Editor's Note: Welcome to YesterWreck – The Column, where each month we examine the history of the collision repair industry through excerpts from a book researched and published by industry veteran, Gary Ledoux, called YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America. This is his third installment. Check out his first installment on the pre-1900 automobile here.
In 1910, 92,000,000 people lived in America. With the advent of the Model T, some of those 92,000,000 started driving, some simply for the pleasure of driving – and possibly taking a vacation. Domestic tourism started in 1910 with the opening of Glacier National Park in Montana, giving people more reason to drive and more possibilities for accidents.
The Indianapolis 500 debuted in 1911. For the first time, people had a reason to get excited about how fast a car can go. And speaking of going fast - in 1913, Ford Motor Company introduced the moving assembly line saving 10 hours per car in the assembly process. As production became more efficient, the cost of the vehicle went down.
Toward the end of the decade, America had fought WWI in Europe, observed an end to hostilities on November 11, 1918, and in the intervening years, learned a lot about the value of mechanized warfare and what a car or truck was capable of.
Wanted: People With Mechanical Knowledge
If you were a well-to-do motorist at the beginning of the second decade of the twentieth century, your chauffeur probably repaired and maintained your car. But if a vehicle owner was not that fortunate, the repair job was commissioned to whomever the owner thought was capable. If a spring broke (as often happened on the rough roads of the times), it was probably repaired by a blacksmith. They were also known to do rough body work, like welding a fender bracket that had broken due to road vibration. If a problem stemmed from the fuel system, a driver may have sought sout a plumber. If the chain drive mechanism broke, a driver went looking for a bicycle mechanic.
With tube frames and wire spoke wheels, early cars more closely resembled a bicycle than the cars of today. In fact, some repair shops, those with a vision for the future, easily migrated from working on bicycles to working on cars. The bicycle craze of the 1890’s was quickly fading. Those in the bicycle business who could see this knew they needed a change in their business model. In fact, it was the bicyclist organizations that first agitated for better roads for cars.
Machinists, plumbers, bicycle mechanics, blacksmiths, plumbers, electricians – practically anyone with any kind of mechanical knowledge “qualified” as a mechanic/bodyman in the first decade of the 20th century. Collision repair could be easily done by replacing parts, as most everything bolted on. Vehicles of the day were relatively simple and straightforward and those with a penchant for mechanical devices could work on them.
Wanted: Better Roads
In the eastern part of the U.S., motorists had improved roads to drive on. Most may have been dirt, but at least they were mostly maintained. In the west, it was a different story. Not only were roads bad across the central and western United States in the early part of the 20th century, but trying to navigate from city to town to village had its own challenges. There was no system of route numbers. Some roads were called different names by different communities. Road signs were sparse, and when one appeared it was usually peppered with a confusing array of arrows and conflicting road name information.
In the early days, the responsibility for road construction and maintenance was largely the responsibility of local government and in some cases, money was raised from private investment. Sometimes, individual citizens took it upon themselves to help where they could. It was not uncommon for a farmer to place a barricade across the road in front of a washed-out bridge. Community-minded citizens would form organizations and hit up companies like Goodyear and Firestone, and car makers like Packard and Willys-Overland for building funds.
In the earliest days of motoring, cars were indeed breaking down mechanically, but they also needed fender and body work. It was certainly not because they were crashing into each other on the sparsely traveled roads, but they would run off the roads into ditches and trees. Sometimes, this was caused by an errant animal in the road, but sometimes the dirt roads became rutted when wet, then dried to a concrete-hardness, tire grooves and all. These would force the narrow tires into and out of the grooves and sometimes throw them to one side or another.
Timeline: 1910-1919
Here are some key points of interest for the decade:
1910
- Americans are a very prolific group when it comes to cashing in on a new technology. By 1910, 290 automobile manufacturers produce 458,377 cars. In 1900, the automobile industry employs 2,000 people. By 1910, that number rises to more than 76,000. It is unknown how many are involved in collision repair or related trades. One hundred years later, about 35,000 body shops operate in the US employing about 280,000 people. And the technology of car-building and quality of the cars is getting better. It is now fairly commonplace to drive a car on a 100-mile jaunt without a breakdown.
