1919 Dort Four

William C. Durant had many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances throughout his career, and one such individual was J. Dallas Dort. The pair created the Flint Road Car Company in Michigan city in 1886. This eventually became the Durant-Dort Carriage Company. Durant later left for Buick, General Motors, and Chevrolet. Dort stayed with the carriage business and by 1915, the Dort Motor Car Company was born. Etienne Planche was hired as chief engineer, and his resume included helping to build the first Chevrolet. The Dorts were assembled in Canada as well by William Gray, under the name Gray Dort.

For much of the early years, the Dorts rested on a 105-inch wheelbase platform, with prices ranging from the high $600s to $1,000. Power was from a 17-horsepower Lycoming four-cylinder engine. The list of body styles grew over the years, with a cloverleaf roadster and two closed cars added in 1917.

An impressive 8,618 examples were built in its inaugural year, followed by 14,136 examples in 1916. Production peaked in 1920, with 30,128 units built. Production would last through 1924, and a year later Dort sold his factory to A.C. Spark Plug, which was not yet part of General Motors. In May of that year, while on a golf course, J. Dallas Dort died from a heart attack.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020