The Janney was a

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 191 ...

automobile assembled in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

by the Janney Motor Company in 1906.

History

The eponymous Mr. Janney, who some historical accounts identify as E. Stanton Janney, a naval armaments engineer who had assisted in creating large coastal defense guns, was caught up in the enthusiasm of building a car at the turn of the 20th Century and decided to compete. The Janney automobile offered a four-cylinder

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

that was a break from the many one- and two-cylinder engine vehicles produced at the time, and caught the attention of

William C. Durant William Crapo Durant (December 8, 1861 – March 18, 1947) was a leading pioneer of the United States automobile industry and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet. He created a system in which a company held multiple marques – each s ...

. The Janney Motor Company was set up in the old

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

plant in Flint, Michigan. Two prototypes and four production versions were built before the company was absorbed by Buick. The Janney was later redesigned, adding the overhead valve architecture perfected by

Walter Marr Walter Lorenzo Marr was an automotive pioneer and engineer who worked with David Dunbar Buick perfecting the first Buick production automobiles. He worked with Mr. Buick a number of times around the turn of the century, building Buick's first two o ...

and Enos Anson DeWaters, who had previously worked for the

Thomas Motor Company E. R. Thomas Motor Company was a manufacturer of motorized bicycles, motorized tricycles, motorcycles, and automobiles in Buffalo, New York between 1900 and 1919. Motorized bicycles, tricycles, and motorcycles In 1896, E.R Thomas (1850 – 193 ...

and

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

before joining Buick in 1904. Together they introduced the 1908

Buick Model 10 The Buick 4 was a series of passenger cars produced by the Buick Division of GM from 1909 through 1918, and was available as a touring car, phaeton or roadster. It was available with the Buick Model B as a larger alternative offering a larger en ...

as a competitor to the

Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janney (Automobile) Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Cars introduced in 1906 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1906 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1907