Ross (gasoline automobile)

{{short description|Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer}}

{{About|the gasoline-powered Ross automobile|the steam-powered Ross automobile|Ross (steam automobile)}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Ross Automobile Company

| logo =

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1915}}

| founder = John L. Ross

| defunct = {{end date and age|1918}}

| fate = Bankruptcy

| location_city = Detroit, Michigan

| location_country = United States

| industry = Automotive

| products = Automobiles

}}

The Ross was a Brass era automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan from 1915 to 1918 by the Ross Automobile Company. {{Kimes-USCars3rd}}

History

John L. Ross of Ross & Young Machine Company entered the automobile field by incorporating his Ross Automobile Company in 1915. The Ross automobile had a Herschell-Spillman V-8 engine with body styles including sedans and town cars and were priced at $1,350 and $1,850, {{Inflation|US|1850|1915|fmt=eq}}.

The "Ross Eight" won fame briefly in 1916 for being the first automobile to climb San Francisco's famous Fillmore Street hill in high gear, where grades reach a maximum of 25{{frac|2}}%.{{cite news |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DT19161117.2.14 |title=Ross 8 breaks all climbing records |author=Spooner, F. Ed. |date=November 17, 1916 |newspaper=Triplicate |access-date=27 December 2021}}

New York capitalists took over the company in late 1916 and changed the car from an 8-cylinder to a Continental six-cylinder. In 1917 the V-8 engine was reinstated, but not for long. The Company entered receivership and in February 1918, the Ross plant had been sold.

References