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43-449: In 1953, it was bought by Chrysler Corporation without its former Beautyware plumbing division which is now owned by Cerámicas Industriales, South America (CISA). Walter Briggs , by trade an upholsterer of carriages, after experience as a plant superintendent outside the industry joined a Detroit carriage builder and repairer, B F Everitt Company. Everitt had made some automobile bodies for Ransom E Olds and Henry Ford . Walter Briggs

86-451: A (small) profit for the financial year. At the 35th Annual General Meeting in August 1954, the chairman advised the profound regret of the board and all associated with the company, including the users of the some 65,000 vehicles which had been made since 1946, for their joint circumstances. Ultimately shareholders received back rather more than the nominal value of their shares. That process

129-418: A close association was formed. In 1922 Briggs made for Essex a closed car at a price near an open touring car and by 1925 Essex offered buyers the option of an open or closed Briggs bodied car at the same price. As demand for the closed cars expanded more businesses were acquired including competitors supplying to Ford. During the 1920s Ford and General Motors began to make their own bodies and Briggs became

172-636: The 1933 Ford V8 body and the Lincoln Zephyr . LeBaron featured as a Chrysler model name on some of Chrysler's Imperials until near the end of the 20th century. Ford obtained and retained access to Briggs' records and controlled pricing of products supplied to Ford and also supply of raw materials to Briggs. Briggs followed Ford to the United Kingdom setting up a plant for their Briggs Motor Bodies Limited in Dagenham when British Ford built there. Ownership

215-552: The Bradford van , two versions of an estate car called the Utility, and chassis front-ends and kits for outside coachbuilders, many abroad. The new cars were a complete change from what had gone before with the streamlined Jowett Javelin designed by a team led by Gerald Palmer . This had such advanced features as a flat-four push-rod engine, independent front suspension with torsion bars front and rear, and unitary body construction. The car

258-772: The Detroit Zoo in 1928, and personally paid for many of its first exhibits. He was also a patron of Eastern Michigan University and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra . Briggs was born on February 27, 1877, in Ypsilanti, Michigan , to Rodney D. Briggs and Ada Warner. He followed the Detroit Tigers from the time he was young. In his early youth he worked at the Michigan Central Railroad and later opened Briggs Manufacturing Company in 1908, which specialized in

301-530: The manufacturing of automobile bodies for the auto industry and later diversified into plumbing fixtures . After the death of Tigers' part-owner Bill Yawkey in 1919, surviving partner Frank Navin arranged for Briggs and industrialist John Kelsey to buy a 25 percent stake in the club. Briggs had long chafed at not being able to see the Tigers play the Chicago Cubs in the 1908 World Series ; he saw his stake in

344-534: The 1960s, became one of the Mercury 13 , women who qualified physically in the same tests as those used for male astronauts. She died in 2015. In a 2017 op-ed for the Detroit Free Press , Briggs' great-grandson, Harvey Briggs, publicly apologized for Walter's racism in his capacity as Tigers' owner. Harvey wrote that for all the good his great-grandfather might have done for Detroit, "I cannot overlook one fact. He

387-510: The Jowett engine powered Fire Pump. The company was bought by property developer Charles Clore in 1945 and he sold it in 1947 to the bankers Lazard Brothers . When production restarted after the Second World War, the twin-cylinder engine was dropped from the range of new cars, but continued in 1005 cc form to the end of production in the commercial vehicles, now comprising a light lorry,

430-501: The Tigers as a way to ensure he would never have to worry about getting a seat to a game again. In 1927, Briggs bought Kelsey's stake to become a full partner with Navin, though he stayed in the background while Navin was alive. After Navin died in 1935, Briggs became the sole owner of the franchise. As owner, among Briggs' first actions was completing major renovation and expansion plans to Navin Field, then seating 23,000. He double-decked

473-634: The bodies fully trimmed and ready to be applied to the mechanicals. The Jupiters were always built in-house at Idle. The new mechanicals had teething troubles, but Javelin bodies were still being mass-produced to the original schedule, leading to their being stockpiled. Export sales collapsed by 75 per cent in 1952 followed by sluggish domestic sales while the nation waited for the removal of a "temporarily" increased purchase tax , finally eased in April 1953, with disastrous long-term consequences for Jowett. Poor business strategy and direction, and over-confidence, were

