K-R-I-T Motor Car Company
 | |
 Krit Motor Car Company factory located at 1608 East Grand Boulevard | |
| Company type | Automobile Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Genre | Touring cars, roadsters[1] |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Defunct | 1916 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Vehicles Automotive parts |
K-R-I-T (or simply "Krit") was a small automobile manufacturing company (1909–1916) based in Detroit, Michigan.
History
[edit]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]
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1912 KRIT motor car Advertisement -
1917 KRIT Motor Car Co. - Patterns available -
1911 Krit Advertising -
Logo prominently showing the swastika emblem -
swastika on car in National Automobile Museum
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See also
[edit]- 1913 K-R-I-T "KT" 5-Passenger Touring at the National Automobile Museum.
References
[edit]- ^ Imperial Automobile Company. Pawtucket, Rhode Island: The Automobile Journal Publishing Co. 1912.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Once teeming with auto plants, Detroit now home to only a few nameplates - Michigan History - the Detroit News". 16 January 2000.
- Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
- Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
- Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909
- 1909 establishments in Michigan
- Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit
- 1900s cars
- 1910s cars
- Brass Era vehicles
- Cars introduced in 1909
- Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1916