Ross (gasoline automobile)

(Redirected from Ross (automobile company))

The Ross was a Brass era automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan from 1915 to 1918 by the Ross Automobile Company. [1]

Ross Automobile Company
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1915; 109 years ago (1915)
FounderJohn L. Ross
Defunct1918; 106 years ago (1918)
FateBankruptcy
Headquarters,
ProductsAutomobiles

History

edit

John L. Ross of Ross & Young Machine Company entered the automobile field by incorporating his Ross Automobile Company in 1915. The Ross automobile had a Herschell-Spillman V-8 engine with body styles including sedans and town cars and were priced at $1,350 and $1,850, equivalent to $55,719 in 2023.[1]

The "Ross Eight" won fame briefly in 1916 for being the first automobile to climb San Francisco's famous Fillmore Street hill in high gear, where grades reach a maximum of 2512%.[2]

New York capitalists took over the company in late 1916 and changed the car from an 8-cylinder to a Continental six-cylinder. In 1917 the V-8 engine was reinstated, but not for long. The Company entered receivership and in February 1918, the Ross plant had been sold.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
  2. ^ Spooner, F. Ed. (November 17, 1916). "Ross 8 breaks all climbing records". Triplicate. Retrieved 27 December 2021.