Editing Chalmers Automobile (section)

==History==

=== Origin ===

Hugh Chalmers started working at [[NCR Corporation|National Cash Register Company]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]], at age 14 and eventually became vice president.{{R|history2}} In 1907, car-maker [[Roy D. Chapin|Roy Chapin]] at [[Thomas-Detroit (automobile)|Thomas-Detroit]] began to make offers to Hugh Chalmers to take over the company.{{R|history2}} Roy Chapin was concerned about the Thomas-Detroit's reliance on the company's sales network.{{R|Chrysler}} Chapin persuaded Chalmers to become president of Thomas-Detroit and build a solid independent sales force.{{R|Chrysler}} Hugh Chalmers purchased ER Thomas's interests in the Thomas-Detroit company.{{R|Zatz}}

Chalmers convinced NCR salesman Joseph Fields to join him in Detroit to set up dealerships across the U.S.{{R|Zatz}} In 1907 or 1909, Chalmers built a factory on [[Jefferson Avenue (Detroit)|Jefferson Avenue]] in Detroit which would survive until 1991 under Chrysler while the headquarters was in [[Highland Park, Michigan]].{{R|Zatz}}

The stockholders voted to rename the company the Chalmers-Detroit Motor Company on June 15, 1908, and later the Chalmers Motor Company on January 26, 1910.{{R|Chrysler}}

The first car was the Chalmers 30 in 1908.{{R|lost}}  Sales of 3,047 automobiles resulted in revenues of $4,754,929 and profits of $1,015,823 for the year ending June 30, 1909, although the paid-in capital stock was just $300,000.{{R|Chrysler}}

In the early years of the Chalmers automobile brand, specifically in 1909 and 1910, the company produced a model called the Chalmers Detroit. Production during these two years was not high, and it was not until 1911 that the Chalmers car was officially introduced. The Chalmers Detroit cars were known for their toughness and durability, and they won 69 major competitions during their production period. One of the notable competitions won by the Chalmers Detroit was the Indiana Cup, and another was the 1910 Glidden tour, where a Model 30 car achieved victory. These early Chalmers cars, particularly the Model 30 and Model 40, were praised for their engineering and performance, and they continue to be regarded as some of the best cars for touring events. Notably, the Model T Ford, which was produced from 1908 to 1927, used the same oil in both its crankcase and transmission case, a design that did not cause any bearing problems and was similar to that of the Chalmers Detroit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chalmers cars - Chalmers - Antique Automobile Club of America|date=12 October 2005 |url=https://forums.aaca.org/topic/74811-chalmers-cars/|publisher=Antique Automobile Club of America|access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Hugh Chalmerspng.png|thumb|left|Hugh Chalmers]]

===Hudson Motor Car Company===
Roscoe Jackson and Howard Dunham, two of [[Howard E. Coffin|Howard Coffin]]'s employees at [[Oldsmobile]], built a new lightweight car, the Model 20, intended to sell for under $1,000.{{R|Chrysler}} Still, Chapin and Coffin could not persuade Hugh Chalmers to join the project.{{R|Chrysler}}  Chalmers Motors' early success was due primarily due to Roy Chapin as Treasurer and general manager, and Howard Coffin as Chief Engineer.{{R|fall}}

On October 28, 1908, Chapin, Coffin, and others formed the [[Hudson Motor Car Company]] to pursue their desires to build a smaller car. Roscoe Jackson was married to the niece of Detroit department store mogul [[Joseph L. Hudson]]. Hudson invested $90,000 in the endeavor and gave the company his name.{{R|Chrysler}}
Hugh Chalmers was also a prominent investor in Hudson.{{R|lost}}

In 1909–10, Hugh Chalmers and his partners sold their shares in Hudson to Chapin, and Chapin sold his stake in Chalmers Motors to Hugh Chalmers.{{R|Zatz}} Hudson built a factory across the street from the Chalmers plant to be close to suppliers and the railroad.{{R|Zatz}}

In December 1909, the Chalmers and Hudson companies parted ways.{{R|Chrysler}} Chapin's concerns about the Chalmers firm's future were well-founded; over the next decade, the Hudson company prospered while the Chalmers company faltered.{{R|Chrysler}}

=== Peak sales ===

Chalmers's best year was 1911 when it became the number eight auto producer in the U.S.{{R|lost}} The high point in sales was in 1911 when Chalmers sold 6,250 cars.{{R|history2}}  Chalmers shareholders also did well.{{R|history2}} [[Preferred stock]] dividends paid out 7% per year and the [[common stock]] paid 2.5% annually.{{R|history2}}