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516-617: The business carried on by the Jowett Motor Manufacturing Company. It became a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1935. That year, 1919, a new works site was bought at Springfield, Bradford Road, Idle , outside Bradford, the site of a disused quarry. Car making started in the new factory in 1920. The first vehicle was the Jowett Seven using an enlarged version of the pre-war flat twin. First it

559-584: The business of Briggs Bodies was transferred to Briggs Motor Bodies Limited in order to raise capital in England. A factory was opened in Balby Carr , Doncaster in 1941, another in Southampton in 1949. In 1953 Ford of Britain bought Detroit's controlling share of Briggs Motor Bodies Limited. The Briggs factory at Doncaster was surplus to Ford's requirements and it was sold to Fisher and Ludlow . Fisher and Ludlow itself

602-523: The company's output. Jowett first exhibited at the London Motor Show in 1921 and gradually broke out of their previous local market. In 1923 coil ignition and electric starting were added and the four-seater "Long Four" was introduced in tourer form priced from £245 followed in 1925 by a closed saloon model, the previous short-chassis two-seater continuing in production. In 1929, the engine received removable cylinder heads to ease maintenance and braking

645-664: The cycle business and went on to make V-twin engines for driving machinery. Some early engines found their way locally into other makes of cars as replacements. In 1904 they became the Jowett Motor Manufacturing Company based in Back Burlington Street, Bradford . Their first Jowett light car was produced in February 1906 but as their little workshop was fully occupied with general engineering activities, experiments with different engine configurations, and making

688-436: The difficulty in arranging supplies of new bodies would unfortunately postpone the production of the new range of commercial vehicles, and the estate car, which were fully tooled-up. The business appeared to be running out of working capital and car production ceased. In July 1954 it was announced that Jowett Cars Limited would sell its main factory at Idle to International Harvester, excluding plant and equipment needed for

731-450: The end of 1954. The company did not go broke, but sold its factory to International Harvester who made tractors at the site until the early 1980s. The factory was demolished in 1983. Jowett switched to manufacturing aircraft parts for the Blackburn & General Aircraft Company in a former woollen mill at Howden Clough, Birstall , near Batley . Jowett, just the "shell" of the company,

774-519: The financially sound company's downfall and, even after the engine and gearbox problems were solved, the Idle plant was never able to build, nor – during 1952 – was the distribution network able to sell, the expected volume. Collapse of the arrangements for the supply of bodies led to suspension of Javelin production in 1953, together with the by now outdated Bradford, though tooling had been completed for new models. Jupiters remained in demand and were built up to

817-521: The first six Scott motorbikes, it did not go into production until 1910, and then after more than 25,000 miles of exhaustive trials. Their intention was to provide a low weight vehicle at a low price and with low running costs. The prototype could be described as the United Kingdom's first real light car. Engine and gearbox were specifically designed for a light car and made largely of aluminium. Its low speed torque and gear ratios were ideally suited to

860-492: The future supply of car bodies. Negotiations were proceeding, but an interruption in delivery of completed vehicles appeared likely to occur in the closing months of that year. He also reported that exports for 1952 were almost 75 per cent down on 1951. On the home market, during the six-month run-up to tax changes in April 1953, the anticipated success of an organised campaign for a reduction in purchase tax had sharply reduced previously buoyant UK new car demand. Home market sales in

903-797: The grandstand and converted the park into a bowl. It reopened in 1938 as Briggs Stadium, with a seating capacity of 58,000. The stadium was later renamed Tiger Stadium . Briggs was noted for fielding a well-paid team that won two American League pennants (1940, 1945) and a World Series championship in 1945 under his ownership. He had a reputation for being prejudiced against African Americans , in part because he refused to sign black players and would only allow black fans to sit in inferior obstructed-view sections at Briggs Stadium. While he employed blacks at his factory, they were subjected to pervasive discrimination and less-than-ideal working conditions. The Tigers did not field their first non-white player until 1958, six years after Briggs' death, making them

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946-430: The hills about Bradford and Yorkshire's terrain where poor roads provided little use for a high top speed or quick acceleration. Construction of the engine and the rest of the car was robust. Benjamin Jowett held that their light car class was suffering from engines either from cyclecars with sufficient power but subject to rapid deterioration because of inadequate bearing surfaces, or engines from larger cars too heavy for

