A year-by-year timeline of Durant Motors and its makes, from the incorporation of the company in 1921 to the end of Frontenac production in 1933.
On this page: Timeline · Where the makes fit · Models by year
Timeline
1921
Product line: Durant.
- January 12: Durant Motors is incorporated in New York. It would later be reincorporated in Delaware.
- March 1: A prototype of the first car (A-22) had been designed, built and demonstrated.
- March: Durant buys the Long Island City, New York plant, a former Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company factory.
- April: Durant buys the Muncie, Indiana plant from General Motors. This is the plant that GM produced the Sheridan automobile.
- April: Durant Motors of Indiana is established.
- May: Durant Motors of Michigan is established
- Summer: Durant Motors of California is established
- Summer: Durant Motors of Canada is established.
- Reports vary some say availability of the new four-cylinder Durant (A-22) is in May others say it is available late fall of the year.
- By the end of 1921 Durant has established facilities in New York (Long Island City), New Jersey (Elizabeth), Indiana (Muncie), Michigan (Lansing), California (Oakland) and Canada (Leaside).
1922
Product lines: Star, Durant.
- January: A new six-cylinder Durant, the B-22, is introduced. The car is built in the Sheridan plant (Muncie, Indiana) bought from GM, but the press reports that it is not the Sheridan.
- February 1: The Locomobile Company is placed in receivership paving the way for Durant’s acquisition.
- February 15: Star car is announced as a competitor to the Ford Model T.
- March 1: First car built at Leaside, Canada plant
- March 8: First Star car shown in Washington.
- June: Durant purchases the Willys-Overland Elizabeth, NJ plant. The purchase includes the pilot model of a car that became the Flint 6 (model E-55).
- July 28: Durant is the sole bidder at a receivership sale of the Locomobile Company. The Locomobile Company of America Inc. is established.
- July: Flint Motor Car Company is established.
1923
Product lines: Star, Durant, Rugby, Flint, Locomobile, Mason Motor Trucks
- January: The Princeton is announced and a prototype is displayed at the New York Automobile show. The car is to be built in the Muncie plant.
- The Mason Truck Company is established.
- June: Production of the Flint E-55 begins
- July: Sales of Rugby cars begin in Australia. An advertisement of the time explains that Durant was unable to use the Star name for cars sold in the British Empire as a company in Wolverhampton had the rights to the name.
- Summer: Durant announces the Princeton will be built at the Locomobile Bridgeport plant. The car is eventually produced under the Flint name rather than the Princeton name.
1924
Product lines: Star, Durant, Rugby, Flint, Locomobile, Mason Motor Trucks
- March: the Flint H-40 is introduced.
1925
Product lines: Star, Durant, Rugby, Flint, Locomobile, Mason Motor Trucks
1926
Product lines: Star, Durant, Rugby, Flint, Locomobile, Mason Motor Trucks
- Six cylinder Star R is introduced.
- The Flint 60 is introduced
- The Flint 80 is introduced. The Flint 80 is based on the previous year’s Flint E-55.
- Summer: Durant sells the Flint Michigan factory, production of Flint cars continues at the Elizabeth factory.
1927
Product lines: Star, Flint, Locomobile, Mason Motor Trucks
- A one-year break in Durant car production.
- Flint production ends.
- Mason Truck production ends.
1928
Product lines: Durant, Rugby, Locomobile
- January: The Durant 55 is introduced. It is based on the previous year’s Star R, which is no longer produced.
- January: The Durant 65 is introduced.
- January: The Durant 75 is introduced.
- April: production of Star cars ceases. The popular four cylinder Star car (model M2) would be rebadged the Durant-Star (M-2)
- September 4: Durant announces it will no longer sell trucks under the Durant name. Instead, trucks would be sold under the Rugby name.
- September: production of the Durant M-2 ends
- September: production of the Durant 55 ends.
- Late October: deliveries of the new Durant M-4 begins. The M-4 replaced the M-2 in the Durant lineup
- Late October: deliveries of the new Durant 60 begins. The 60 replaced the 55 in the Durant lineup
1929
Product lines: Durant, Rugby
- January: Durant 60 gets a new larger engine.
