| 1897 |
Bicycle manufacturer Albert Augustus Pope (1843-1909) (maker of Columbia bicycles) begins manufacturing gas and electric vehicles under brand name Columbia.
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| 1899 |
Pope’s Columbia brand merged with Electric Vehicle Company.
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| 1903 |
Maxwell Briscoe was founded by Benjamin Briscoe (1869-1945) and Jonathan Maxwell (1864-1928). E. R. Thomas (1850-1936) founds Thomas in Buffalo, NY.
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| 1904 |
Stoddard Dayton founded; Thomas is now Thomas Flyer; Alden Sampson founded to make cars.
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| 1905 |
Alden Sampson switches to trucks.
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| 1906 |
Thomas Detroit offshoot is begun by Roy D. Chapin (1880-1936) and Howard Coffin, both later to found Hudson.
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| 1907 |
Frank Briscoe (brother of Benjamin)(1875-1954) and Alanson P. Brush found Brush to build the wood framed Brush Runabout.
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| 1908 |
A Thomas Flyer wins the New York to Paris race; Thomas Detroit discontinued in favor of Chalmers Detroit; Hugh Chambers (1873-1932).
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| 1909 |
Electric Vehicle Company (which has always made gas and electric cars) change their name to Columbia; Alden Sampson sold to United Motors.
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| 1910 |
Benjamin Briscoe forms United Motors out of Columbia, Brush, and Maxwell Briscoe at one time, includes 130 firms; Chalmers Detroit becomes Chalmers.
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| 1912 |
United Motors collapses; 1912-1913 Columbia markets Columbia-Knight with sleeve valve engine.
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| 1913 |
Hugh Chalmers founds Saxon.
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| 1914 |
Jonathan Maxwell reorganizes Maxwell Briscoe into Maxwell Motors—only firm to emerge from United Motors; the firm moves to Detroit and Walter Flanders becomes head of the firm.
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| 1915 |
Saxon bought from Chalmers (Saxon expires, 1922).
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| 1917 |
Maxwell begins leasing plant facilities from Chalmers.
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| 1918 |
Flanders leaves Maxwell.
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| 1919 |
A poor redesign of the Maxwell results in axle failures and gas tanks that break loose—thousands of unsold cars pile up.
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| 1920 |
Walter Chrysler joins Maxwell in August.
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| 1921 |
The Good Maxwell ad campaign rejuvenates the brand’s reputation and sells the re-engineered and refurbished excess inventory at a token profit. Re-design and improvement of Maxwell cars undertaken by Zeder-Skelton-Breer.
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| 1922 |
Chalmers merges with Maxwell; development of a new car to bear Chrysler name is begun; Chalmers discontinued.
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| 1925 |
Last Maxwell.
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