The Michigan was a brass era automobile manufactured in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1904 to 1913 by the Michigan Buggy Company and its subsidiary the Michigan Motor Car Company.
History
The Michigan Buggy Company founded in 1883 By M. Henry Lane and Frank B. Lay was a major producer of buggies, carriages and wagons. In 1904 it motorized one of its buggies and offered the high-wheeler for $450. The car was powered by a single-cylinder 3 1/2 hp engine, the wheelbase was 54-inches, the tread 36-inches and it had a two-speed transmission which had no reverse. This motor buggy was offered on a limited basis, occasionally under the name of Kalamazoo, but more often as the Michigan.[1]
Michigan Motor Car Company
Serious production of an automobile did not begin until 1911 with the formation of the Michigan Motor Car Company. Involved in this venture were company officials Victor L. Palmer, Frank B. Lay, Jr. and George T. Lay.[1]