Winton the King of Automobiles

This ad for the Winton Motor Carriage Company could fall into the Everything New is Old Again category. Those of us who look at consumer ratings online will be familiar with the sort of fake, hyperbole-filled testimonial featured in this ad. Doubtless Winton's ad agency selected the name Mr. S. L. Schoenfield for its perceived appeal to the target market. "People trust the name Schoenfield," I hear them saying. "Besides, who would think we faked that name?" The ad comes from the October 1904 issue of The Auto Era magazine and, like most automobile ads of its era, isn't very interesting to look at. The Winton itself shows the link between carriage making and automobiles, looking as if it could be pulled by a pair of horses without drawing so much as a second glance from passersby.

As indicated in the ad, the Winton Motor Carriage Company was a Cleveland, OH based manufacturer of early automobiles.The founder, Alexander Winton, immigrated from Scotland in 1896 and decided to change his bicycle business to the manufacture of single-cycle automobile engines. Winton's first cars were hand-built and included gas lamps and B. F. Goodrich tires.

The Winton came to the American market during a time when the public was skeptical of automobiles. To prove the durability of his product, Winton performed an 800 mile road test driving from Cleveland to New York (an accomplishment in the era before highways or even paved roads). In 1898 Winton sold its first automobile and late that same year 21 more were sold. Interestingly one of those 21 Wintons was sold to James Ward Packard who, after complaining about the Winton's performance and being challenged to "do better", would go on to found the Packard Motor Company.

By 1899 Winton had become the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the United States with sales of more than one hundred vehicles. The Vanderbilts became investors in Winton and the following years would see a steady stream of accomplishments (including setting a new land speed record of 70mph and being the first automobile to travel across the United States). As automobile ownership became part of the American dream, competition increased and newer, trendier makers began to eat into Winton's sales. In 1924 Winton stopped manufacturing automobiles, focusing on marine and other engines. In 1930 Winton was sold to General Motors, continuing to manufacture engines (including those used in submarines). In 1937 GM reorganized the company, renaming it the Cleveland Diesel Motor Division of General Motors a moniker under which it made engines for the US Navy throughout World War II.

The Cleveland Diesel Motor Division of General Motors closed in 1962.