed 1650 lb (748 kg). Throttle control was equipped, a novelty at the time.
In 1909, White introduced a companion line of cars powered by gasoline internal-combustion engines, giving White the distinction of being the world's only significant maker of both steam and gasoline automobiles. The last White steam cars were built in 1911. Meanwhile, White had become one of the world's leading manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks. The company discontinued its automobile lines in favor of truck production after the 1918 model season, although passenger cars remained available by special order for a time.
Today, only about 150 White
steam cars are known to remain from the 10,000 or so that were made. White produced more steam cars than any other maker, even the more famous
Stanley.
In the 1930s, White produced fleets of small buses specifically designed to carry passengers through the major
National Parks of the western United States. The distinctive vehicles, with roll-up canvas convertible tops, were the product of noted industrial designer
Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, and originally operated in seven National Parks. Some 35 of these buses continue to operate today in
Glacier National Park, and a smaller number have been restored for renewed service in
Yellowstone National Park.
By the teen years, White switched to making gasoline powered trucks. White was successful with their
heavy machines which saw service the world over with the First World War. White remained in the truck
industry for decades.
In
1944, Cleveland Tractor merged with
Oliver Corporation, another producer of farm equipment. This was purchased by the
White Motor Company in
1960, just before Rollin White died in
1962.
Truck manufacturing
White Motor Co. began producing trucks and was a large
semi truck manufacturer following the 1920s. White acquired several truck companies during this time:
Sterling,
Autocar,
Diamond T, and
REO. White produced trucks under the Autocar nameplate following its acquisition. Diamond T and
REO Motor Car Company became the
Diamond REO division, which was discontinued in the 1970s.
White designed and (with other companies) produced the
M3 Scout Car, the standard United States Army reconnaissance vehicle at the start of
World War II, and the basis for the later
M2 and
M3 semi-tracked fighting and tractor vehicles.
In the 1970s, White started the
Western Star division to sell trucks on the west coast.
Demise
In
1953 White purchased the
Autocar Company, a truck manufacturer located in Pennsylvania. From the
1950s until 1975, White Motors distributed
Freightliner trucks under an agreement with Freightliner's parent, Consolidated Freightways Inc. White manufactured, under its own brands—White, Autocar and Western Star—as well, leading to the company becoming known as the "Big Four" through to the mid-1970s.
By 1980, White was insolvent, despite importing Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen, son of
General Motors legend Semon Knudsen, and President of
Ford Motor Company in 1969–70. AB Volvo acquired the U.S. assets of the company, while two, energy-related companies based in
Calgary,
Alberta, Bow Valley Resource Services and Nova, an Alberta Corp., purchased the Canadian assets, including the
Kelowna,
British Columbia, plant, and the Western Star nameplate and product range.
Volvo produced trucks as White and Autocar through the 1980s, while Western Star continued independently in Canada and the U.S., although Volvo-White–produced high
cab over engine models were purchased and re-badged Western Star for sale in the Canadian market through the early 1990s.
Volvo-White was merged with
GMC's heavy truck business in 1987 creating the
WhiteGMC brand, while Western Star was sold to
Australian entrepreneur Terry Peabody in 1990. Subsequently, Western Star was resold by Peabody to
DaimlerChrysler AG and merged with its Freightliner subsidiary. Volvo dropped any reference to White, and is now Volvo Trucks North America. Autocar remained a part of Volvo until 2000, when the trademark was withdrawn from the market, and was subsequently sold to Grand Vehicle Works together with the Xpeditor low cab forward heavy duty product, which remains in production to this day under the Autocar badge, the last vestige of what was once America's leading commercial vehicle producer.
A former White subsidiary,
White Farm Equipment, produced farm tractors until 2001. As of 2006, the only products made under the White name is a series of corn planters (made by
AGCO) and garden tractors (made by
MTD Products).
Products
Clients
Toronto Transportation Commission
Hamilton Street Railway
Chicago Transit Authority
Toronto Fire DepartmentFurther Information
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