- The state of New York passes a law forbidding drinking and driving, liquor being a major cause of accidents. Little has changed in over 100 years.
- The DuPont Company purchases the Fabrikoid Company, makers of artificial leather products, one of which is car tops. The artificial fabric is so sturdy that in 1923, a magazine writes, “…a tip-over didn’t hurt this top.”
1911
- Joseph Binks founds Star Brass Works, which will eventually become known as Binks Spray Booths. Interestingly, it will be about another 15 years before automotive refinish coatings are sprayed and spray booths are needed.
1912
- November 16 – In the 21st century, auto accidents are hardly news except for perhaps a 50-car freeway pile-up. But in the early days of motoring, they are of interest, to those who are for the advancement of motorcars, and especially for those who aren’t. An article in this day’s Nashua (New Hampshire)Telegraph reports the city’s first accident involving an “automobile taxi.” It is the first Motor Taximeter Cabriolet, a modified Ford Model T purchased from the local Ford dealer, Nashua Auto Company, and owned by the Gaffney Family, who are noted in the city as transportation providers. The newspaper reports that on the prior day, while the taxi was driving down E. Hollis St. going past Proctor Brothers Cooperage, a three-year-old boy “broke free from his father’s hold” and dashed out into the street. The taxi swerved sharply to avoid the boy crashing into a horse and wagon owned by Proctor Brothers. As this was before the days of safety glass, a passenger in the taxi is hurt when shards of broken glass hit him in his face. The passenger is treated at a local hospital and released. There is no word on the boy or the fate of the horse and wagon., and it is unknown if either was insured. Proctor Brothers Cooperage, a huge lumberyard and barrel maker, burns to the ground on May 4, 1930.
- Spies Hecker GmBH is established.
1913
- Ditzler becomes the world’s largest automotive paint finishes company.
- Aetna Insurance begins writing fire insurance on cars. Soon after, tornado and hail storm damage is covered. Prior to this, only accidents were covered by Aetna.
- Hupmobile, at the Detroit Auto Show in 1913, introduces the first stamped steel auto body. Much of the coachwork on cars of that era is wood. Hupmobile is not alone. A few months later, Dodge Brothers starts producing all-steel car bodies. One must wonder if the technicians of the day reeled with the thought of working on steel rather than wood, in the same way that technicians of today stress about working on aluminum rather than steel.
1914
- WWI begins. Germany, at that time, had the market cornered on organic chemical processing. Germany was producing color dyes and selling them all over the world. But with clashes between Britain and Germany in the Atlantic, German shipments ceased. Dr. Nathan Van Stone, a chemist for Sherwin-Williams, recruits chemists from Europe, and soon the company was able to create sufficient dyes for its own paint products. It will help drive the direction of the company for the next 50 years. DuPont also brings chemists from Germany and other areas of Europe. The Trading with the Enemy Act authorizes the U.S. Government to confiscate German patents and put them up for auction. Domestic chemical companies seize the opportunity and shortly after the war meet 93% of the country’s need for dyes. Meanwhile, the U.S. had provided only thirteen percent prior to the war. The Netherlands remain neutral in the growing global conflict and so could not trade with any warring nations. As Sikkens was located there, this immediately cut 70 percent of their paint business. The company concentrates on their business in the Netherlands, also knowing that eventually, hostilities would cease, and they would need to expand. Oddly, after being in business for 126 years, they still had only about a dozen employees. However, they had an excellent reputation for quality products.
- The Dodge Brothers order 5,000 all-steel car bodies from The Budd Company, which had been founded in 1912 in Philadelphia as The Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company. In the days before the internet and even nationally distributed trade magazines, nobodyknows automobile bodies are changing.
- August 5, the world's first electric traffic signal is installed in Cleveland. There is no record of who was the first person to run a red light resulting in the first traffic-light-running accident.
1915
- Pierre DuPont is invited to serve on the board of directors for General Motors.
