Columbia Motors was a

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, United States based

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1916 to 1924. Columbia Motors was incorporated in 1916, with John George Bayerline as company president and

William E. Metzger William Ernest Metzger (September 30, 1868 – April 11, 1933) was an automotive pioneer and salesman from Detroit. He opened one of the first automobile dealerships in the United States, and participated in the early development of a number of e ...

as vice-president. Bayerline was the former president and general manager of the

King Motor Car Company King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and former general manager and founder of the Warren Motor Car Company. Prior to founding Columbia, Metzger was a founder of the

E-M-F Company The E-M-F Company was an early American automobile manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1909 to 1912. The name E-M-F was gleaned from the initials of the three company founders: Barney Everitt (a custom auto-body builder from Detroit), Wi ...

which was later purchased by the

Studebaker Corporation Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...

. Columbia Motors produced two models powered by Continental six-cylinder engines including the popular Columbia Six. In 1916, Columbia bought

Argo Electric The Argo Electric Vehicle Company was an electric automobile manufacturer that operated in Saginaw, Michigan, United States, from 1912 to 1916. The Argo Electric used a 60 volt system with Westinghouse motors. They claimed to be capable of . ...

. A 1916 news item in the journal ''Horseless Age'' presents a "Columbia Touring Car". In 1923, Columbia acquired

Liberty Motor Car The Liberty Motor Car Company was a vintage era United States automobile maker based in Detroit, Michigan from 1916 to 1923. History Liberty Motor Car Company was started in February 1916 with capital stock of $400,000 to produce medium-pric ...

References

*Wise, David Burgess, Encyclopedia of Automobiles, Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1917 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1917 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1924 1917 establishments in Michigan 1924 disestablishments in Michigan {{motorvehicle-company-stub

See also

References