The King was an American automobile built by the King Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan from 1911 to 1923, and in Buffalo, New York in 1923.
History
Charles Brady King built his first car in Detroit in 1896. The original plan was to enter it in the November 1895 Chicago Times Herald auto race, but it was not completed in time. King finished it on March 6, 1896, and it became the first gasoline automobile to be successfully driven on the streets of Detroit.[1] Henry Ford reportedly followed behind on a bicycle on the maiden voyage of the King. The situation in 1896 Detroit was not nearly as pro-automobile as it would be a decade later. Discouraged, King dismantled his car and sold the chassis to Byron Carter of future Cartercar fame.[2]
King worked for various other car companies before creating another car in 1910 and establishing the King Motor Car Company in February of the following year. The new King car incorporated a number of advanced features, such as a Gray Motors engine cast en bloc, cantilever springs, left-hand drive, and a centrally-located gearshift.[3]