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race where Henry Ford beat
Alexander Winton, a top racer and manufacturer of cars from Cleveland, with the Sweepstakes car, that was the prototype for Cadillac. A year later, in October 1902, he promoted a five-mile race, known as the Manufacturers' Challenge Cup, which was a planned Ford-Winton rematch. Despite a strong challenge from Winton, Barney Oldfield easily won with Ford’s 999, taking the $ 200 prize. It set a speed record at the Detroit Driving Club track, in Grosse Pointe Township, and went on to tour America, and score many other victories. Subsequent to this, Ford was finally able to draw in the backers to start his 3rd company, the modern day Ford Motor Company.
175:. Two years later, Metzger was one of the people who organized the Cadillac Motor Car Co. In 1903, with only three cars produced, Metzger took orders for 2700 cars at the New York Auto Show. The 1903 production of Cadillacs outstripped every other manufacture in the US save Oldsmobile. In 1905, Cadillac reorganized, merging with Leland & Faulconer; Metzger obtained 3000 shares of the merged company. Metzger stayed at Cadillac as sales manager until 1908, but was looking for new challenges.
242:). However, the company never really got off the ground. Profits were low or nonexistent, and the company was dealt a blow by the death of Walter Flanders in an automobile accident in 1923. The company limped along for a few years, but in 1926 Rickenbacker, disgusted with the constant bickering, resigned. Other company officers left, and Rickenbacker Motors closed for good in 1927.
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With
Everitt and Metzger gone, things were unsettled at E-M-F. Despite strong sales, infighting was rampant, and in 1912 Walter Flanders left, joining Metzger and Everitt. The three partners, together again, recapitalized their firm, renaming it the Flanders Motor Company. However, the new company
141:, then the leading automobile manufacturers in the world (albeit with less than 200 each). He returned to Detroit convinced of the automobile's future, and immediately sold his share in Huber & Metzger. Metzger built the first U. S. automobile retail showroom, which opened 7 June, 1897, selling
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to market their cars. In 1909, EMF-Studebaker produced almost 8000 cars, making it the fifth largest auto maker in the US. However, although E-M-F was growing (it would produce 26,000 automobiles in 1911, second only to Ford), Metzger was unhappy with the partnership with
Studebaker. In mid-1909,
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As a young man, Metzger became enamored of bicycle riding, becoming the first vice president of
Detroit's Wheelman's Club and finishing a number of 100-mile bicycle rides. Soon his hobby became his business: in 1891, Metzger joined Stanley B Huber to open Huber & Metzger, a bicycle shop located
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He was promoter & organizer of the first auto race in
Detroit in 1901, at the Detroit Driving Club, a premier harness race track. It was an all-day affair, with over 8,000 spectators, and many races for different classes of cars, starting with a parade from downtown to the track. This was the
203:, producing a car (called the Everitt) that was substantially similar to E-M-F's model. Metzger again used his sales skills, and the first year's production of 2500 Everitts were pre-sold before the first one rolled off the assembly line.
257:. The next year, he organized the first All-American Aircraft Show in Detroit. In 1929, he organized the Cadillac Aircraft Co. The company built technically superior aircraft, but the onset of the Great Depression hurt the company.
149:; in June, Metzger sold the first automobile built by the company. In 1897, Oldsmobile produced four models, so Metzger couldn't have sold the first Oldsmobile unless it was one of the 1897 models.
117:, in 1868. At the age of 10 he moved to Detroit with his father and later graduated from Detroit High School in 1885. He immediately got a job at Hudson & Symington furniture (owned by
97:. He opened one of the first automobile dealerships in the United States, and participated in the early development of a number of early automobile companies, including the
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electric cars. The following year, Metzger added steamers, then gasoline-powered cars built by various companies. In 1899, Metzger started selling automobiles built by
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As the Great
Depression started, William Metzger's health began to decline. He was incapacitated for four years and succumbed to heart attack on April 11, 1933.
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was strapped for cash, and began failing almost immediately. In late 1912, Flanders financially juggled the company, selling
Flanders to the
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in the center of downtown
Detroit. The store soon became one of the largest in the country, and dealt directly with suppliers in England.
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In 1895, Metzger attended the world's first automobile show in London. Impressed with what he saw, he went on to visit the factories of
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as their vice president from 1917 to 1924. He also became affiliated with numerous other automotive companies including
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The E-M-F Company: The Story of
Automotive Pioneers Barney Everitt, William Metzger, and Walter Flanders
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Metzger left the company, taking Byron
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In the late 1920s, Metzger turned to aircraft. He had been a good friend of the
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In 1921, Everitt, Metzger, and Flanders reunited once again to produce the
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p.265. Society of Automotive Engineers Inc, Pennsylvania; at Google Books
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by Anthony J Yanik, pub Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE (2001)
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Photo Vice President Columbia Motors - Detroit Public Library
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In that year, Metzger acquired controlling interest in the
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Founder of multiple early automotive companies, including
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For the American airman and Medal of Honor recipient, see
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109:Early life
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