K-R-I-T (or simply "Krit") was a small automobile manufacturing company (1909–1916) based in

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 ...

History

Krit Motor Car Company's name probably originated from Kenneth Crittenden, who provided financial backing and helped design the cars. The emblem of the cars was a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

(a symbol that was not yet associated with

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, or

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

). Krit occupied two different sites during its history: the first one it took over from the Blomstrom car, and in 1911 moved to the works that had been used by R. M. Owen & Company who had moved to become

Owen Magnetic 1920 Owen Magnetic Touring Car ad, from '' House Beautiful'' magazine The Owen Magnetic was a pioneering American brand of hybrid electric luxury automobile manufactured between 1915 and 1922. Car models of the brand were notable for their use of ...

. In 1911 the KRIT Motor Company was purchased by Walter S Russel of the

Russel Wheel and Foundry Company Russel Wheel and Foundry Company manufactured railroad cars, rail car wheels, logging equipment and structural steel, Tall Skeletal Lighthouses in Detroit, Michigan between 1876 and 1916. In 1916, the company name was changed to Russel Steel C ...

. The cars were conventional 4-cylinder models and many were exported to Europe and Australia. In 1913 a six-cylinder car was introduced and Krit tried to increase sales by engineering cars for other marques. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

seriously damaged the company and it failed in 1915. A few cars were subsequently assembled from remaining parts. File:Krit-auto 1912 ad.jpg, 1912 KRIT motor car Advertisement File:Krit-auto 1917 designs.jpg, 1917 KRIT Motor Car Co. - Patterns available File:1911KRIT.jpg, alt=, 1911 Krit Advertising File:KRIT 1913.jpg, Logo prominently showing the

emblem File:1913 K-R-I-T "KT" 5-Passenger Touring (1419205160).jpg, swastika on car in

National Automobile Museum The National Automobile Museum is a museum in Reno, Nevada. Most of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of William F. Harrah. The museum opened on November 5, 1989. History William F. Harrah collected approximately 1,450 automobiles, ...

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909 1909 establishments in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit 1900s cars 1910s cars Brass Era vehicles Cars introduced in 1909 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1916

History

See also

References