989-442: The largest independent. Other prominent independent builders of automobile bodies included: Murray Body Corporation , C R Wilson Body Company , Edward G Budd Manufacturing Company and Fisher Body Company . LeBaron Carossiers Inc , a New York City custom body builder, was bought in 1926 and activities moved to Detroit and named LeBaron Studios. A New York design office remained at 724 Fifth Avenue . The studio's first influence

1032-411: The last quarter of 1952 were only 15 per cent of the sales in the three preceding quarters. In mid-September the board advised shareholders that the forecast break in production was unavoidable, and that it might prove to be of considerable duration. Having regard to this possibility, negotiations extended to suitable alternative work which would keep the factory reasonably employed. It also advised that

1075-470: The rest of the car's structure leading to a different set of troubles. The Jowett engine was designed and built for a light car. The production car "quickly became popular". It used an 816 cc flat twin water-cooled engine of 6.4 hp and three-speed gearbox with tiller steering . The body was a lightweight open two-seater. Learning popular opinion was that 10 hp was a minimum Jowett advertised their third car as being 8 hp without changing

1118-577: The second-to-last team in the majors to integrate (ahead of only the Boston Red Sox ). Briggs died at age 74 in Miami Beach, Florida , on January 17, 1952. He was interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan. His son, Walter Briggs Jr. , briefly inherited the Tigers before a court forced him to sell the team in 1956. His daughter, Jane Briggs Hart was known as an aviator and in

1161-520: The service and spares departments. A note was added by The Times that Jowett Cars had run into difficulties the previous year (1953), following the acquisition of the motor body suppliers Fisher and Ludlow by BMC, completed in September 1953. "It is now stated that since the company ceased manufacturing Javelin and Bradford vehicles it has not been found possible to keep the main factory operating at an economic level." However Jowett Cars Limited reported

1204-902: The share had fallen to just over a quarter by 1939 and those went to Lincoln and Mercury. Ford, Chrysler, Packard and Hudson set up their own in-house design departments and LeBaron lost importance for Briggs. Beginning with the all-new 1941 Clipper all Packard bodies were built by Briggs. A workforce of over 36,000 built aircraft gun-turrets, doors, wing components, bomb doors, heavy and medium tank hulls, trucks and ambulance bodies. Walter Briggs died in January 1952 and in December 1953 Chrysler Corporation bought Briggs' entire US body building operation. There were twelve plants, ten in Detroit, and another two in Youngstown, Ohio and Evansville Indiana. The Packard body plant

1247-526: The specification. Twelve vehicles were made before an improved version with wheel steering was launched in 1913 and a further 36 were made before the outbreak of the First World War when the factory was turned over to munitions manufacture. Two tiller steerers still survive. Jowett Cars Limited was a new private company formed in June 1919 to make and sell motorcars and it purchased the car manufacturing portion of

1290-400: The traditional twin-cylinder models which grew to 946 cc in 1937. In 1935 the company went public and in 1936 Benjamin Jowett retired. Brother William carried on until 1940. Production of cars stopped in 1940 but engine production for motor-generator sets continued alongside aircraft components and other military hardware. The engine was (besides being used as a generator set) also used in

1333-649: The unitary construction bodies and fully trimmed them for Jowett Javelin cars and Bradford vans. In April 1953, the Ford Motor Company Limited purchased from the US shareholders majority control of Briggs Motor Bodies Limited, whose main factory was adjacent to the Ford plant at Dagenham . Remaining minority shareholders were bought out, and Ford quickly acquired full ownership of the Briggs business. The Briggs factory at Doncaster

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1376-744: The weight of the cast iron product. The Briggs family kept Beautyware and did not sell it to Chrysler in 1953. Bought by Cerámicas Industriales, South America (CISA) in 1997 it is now directed from Charleston South Carolina. Briggs Plumbing Products operates plants throughout the Americas. Briggs Bodies Limited set up works at Dagenham to manufacture steel bodies for cars and trucks and steel-stampings for Ford Motor Company Limited . Work started in May 1930 and production began in 1932. By July 1935 it had 4,500 employees and included these customers beside Ford, Austin , Chrysler , Riley , Standard and others. In August 1935

