K-R-I-T Motor Car Company
K-R-I-T (or simply "Krit") was a small automobile manufacturing company (1909–1916) based in Detroit, Michigan.
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Type | Automobile Manufacturing |
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Industry | Automotive |
Genre | Touring cars, roadsters[1] |
Founded | 1909 |
Defunct | 1916 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States |
Products | Vehicles Automotive parts |
History
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Its 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, Fuehrer Adolf Hitler, or antisemitism). 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. The cars were conventional 4-cylinder models and many were exported to Europe and Australia. The outbreak of World War I seriously damaged the company and it failed in 1915. A few cars were subsequently assembled from remaining parts.
In 1911 the KRIT Motor Company was purchased by Walter S Russel of the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company.[2]
- 1912 KRIT motor car Advertisement
- 1917 KRIT Motor Car Co. - Patterns available
Surviving examples
- 1913 K-R-I-T "KT" 5-Passenger Touring at the National Automobile Museum.
See also
- List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
References
- Imperial Automobile Company. Pawtucket, Rhode Island: The Automobile Journal Publishing Co. 1912.
- http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/2000/01/15/once-teeming-with-auto-plants-detroit-now-home-to-only-a-few-nameplates/