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K-R-I-T Motor Car Company

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
K-R-I-T Motor Car Company
Company typeAutomobile Manufacturing
IndustryAutomotive
GenreTouring cars, roadsters[1]
Founded1909
Defunct1916
Headquarters,
Area served
United States
ProductsVehicles
Automotive parts

K-R-I-T (or simply "Krit") was a small automobile manufacturing company (1909–1916) based in Detroit, Michigan.

History

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Krit Motor Car Company's name probably originated from Kenneth Crittenden, who provided financial backing and helped design the cars. The emblem of the cars was a swastika (a symbol that was not yet associated with Nazism, Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, or antisemitism).[2]

Krit occupied two different sites during its history: the first one it took over from the Blomstrom car, and in 1911 moved to the works that had been used by R. M. Owen & Company who had moved to become Owen Magnetic.

In 1911 the KRIT Motor Company was purchased by Walter S Russel of the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company.[3]

The cars were conventional 4-cylinder models and many were exported to Europe and Australia. In 1913 a six-cylinder car was introduced and Krit tried to increase sales by engineering cars for other marques. The outbreak of World War I seriously damaged the company and it failed in 1915. A few cars were subsequently assembled from remaining parts.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Imperial Automobile Company. Pawtucket, Rhode Island: The Automobile Journal Publishing Co. 1912.
  2. ^ a b Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
  3. ^ "Once teeming with auto plants, Detroit now home to only a few nameplates - Michigan History - the Detroit News". 16 January 2000.