Pioneering the Auto Age

A.A. den Otter is a history professor at the Memorial University of
Newfoundland and co-author of Lethbridge: A Centennial History.

In August 1904, the Ford Motor Company of Canada opened an assembly
plant in Windsor, Ontario, establishing that city as Canada’s
automobile capital. Launched by Gordon McGregor, a local carriage maker
who successfully negotiated an agreement with Henry Ford, the company
manufactured cars until 1954 and then converted its plants into
producers of engines and other automobile parts. Although by no means
the only auto-maker in the city, Ford aptly symbolized the important
role the industry played in the genesis and sustenance of Windsor.

The second major automaker to nurture Windsor was Chrysler Canada,
which grew out of the merger of two older local companies, Chalmers
Motor Car and Maxwell Motors. Chrysler took over the companies in 1925
and established what would become the city’s longest-running
automobile assembly plant, which today still manufactures cars, most
notably the popular mini-vans. The presence of General Motors has been
less evident in Windsor than that of the other big companies. Although
GM established itself in the city in 1930, it ceased car assembly in
1935 and used its plants for parts production only. In addition to the
big three, Windsor housed a number of other automobile makers. These
included such well-known names as Packard, Studebaker, and Jeep as well
as lesser-knowns such as Hupp, Tate, and Roe.

A major component of Windsor’s automobile history was its war effort,
particularly in World War II. With the outbreak of the war, the big
three auto-makers gradually curtailed and eventually stopped private car
production, moving completely into military vehicles and armaments,
making the city the leading war material supplier in the country.

Relegated to only one chapter in Pioneering the Auto Age is the story
of labor unions. The authors explain how in the late 1970s and 1980s,
Dennis McDermott and Bob White led the Canadian wing of the United Auto
Workers to national independence and the establishment of the Canadian
Auto Workers. They also feature the 1945-46 strike at Ford for a full
union shop.

Colling and Morgan discuss these two events in the order indicated.
This is only one example of haphazard chronological organization and an
erratic, chatty style.