Two brass era companies used the Pilgrim marque for their automobiles between 1913 and 1918.

Pilgrim - 1913–1914, New Albany, Indiana

Ferdinand Kahler was the owner of the New Albany Woodworking and Furniture Company which had produced bodies for the Jonz automobile, and when the Jonz

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It is bounded by I-265 t ...

factory closed, Kahler was stuck with a stockpile of bodies. To protect his investment, Kahler bought the Jonz equipment and moved into its factory. He organized the Ohio Falls Motor Car Company, and selected Pilgrim as the name for his car. He secured 44-50-hp four-cylinder engines from Continental, which he mounted in a 120-inch wheelbase chassis, and used his Jonz contracted bodies. He advertised "A $2,250 car for $1.800”, and "Buy your automobile direct from our factory”. Very few did. After selling cars in 1913 and 1914, the Ohio Falls Motor Car Company went into receivership. Kahler sold out to the Crown Motor Car Company of Louisville, Kentucky which moved into the factory in 1914 and reorganized as Hercules.

Pilgrim - 1915–1918, Detroit, Michigan

William Radford an engineer who had worked for

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

, had previously tried the automobile business with the Oxford and Fostoria automobiles. The Pilgrim was an automobile built 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 ...

, by the Pilgrim Motor Car Company in 1915. The Pilgrim was known as a light car that weighed . They produced a five-seat touring car, powered by a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder engine that was water-cooled and priced at $685 to $835. C. H. Leete, the company president, was arrested for fraud and William Radford departed the company. Attempts to reorganize the company were only partly successful and very few cars were built before it ceased operations in 1918.

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana Brass Era vehicles 1910s cars Cars introduced in 1913 Cars introduced in 1915 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1913 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1915 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1915 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1918