Ransom E. Olds
Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named.The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.He eventually settled in Lansing, Michigan, where he attended high-school before dropping out so that he could work full-time at the family company, P.F.The company was bought by a copper and lumber magnate named Samuel L. Smith[4] in 1899 and renamed Olds Motor Works."[7] Later that year, Olds had his company's test driver, Roy Chapin, drive a Curved Dash runabout to the second annual New York Automobile Show.Along the way, Chapin opted to drive up onto the Erie Canal tow path to escape the mire of New York state roads.Henry Ford came after him, and improved upon this by developing a continuously moving synchronous assembly line to manufacture his Model T starting in 1913.[16] In 1916, Olds purchased 37,547 acres (152 km2) of land by the northern part of Tampa Bay in Florida and developed the area into what is now the city of Oldsmar.In the early 1900s, Olds built an elaborate Queen Anne-style mansion[notes 1] on South Washington Avenue in Lansing.Among the home's many technological innovations was a turntable in the garage which allowed Olds to pull in at night and leave again the next morning without driving in reverse.
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