Fewer than 20 corporations and independent auto manufacturers survived to the end of the 1930s. I predict that the Automobile business will be one of the greatest industries that this country has ever seen. He invented an early horseless carriage in 1896 in Lansing. He sold more than 5,000 curved-dash autos that year. Olds marketed his cars through magazine advertisements and cross-country endurance runs.
Business is a matter of filling the wants of the people. . . .
At his River Rouge plant, built in 1917, Ford integrated all manufacturing elements in one location, from raw material to the finished automobile. This vertical integration allowed Ford to tightly control production costs. I was getting every car in sight. In 1905 he organized the Buick Motor Car Company in Flint. Three years later he consolidated Buick with several other smaller auto firms and formed the General Motors Company.