Oldsmobile Motor Works

Ransom E. Old founded the Olds Motor Works in 1897 in Lansing, Michigan, though it took him another two years to raise enough capital to advance beyond the tinkering stage. At that point a spectacular – and as it turned out fortunate – fire destroyed the Olds factory. The only thing saved in that fire was a prototype motorized buggy which Olds had developed as a potential low-priced car. Since this was all that Olds had to work with, it became the famed “Merry Oldsmobile” and many thousand were sold.

The Olds Motor works was not only noted for its automobiles but also for the automakers it graduated. Engines for the first curved dashes Olds were built by Henry Leland, later head of Cadillac and Lincoln while the Dodge Brothers built its transmissions. Olds himself left the company in 1903 and founded the REO Motor Car Company. Read more about the REO Motor Car Co. of Canada here.

In 1904, after Ransom Olds left the Olds Motor works, the US company started on an expansion program to build bigger and more modern cars for the 1905 model year.

It seems that it was clear there was a market for Oldsmobiles in Canada so an agreement was reached by Old Motor Works and the Packard Electric Company Ltd. of St. Catharines to produce cars under licence and several hundred were produced.

Assembly ceased in St.Catharines in 1907and the newly-formed Oldsmobile Company of Canda Ltd. Became a selling and servicing agency for imported Oldsmobiles at 80 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario. The St. Catharines factory remained closed until 1909 when it was acquired by the REO Motor Car Company of Canada Ltd.

The first automobiles in St. Catharines were built by the Packard Electric Company who built Oldsmobiles on licence for the American company.

The St. Catharines branch of Packard Electric established a factory at Race and Geneva Streets in 1895 and produced incandescent lamps and transformers. Between 1905 and 1907 hundreds of one and two cylinder Runabouts were produced by Packard Electric. The sticker price was around $800. Built in 1907, the Olds Motor works decided that building automobiles in Canada was impractical and production in the Race Street factory was halted.

Packard Electric

No Packard brand automobiles were ever made in St. Catharines.

The Packard Electric Co. of St. Catharines, Ontario was formed in 1894 by the amalgamation of the Packard Lamp Company and the Dominion Electric Co. of Montreal. Production of electrical equipment began in the old Neelon Grist Mill which had been built in 1882 on Race Street. The building was alongside the old Welland Canal which offered cheap water transportation and water power. The offices were located in a building on the corner of Bond and Geneva Streets.

The Packard Electric Co. Motor Car Department holds the distinction of being the first fully equipped Canadian automobile factory in Canada. They built Oldsmobiles in their factory. At a time when many cars relied heavily on labour-intensive or shop-fitted one-of-a-kind parts, Packard emphasized machine tools and standard, interchangeable parts. As per the trade journal – Canadian Machinery of the St. Catharines plant:

“this is the first plant in Canada to be built and designed for the manufacture of automobiles…the main feature of interest centering about this department is the machine shop, in which are found some of the newest and best designs of machine tools in their particular line; in fact the installation was made three-quarters of these tools were the first of their kind in Canada, and in nearly all cases they are special tools bought solely for the special work to be demanded of them.”

This included three Cincinnati milling machines, a Lodge and Shipley tool room lathe, a LaBlond Lathe, a Washburn drill grinder, a Gould and Elberhart shaper, a Fellows shaper and others. The tools were belt driven from line shafting powered by an electric motor of 35 HP. Electricity was produced by a Crocker-Wheeler generator.

The manufacture of Oldsmobiles continued until the end of 1907 season. Oldsmobiles were henceforth made in the Olds Motor Co. plant in Toronto.

The reason for the short production life was one that would be heard later about American cars. The Oldsmobile built in St. Catharines was an American design that had become too large and expensive for the Canadian market.

On January 16, 1909, the directors of Packard Electric sold part of the firm’s real estate holdings – lots 1-8 on the north side of Mill street – plant and chainnery to the REO Automobile Co. Ltd. of Canada in return for 890 shares of fully paid up capital stock in REO. Packard also agreed to purchase an additional 100 REO shares at $100 per share for a total cash outlay of $10,000.

On November 7, 1912 the shareholders authorized Packard electric to sell the REO shares at the best price obtainable – over $60,000.