1419-420: Was a racist." Harvey added that his opposition to Donald Trump came from the need to acknowledge his family's racist past. Jowett Jowett was a manufacturer of light cars and light commercial vehicles in Bradford , West Riding of Yorkshire , England from 1906 to 1954. Jowett was founded in 1901 by brothers Benjamin (1877–1963) and William (1880–1965) Jowett with Arthur V. Lamb. They started in

1462-445: Was enlarged to 831 cc then to 907 cc in 1921 when the claim to 8 hp was dropped from advertising. Thereafter all Jowetts were Sevens until the introduction of the four-cylinder engine in 1936. The engine developed its maximum torque at low revs and was soon famed for its pulling power, reliability and economy. Commercial vehicles based on the car chassis were also built from 1922 and became an increasingly important part of

1505-535: Was good for 80 mph (130 km/h) and had excellent handling. In 1950 the Javelin was joined by the Jowett Jupiter sports car with a chassis designed by Eberan von Eberhorst who had worked for Auto Union . Javelins were designed for production levels never before attempted by Jowett. Javelin and Bradford body production was out-sourced to Briggs Motor Bodies , who built a new plant at Doncaster . Briggs supplied

1548-544: Was later taken over by Blackburn in 1956, although spares for the postwar cars were kept available until 1963, when the remainder of the Jowett company was closed due to the rationalisation of the aircraft industry. The purchase tax on new cars was reduced by 25 per cent on 15 April 1953 (from 66⅔ per cent to 50 per cent), which triggered a surge in demand for new cars on the UK market. In the resulting scramble for production facilities, Ford bought Briggs, whose new Doncaster plant built

1591-424: Was leased to Packard. Dagenham and Trafford Park were sold to Ford Motor Company Limited and customer Jowett ended production and went out of business. A new product appeared in 1933. Briggs engineers had worked out how to replace the standard heavy cast iron bathtub. They used their expertise in deep draw metal stamping and the machinery for making car fenders. The new bathtub was stackable and about one-quarter of

1634-681: Was moved to an English subsidiary in 1935 retaining a 60 per cent shareholding. Another plant was set up in Doncaster , England after World War II to build bodies for other brands. Briggs Detroit plants (supplying Ford) were the centers of strike action by United Auto Workers in 1933 and 1937 where UAW was successful. Other well-known brands that fitted Briggs' bodies were: Lincoln, Chrysler, Packard , Hudson, Pierce Arrow, Tucker, and Marmon The Great Depression caused many customers to bring many more operations under their direct control. Briggs had provided two-thirds of Ford's bought-in bodies in 1936 but

1677-461: Was on all four wheels. Production was briefly suspended in September 1931 when fire swept through the works. 1933 saw the launch of the Jowett Kestrel with four-speed gearbox and in 1935 there was the oddly named Jowett Weasel sports tourer. The first four-cylinder (flat four) car arrived in 1936 with the 1166 cc twin carburettor Jowett Ten which continued until the outbreak of war alongside

1720-612: Was on design of the Briggs-built open bodies for the Ford Model A . By that time Briggs' Detroit plants were at Harper Avenue , Mack Avenue , Meldrum Avenue and Vernor Highway. A fire at Harper Avenue caused Briggs to lease the Model T plant at Highland Park in which they made many bodies for Chrysler. Later Briggs leased space in Ford's Cleveland, Ohio plant. LeBaron designers were responsible for

1763-526: Was quickly swallowed up by the newly created British Motor Corporation , . Walter Briggs Sr. Walter Owen Briggs Sr. (February 27, 1877 – January 17, 1952) was an American entrepreneur and professional sports owner . He was part-owner of the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1935 , and then sole owner from 1935 to his death in 1952 . Briggs also helped fund

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1806-456: Was soon in charge of the shops then became vice-president and then president. In 1909 the owners decided to make complete cars and Briggs was able to buy the Everitt coachbuilding business and reorganise it as Briggs Manufacturing Company. At this time the new Briggs business provided upholstery for a number of Detroit manufacturers, In 1910 Briggs agreed to supply 10,000 Ford Model T interiors and

1849-472: Was surplus to Ford's requirements and it was sold to Fisher and Ludlow . Fisher and Ludlow itself was quickly swallowed up by the newly created British Motor Corporation . At the beginning of July, the Chairman of Jowett Cars Limited, A.F. Jopling, who at the time was also a senior employee with Blackburn Aircraft , informed Jowett shareholders at their Annual General Meeting that difficulties had arisen over

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