Beginning in 1912, sales of Chalmers fell.{{R|history2}}  Hugh Chalmers created [[Saxon Motor Car Company|Saxon Motors]] in 1913. From 1908 until 1913, the Chalmers Model 30's design remained unchanged, even as its price climbed past $2,000 per unit.{{R|Chrysler}} Despite this, Chalmers was the ninth-largest vehicle manufacturer in the United States in 1910, with 6,350 cars sold.{{R|Chrysler}}

By 1915 the auto-business was changing and became more competitive.{{R|fall}} The Chalmers survival was always at risk with over 250 automakers in the U.S.{{R|fall}}

Before World War I, the automobile economy was booming, but sales of Chalmers' cars were declining.{{R|fall}}

In 1915, the Chalmers Motor Company produced 9,833 automobiles before being renamed the Chalmers Motor Car Corporation.{{R|Chrysler}} Hugh Chalmers was a superb salesman, but once Roy Chapin and his partners defected to Hudson, he could not attract and retain skilled, active engineers and manufacturing employees.{{R|Chrysler}}

In November 1915, Chalmers presented his 1916 models to his dealers and sold 13,000 automobiles worth $22 million in less than an hour.{{R|Chrysler}}

By the end of 1915, the company had over $8 million in real estate and machinery and employed between 7,000 and 8,000 people.{{R|Chrysler}} According to one publication, Chalmers earned more than $1 million in 1915.{{R|Chrysler}}

Because it was a low-volume, high-cost manufacturer, the Chalmers Motor Company struggled to stay afloat.{{R|Chrysler}} In 1910–1914, the company produced about 6,200 vehicles per year, then boosted production to 9,833 units in 1915 and 21,408 cars in 1916.{{R|Chrysler}}

In 1916, Chalmers set up a Canadian factory in [[Walkerville, Ontario|Walkerville]] (Windsor), Ontario.{{R|Zatz}}
At first, engines were manufactured by three outside suppliers, but Chalmers brought later engine manufacturing in-house.{{R|history2}} An advantage of the new Chalmers plant was its self-sufficiency.{{R|history2}}

The plant had a foundry to make engines, transmissions, axles, nuts, and bolts{{R|history2}}
Chalmers wanted to make as many parts in-house and only bought specialized parts like sparkplugs and tires from outside suppliers.{{R|history2}}

Hugh Chalmers proposed in May 1916 that the corporation boost production to 60,000 automobiles per year while lowering prices or raising prices while lowering output.{{R|Chrysler}} The actual results attained in 1916 demonstrate the company's issues.{{R|Chrysler}} In the first half of the year, the Chalmers factory increased production, and the sales department supplied automobiles to dealers regardless of demand.{{R|Chrysler}} As a result, a year's worth of cars was on hand at Chalmers distributors in Dallas and Omaha.{{R|Chrysler}} Nevertheless, Hugh Chalmers was obliged to reduce production from 15,659 automobiles in the first half of 1916 to only 5,749 in the second.{{R|Chrysler}} As a result, Chalmers remained a struggling automotive manufacturer with extra plant capacity from 1910 to 1917.{{R|Chrysler}}

The company's finances improved in mid-1916 with better engine performance and improved body design, and the company moved from 14th to 12th place, but by late 1916 the company was close to bankruptcy.{{R|fall}}

===Merger with Maxwell Motors===

Beginning September 1, 1917, the [[Maxwell automobile|Maxwell Motor Company]] bailed Chalmers by leasing its plants for five years.{{R|Chrysler}} Maxwell received $3 million in operating capital from the Chalmers Motor Company, issuing $3.15 million in mortgage bonds.{{R|Chrysler}}

When the U.S. entered World War 1, demand weakened for the Chalmers while the Maxwell cars were outselling them.{{R|Zatz}}  In 1917, Chalmers agreed to make Maxwell cars in the Chalmers' Jefferson Avenue plant while Maxwell would sell Chalmers cars through their dealer network.{{R|Zatz}}

Maxwell decided to keep the Chalmers car in production to preserve its good name and reputation.{{R|Chrysler}} Maxwell also committed to pay the interest on the mortgage bonds and to contribute half of the net profits made on all autos produced in the Chalmers factories to the Chalmers firm.{{R|Chrysler}} Hugh Chalmers moved up and out to become chairman of the board, and [[Walter Flanders|Walter E. Flanders]], already president of the Maxwell Motor Company, became president of Chalmers.{{R|Chrysler}} From 1917 until 1922, the Maxwell and Chalmers corporations shared the same managers, but the companies did not fully merge until 1922.{{R|Chrysler}} Maxwell built the Chalmers line of automobiles until 1923.{{R|Chrysler}}

