Frederic L . Smith Frederic Latta Smith ( February 6 , 1870 – August 6 , 1954 ) was an American football player and pioneer of the automobile business . He played college football team at the University of Michigan and was the quarterback of the 1888 Michigan Wolverines football team . He later became a pioneer in the automobile business in Michigan . He was one of the founders of the Olds Motor Works in 1899 and of General Motors Corporation in 1908 . He was also the president of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers in its early years when it used its pool of patent rights , including the Selden patent , to preclude Henry Ford and others from entering the automobile manufacturing business . Early years . Smith was born in 1870 in Lansing , Michigan . He was the son of copper and lumber magnate , Samuel Latta Smith ( 1830 – 1917 ) , and Eliza Cordelia ( Seager ) Smith . He attended Lansing High School and the Michigan Military Academy , graduating from the latter institution in 1886 . University of Michigan . Smith enrolled at the University of Michigan in October 1886 . While attending Michigan , he played college football and was the starting quarterback for the 1888 Michigan Wolverines football team . He also won the light - weight wrestling championship medal . He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity at Michigan . He was also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity at Michigan . Smith ' s cousin , Henry Rogers Seager , was also a member of the same fraternity at Michigan and later became a noted economist . Smith graduated from Michigan in 1890 and subsequently studied at the University of Berlin from 1891 to 1892 . Automobile business . In 1892 , Smith became employed as an agent for land interests in Michigan ' s Upper Peninsula . As of 1897 , he maintained his office at 1013 Woodward Avenue in Detroit . In August 1897 , Smith ' s cousin , Ransom E . Olds , founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing , Michigan . In 1899 , Smith was one of the founders of the new Olds Motor Works . Smith together with his father and Henry Russel provided the financial backing for the new venture , which was moved from Lansing to Detroit . Smith ' s father became the company ' s president , with Ransom Olds as general manager and Frederic Smith as secretary and treasurer . In 1901 , the Olds Motor Works released the Curved Dash Oldsmobile . It was this car , rather than Henry Ford ' s Model T , that was the first mass - produced , low - priced American motor vehicle . In 1901 , a fire destroyed the company ' s factory , and a new factory was quickly built to replace it . In 1902 , Frederic Smith took charge of the newly built Olds Motor Works factory . He gave responsibility for sales to Roy Chapin , another promising young automotive pioneer from Lansing . Chapin led the way in developing a network of sales franchises for Olds around the country . At one point , Chapin ' s mother wrote to Frederic Smith and complained that her son had been given too many responsibilities for too little pay . Smith responded by telling Mrs . Chapin that her son was " the brightest and most promising of all the young managers at Olds . " In the infancy of the automobile industry in Detroit , the carmakers formed the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ( " ALAM " ) , an organization that one historian has called " a monopolistic combine . " The members pooled their patent rights ( including the Selden patent ) and used their " patent pool " to permit or deny the right to manufacture petroleum - based automobiles . Frederic Smith became the president of ALAM and in 1903 sought to use the power of ALAM to try to deny Henry Ford membership in the organization . A special subcommittee with Smith as its sole member was formed to review Ford ' s admission to ALAM . Ford ' s plan to assemble one inexpensive model at a low price point was a threat to Olds ' low - end vehicles . Accordingly , Smith told Ford that he must " dismantle , disband , and depart Detroit . " In a personal meeting with Ford , Smith told him to " abandon all hope of becoming an automobile manufacturer . " The confrontation led to years of litigation between Ford and ALAM . Frederic Smith and Ransom Olds clashed frequently . In 1903 , Smith removed Olds from the position of general manager and took the position for himself . The Olds Motor Works was bought by General Motors in 1908 . Smith has been credited , along with William C . Durant , as " one of the founders of General Motors Corp . " Later years . Smith moved to Beverly Hills , California , in 1941 . In August 1954 , he died at his home at 603 N . Bedford Drive in Beverly Hills . He was survived by his wife , Norah .