- January: Durant 63 is introduced.
- January: Durant 66 is introduced.
- January: Durant 70 is introduced to replace the Durant 75
1930
Product lines: Durant, Rugby
- January: Durant announces an entirely new line for 1930.
- January 4: the Durant 614 is introduced
- The Durant 617 is introduced
- August: Durant announces a plan to manufacture and sell the French Mathis car in the USA.
- September: the Durant 610 is introduced
- October 7: the Durant 612 is introduced.
- December 17: the Oakland, California plant (Durant Motors of California) stops making Durant cars.
1931
Product lines: Durant, Rugby.
- January 3: Durant Motors of California is renamed to De Vaux – Hall Motors Corp.
- January 3: the De Vaux car is introduced.
- March 14: Charter granted to Dominion Motors Ltd.
- April 1: First De Vaux 6-75 rolls off the production line.
- May 4: Durant Motors of Canada dissolved, replaced by Dominion Motors Ltd.
- May: the Durant 619 is introduced
- Late summer: all production of Durant vehicles at the Lansing plant had stopped.
- Late summer: an “improved” De Vaux 6-75 announced offering ‘free-wheeling” as standard equipment.
1932
Product lines: Durant, Rugby
- January: the Durant 621 is introduced
- January: the Durant 622 is introduced
- January: the De Vaux 80 is announced.
- January 30: Durant Motors files for bankruptcy.
- February 10: De Vaux – Hall Motors Corp. files for bankruptcy.
- February 18: Continental Motors Corp. purchases the De Vaux name and the Michigan assets of the De Vaux – Hall company.
- March: the Continental De Vaux Company is incorporated.
- April: the Continental-De Vaux model 80 is introduced.
1933
Product lines: Durant, Rugby
- Durant Motors declares bankruptcy.
- December: Dominion Motors ceases production.
Where the makes fit
By the mid-1920s Durant had a vision of a Durant Motors with a car in every price range. This table shows where both the actual and the planned makes were to fit.
| Make | Price class | Competitor |
|---|---|---|
| Star | $ | Ford Model T |
| Eagle (planned) | $$ | |
| Durant | $$$ | Chevrolet |
| Flint | $$$$ | Chrysler |
| Princeton (planned) | $$$$$ | Packard |
| Locomobile | $$$$$$ | |
| Mason Road King truck | Ford light trucks |
Models by year
| Star | Durant | Rugby Trucks | Rugby (export vehicles) | Flint | Locomobile | Mason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | A-22 | 48 | |||||
| 1922 | C | A-22, B-22 | 48 | ||||
| 1923 | C | A-22, B-22 | C | E-55, | 48 | ? | |
| 1924 | C, F | A-22, B-22 | C,F | E-55, H-40 | 48 | ? | |
| 1925 | F | A-22 | F | B-40, E-55, H-40 | 48, Junior Eight, Junior Six | ? | |
| 1926 | M, R | A-22 | M,R | B-60, E-80, Z-18 | 48, 90, Junior Eight | ? | |
| 1927 | M, R | M,R | B-60, E-80, Z-18 | 48, 90, Junior Eight | ? | ||
| 1928 | M | 55, 65, 75, M2, M4 | L,T | M | ? | ||
| 1929 | 40, 60, 63, 66, 70 | L, S-4, T, X, 401 | 40 | ||||
| 1930 | 407, 610, 612, 614, 617 | 614, 615, 616 | ? | ||||
| 1931 | 407, 612, 614, 618, 619 | S-4, 406,616 | ? | ||||
| 1932 | 621, 622 | 615 |
Details of each make: Model Reference.
Sources: Baldwin, Georgano, Sedgwick and Laban, The World Guide to Automobile Manufacturers; Durant Family Registry, Durant’s Standard vol. 6 no. 2, vol. 7 no. 3, vol. 9 no. 4, vol. 10 nos. 1 and 4, vol. 11 no. 1, vol. 14 no. 4, vol. 18 no. 3 and vol. 21 no. 1; G. N. Georgano, The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars; Jeffrey I. Godshall, Automobile Quarterly vol. XXII no. 4; Bernard A. Weisberger, The Dream Maker.