Foundation

The company was founded with a paid-up capital of $15,000 ($455,490 in 2019).^[2] Henry Ford managed the manufacturing plant at 1343 Cass Avenue and Amsterdam in Detroit;^[5] initially with no pay until he left his job at the Detroit Edison Company, after which he was given a monthly salary of $150 ($4,555 in 2019).^[2][6] He refused to put a car into production until he had perfected it to his satisfaction,^[7] infuriating investors who quickly began to lose confidence in Ford's ability to bring a product to market.^[7] The company's primary objective was to make a profit for its investors, who had seen the Oldsmobile plant, where the Curved Dash Oldsmobile was built, which was profitable for its owner Samuel Smith.^[4]

The company's first product was a gasoline-powered delivery truck engineered by Ford and completed in January 1900.^[1] It received favorable coverage in a local newspaper, but was not without its flaws; it was slow, heavy, unreliable and complicated to manufacture.^[8] Later in life, Ford recalled this period as one that was driven by profit rather than innovation.^[9]

A catalog produced by Detroit Automobile Company in 1900 showed, with a cost analysis, that the automobile was cheaper to maintain and operate than a horse and vehicle.^[4] Little is known about the company's designs.^[10]

Demise

The Detroit Automobile Company was reorganized into the Henry Ford Company on November 20, 1901, after Ford gained further backing from investors because of his racing success.^[10] It later became the Cadillac Company under the ownership of Henry Leland, who came in subsequently after Ford had left.^[9][11] The factory location for the Detroit Automobile Company is less than a mile away southeast from Mr. Ford's Piquette Avenue Plant, which opened four years later.