Spotted this recently in The Detroit
News, as the timing seems perfect regarding the fast
approaching yearly Belle Isle Dualies', nee IndyCar races in the "Motor
City."
As I've been sitting on a story idea 'bout
this colourful person for years now, as I simply love the name William Crapo
Durant, specifically the middle name!
As Y'all may be awares that "Billy"
Durant's the man who founded GM, aka General Motors, along with Chevrolet,
becoming the automaker's Commander-in-Chief (CEO) not once, but twice before
being ultimately dismissed from any further association with GM!
As Durant subsequently established Durant Motors
Incorporated, which was another short lived affair, albeit his son Cliff raced
his namesake's brand in that 'lil 'Ol motor race at 16th & Georgetown
between 1919-1932 in various brands including Durant and Locomobile, etc.
As this is the building where it all reportedly
began, where the first GM automobiles were manufactured near the beginning of
the Twentieth Century at the Durant-Dort
Carriage Company's "Factory One" establishment...
