1929 Durant Model 4-40 Touring Coupe; 2-door
Owner: Bernie and Janice Taulborg Collection
Original cost: $595.00 ($10,327.53 in 1922)
Number made: 34,163
Engine, etc.: 4 cyl.; 152 cid; 36 hp; 107 in. wheelbase; 2,185 lbs.
Durant Motors was organized as a company on January 12, 1921 by William Crapo Durant, one of American automobile history’s most spectacular and colorful entrepreneurs. He was the grandson of a Michigan Governor, Henry H. Crapo, who had made a fortune in whaling. His father was addicted to hard liquor and stock speculation, a trait which may have been passed on to his son, though William Durant later became a prohibition advocate. As a young man, he showed a natural talent for selling medicine, insurance, cigars, real estate, and bicycles.
He established a carriage company in 1886 and joined the new but failing Buick Motor Car Co. in 1903. He quickly revived Buick and in 1908 bought several automotive manufacturers from General Motors Company. He lost control of the company two years later but with Louis Chevrolet founded the Chevrolet Motor Co. which acquired control of General Motors in 1915.
Having founded General Motors and lost it – twice – Durant began his second empire.
He bought the General Motors plant in Muncie, Indiana in April, 1921.
In 1922, Durant purchased the Willys-Overland plant in Elizabeth, NJ. Later in the year he was the sole bidder at the receivership sale of the Locomobile Company which became his prestige car. In theory, Locomobile gave him a product that would compete against Rolls Royce and Pierce-Arrow.
Production of Durant vehicles began in 1921 with the A-22 model with four cylinders. This was quickly followed by the new six-cylinder B-22, introduced in 1922. The Austed six cylinder engine began production and had twice the horsepower (and twice the price) of the original line of Durants.
The Durant was planned as an upmarket car in the Oakland mode. The company attempted to be a full-line automobile producer and fielded the Flint, Durant, and Star brands which were designed to meet the Buick, Oldsmobile, Oakland and Chevrolet price points.
In January, 1929, the former Star-four model Durant became the Durant 4-40.
Durant’s advertising slogan was “Just a Real Good Car” but in this era, car buyers began to demand more than this. Durant faltered before the stock market crash and was dealt a staggering blow when it happened. Less than a thousand Durants were built in 1932.
The company folded at the end of January, 1932 with liquidation occurring in 1933.
Sources: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805 -1942. Beverly Rae Kimes, et al. 3rd ed. Krause Publications, 1996.
http://durantmotors.org/ Durant Motors Automobile Club; excellent site; click on “Durantcars” on left for history, much more.
