The century club: driving the automotive industry for over 100 years

As the 21st century dawns, AEI editors have compiled a partial list of companies whose vision, ingenuity, and nuts-and-bolts grasp of the mechanics of automaking have shaped the industry over the past century. Spokesmen from these companies tell why they have succeeded and how they plan to build on that success in the new millenium.

Two men separated from Detroit by a gap of almost 4300 miles and 114 years are the genesis of this article. In 1886 Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz-working independently just 60 miles apart in Germany-successfully solved the riddle of using an internal combustion engine to power a vehicle that could travel on land. Daimler and Benz never met, and their companies were not merged until the mid-1920s. But they set the wheels in motion for an automotive industry that now is entering a new millennium.

As the 21st century dawns, Automotive Engineering International editors have compiled a partial list of companies whose vision, ingenuity, and nuts-and-bolts grasp of the mechanics of automaking have shaped the industry over the past century. It is a long list, yet one that is, necessarily, incomplete. For our purposes, we limited the list to companies that trace their founding date to 1900 or before. And there are other reasons a few names may have been overlooked. Since the time of Daimler and Benz, untold numbers of companies have entered and exited the automotive industry playing field. Some survive and to varying degrees contribute to the makeup of the vehicles we drive or ride in almost daily. Others failed, their names lost forever. Still others, by virtue of acquisition, consolidation, merger, or causes unknown, have been relegated to the back seat. No list can be truly comprehensive. But the AEI list is impressive.