Publisher's Synopsis
This is a comprehensive look at automobile manufacturing during its heyday in Cleveland and the remainder of Ohio, and illustrates what it took to succeed in an industry that was in the process of inventing itself. Over 550 early Cleveland and Ohio automobile manufacturers are given recognition, and the field is covered from A to Z: Abbott to Zent.
Not surprisingly, there are familiar names such as Jordan, Baker, Peerless, and White of Cleveland, and well-known Ohio marques like Packard, Stutz, Crosley and Willys. Also noted are vehicles with such charming and unexpected names as the Auto-Bug, Darling, and Ben-Hur. These, and numerous other lesser-known automotive ventures, are all given attention, even though many of them never got beyond the concept stage. This is truly a researcher's source book.
Substantial attention is also paid to the various ancillary industries, services and organizations which nurtured, evolved with, and in many cases endured after Cleveland's automotive industry.
Liberally illustrated with over 100 historical images and conveniently presented in a dual-alphabetical arrangement which treats Cleveland and the remainder of Ohio separately, this is an eminently readable history of an important part of America's automobile heritage.