Hugh Chalmers left for Washington, D.C., to work with the [[National Automobile Chamber of Commerce]] (NACC) as one of the "[[Dollar-a-year men|dollar a-year-men]]".{{R|fall}}
During 1917, following the April [[United States declaration of war on Germany (1917)|United States Declaration of War against Germany]], [[Maxwell Motor Company|Maxwell Motor Co]] took over Chalmers' operations to make cars and trucks for the U.S. Government.{{R|Maxwell}}  Chalmers merged with the [[Maxwell automobile]] Company in 1922.{{R|Kimes}}

When Hugh Chalmers returned to Detroit in 1919, both companies now had financial problems, and in mid-1920, the bank creditors formed a reorganization committee.{{R|fall}} In 1920, Walter P. Chrysler joined the Maxwell automobile company and faced numerous challenges, one of which was the unsuccessful merger with Chalmers. Subsequently, due to mechanical issues that had negatively impacted Maxwell's reputation, the company revamped and rebranded the vehicle as the "Good Maxwell".<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ylaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA191 |title=The Good Maxwell (advertisement) |page=191 |journal=Automobile Topics |date=1922-06-03 |access-date=2023-04-08 }}</ref>

In late November 1921, Chalmers reduced prices for all models, and production was down to about 20 cars a day while Maxwell was selling more than 100 vehicles a day.{{R|only20}} Walter P. Chrysler reorganized the company and finally merged them into Chrysler in 1923.{{R|six40}}

[[Chase Bank|Chase National Bank]] at that time had recruited the help of [[Walter Chrysler|Walter P. Chrysler]] to rescue [[Willys]] Overland Company and Chalmers.{{R|fall}}
Chalmers and Maxwell sued each other for millions of dollars.{{R|fall}} The Chalmers-Maxwell reorganization committee found that the lease agreement was too loose and poorly constructed.{{R|fall}}

Chrysler's financial and management overhaul of Maxwell in 1920–1922 was hindered by delays in Maxwell's takeover of Chalmers, which began in 1917.{{R|Chrysler}} The convoluted strands of the Maxwell-Chalmers relationship are difficult to summarize.{{R|Chrysler}} The original lease became increasingly unfavorable for Maxwell's shareholders as Chalmers' fortunes dropped after 1917 and Maxwell's performance improved.{{R|Chrysler}} Maxwell was losing money on the Chalmers brand while splitting revenues from the more profitable Maxwell automobile with Chalmers investors.{{R|Chrysler}} Both company' investors agreed to alter the original lease and merge the two companies. Still, the merger was delayed due to opposition by some Chalmers stockholders and threats of lawsuits.{{R|Chrysler}}

Maxwell and Chalmers were hurt by a lack of material and rising costs after the war.{{R|Zatz}}

Walter Chrysler had the difficult task of reviving both Maxwell and Chalmers.{{R|Chrysler}} In 1920, Chalmers' sales (almost 10,000 automobiles) were about a third of Maxwell's (34,000 cars), but by 1921, when Maxwell's sales had dropped to 16,000, Chalmers had only sold about 3,000 vehicles.{{R|Chrysler}} As a result, Chalmers produced only 3,978 automobiles in 1922, a dismal performance compared to Maxwell's robust sales of 48,883 cars.{{R|Chrysler}}
In 1921, Maxwell stopped producing cars in the Chalmers plant.{{R|Zatz}}

For the calendar year 1922, Maxwell had a profit of $2,018,266; however, Chalmers' losses for the year ($1,325,524) decreased Maxwell's net profit to barely $700,000.{{R|Chrysler}} A U.S. District Court judgment issued November 3, 1922, settled a lawsuit launched by the Fisk Rubber Company against Chalmers, ending the long-running feud between the Chalmers and Maxwell investors.{{R|Chrysler}}

The court declared the Chalmers company bankrupt and ordered its assets to be auctioned off.{{R|Chrysler}} On December 7, 1922, the Maxwell Motor Corporation purchased the Chalmers property for $1,987,600, completing a takeover that began in 1917.{{R|Chrysler}}

The last Chalmers branded car was probably produced in January 1924.{{R|six40}} The old Chalmers plant started to produce Chryslers in 1924, but Chrysler produced Maxwell cars until 1925.{{R|fall}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Maxwell-Chalmers-Chrysler Unit Sales, 1920–1925{{R|Chrysler}}
!
!Maxwell
!Chalmers
!Chrysler
!Total
|-
|1920
|34,000
|10,000
|0
|44,000
|-
|1921
|16,000
|3,000
|0
|19,000
|-
|1922
|48,883
|5,989
|0
|54,872
|-
|1923
|74,000
|9,000
|0
|83,000
|-
|1924
|50,622
|0
|31,667
|82,289
|-
|1925
|30,811
|0
|106,857
|137,668
|}