- By this time, the automobile has been around for almost 20 years. Yet, some businesses still struggle with the changeover from buggy to motorized transportation and changing to a different business model. World-famous Abbott-Downing Company, of Concord, New Hampshire,, builder of the ubiquitous Concord Coach of Old West fame, finally ceases operation as a coachbuilder. Instead, it begin making truck bodies, attaching them to chassis and engine components built by other manufacturers. But instead of developing a dealer network the way Ford and General Motors is doing, Abbott Downing insists that all trucks built by them be returned to its factory in Concord, New Hampshire, for any maintenance, mechanical repairs, or body work in the event of a collision. This greatly limits the brand’s market-reach eventually leading to its demise just a few years later.
- 1915, December 1 – The city of San Francisco issues its first set of traffic laws for the city. Soon, the local police department is chastised for not enforcing the laws. The department’s reply is that it has no more policemen than it had before the laws were passed and so lacks the manpower for enforcement. Accidents are rampant and the local newspapers have a field day with the hapless police force. Finally, one article states that most drivers are simply careless and that most accidents can be avoided. Finally, the California Automobile Association joins with other civic organizations in a public education and awareness campaign to end the carnage.
1916
- The Auto Vehicle Parts Company, better known as Auveco, is founded. Originally, the company produces trim pieces for horse-drawn carriages and eventually specializes in specialty fasteners for body repair. Auveco is still in business in 2024.
- The Budd Company, maker of steel auto bodies, begins producing wire wheels, thereby removing even more wood from the auto manufacturing process. The wire wheels are stronger than wood.
- Sherwin-Williams celebrates its 50th anniversary
- The 3M Company develops sandpaper specifically for use in automotive refinishing.
- July 11 – The Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 is passed as the first federal highway funding law. Funds are distributed to states based on a formula incorporating each state's geographic area, population, and existing road network. Prior to this time, much of America’s roads are muddy in the rainy season and dusty at all other times. Drivers have to pack with them tools, spare parts, and emergency gasoline for a trip of any magnitude. Improved roads mean more cars can be accommodated, more miles traveled, and… more accidents.
1917
- Martin Senour becomes a subsidiary of Sherwin-Williams.
- April - The New York Camouflage Society is founded; a group of painters and other artisans employed in the art of creating color schemes for war ships and merchant marine ships, as well as tanks, artillery placements and soldier’s quarters to deceive the enemy. A ship could be camouflaged in such a way to make it appear going in the opposite direction to German submarine commanders. Commercial painters from this society later show American car manufacturers how to produce a car in something other than black.
- November 9 - The Federal Board for Vocational Education authorizes payment of funds to public school, effectively giving birth to what became known as high school auto shop classes. This is in answer to the need for more qualified automobile repairers.
1918
- November – Not knowing how long WW I will last, DuPont gears up to produce mass quantities of gunpowder. At the beginning of the war, DuPont has the capacity to make 1 million pounds of smokeless powder per month. By the end of the war, DuPont can produce 1.5 million pounds per day. A huge factory complex in Hopewell, Virginia, employs 28,000 workers. While the war rages, DuPont worker rolls swell from 5,500 to 185,000. But when the war ends in November, DuPont has to idle 90 percent of its workforce – and the question of diversifying comes into acute focus. Coincidentally, the chemical properties of gunpowder, and nitrocellulose lacquer (DuPont’s Duco line of paints) is not too dissimilar.
- December 21 – DuPont makes a $25 million investment in General Motors.
1919
- General Motor Acceptance Corporation is founded, allowing more people to buy cars on credit and boosting car sales. By 1925, 65 percent of all cars will be purchased on an installment plan.
- Oct 6-11 – Car bodies are becoming more sophisticated. On this date, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association holds the first “Closed Car Salon” auto show featuring only closed body vehicles. Prior to this time, many cars have open bodies, but more and more are closing them. Oddly, many people of the time do not like closed body vehicles, considering them too ostentatious, not unlike riding around in a display case. The enclosed body, largely made of wood, is a cabinet-maker’s work of art. However, building it is arduous and time-consuming. The final product is not light, silent, nor especially durable. But the growing use of stamped metal parts will soon speed the process of coachbuilding.
Excerpted from Ledoux’s book, YesterWreck: The History of the Collision Repair Industry in America, available here.
