We decided to visit friends near Flint, MI and see some Dort history.

Gary and Jan took us for a ride in their 1917 Gray-Dort. It had been over 10 years since we met them at a Gray-Dort gathering in Ontario. They had graciously given us rides in 2008 & 2010. These rides inspired us to work on our own 1922 Gary-Dort and get it on the road in 2012. Thanks Gary & Jan!

Gray-Dort cars, the first Canadian-made automobile, were created by William Gray (Canadian) and J. Dallas Dort (American) in Chatham, ON. These cars used many of the same parts as Dort cars built in Flint, MI.

J. Dallas Dort and Billy Durant started building road carts in Flint, MI.

They later became the Durant-Dort Carriage Company and produced carriages in this factory. Eventually, this factory was converted to make Dort Motor Cars.

The Durant-Dort Factory One is a GM Heritage site.

The city of Flint has dedicated bronze statues to Billy Durant and J. Dallas Dort

The Durant-Dort Carriage Co. headquarters was right across the street from the factory.

Durant went on to found General Motors. We enjoyed seeing this part of early automobile history.