Charles Kettering and Grand Theft Auto....

Excerpt from 'Ohio Story....

  Another Daytonian; Charles F. Kettering sold General Motors the first self-starting system for cars. It didn’t seem to matter much to Kettering that he didn’t actually have the machinery, people, or facilities to complete the order. Together with his partner, Edward Andrew Deeds, an electrical engineer who worked for National Cash Register, they completed the order in a barn owned by the Deeds family.

   When top executives discovered that Kettering intended to stay in Dayton to produce the system, they tried to argue against it.

  “Come to Detroit!” they said. “Dayton has no adequate roads, no decent rail service, and no access to shipping from the great lakes. It is just too far inland.”

  Kettering only bobbed his head and said, “Inland-? That is a great name.” Thus Inland Manufacturing in Dayton was born.   Back in those days General Motors manufactured their cars with slow drying oil based paint that took six to eight hours to dry to the touch. The paint was hand brushed over a primer, and then the cars were left outside for thirty days to allow the paint to cure and harden to a tough, durable finish. Then the cars were brought back in to be buffed with rubbing compound for a deep, lustrous shine.

   This process caused many delays in production, sometimes stopping the assembly line altogether because there simply was not enough room on the premises to park the cars to allow the paint to cure outside.

   Kettering saw this as an opportunity, and developed a new automotive finish that he offered to General Motors. He announced his paint would dry to touch in twenty minutes, and didn’t need to be buffed to produce a glossy new car finish. G.M.’s production manager was unconvinced.

  “Not possible Kettering, our people have tried it already. Just can’t be done!” he stated emphatically.

   Undaunted, Kettering asked him to have lunch at his expense; so he could explain the chemical properties of his new product. The executive quickly accepted the offer, knowing Kettering was a legendary cheapskate.

   Over lunch Kettering patiently explained his revolutionary automotive paint theory; and massive production cost benefits to the G.M. production chief, but the man was unconvinced and told him so. He tersely thanked Kettering for the meal and left.

   Kettering loitered for a while in the restaurant, and unhurriedly paid the bill as the G.M. executive returned in a panic. He shouted “call the Police my car has been stolen!”

  Kettering followed him back out to the restaurant parking lot and pointed to a car parked in his original spot.

   “Why, there it is!”

   “No” the manager said, “That’s not my color.”

  “It is now.” Kettering said slowly.

  In truth, Kettering’s staff had stolen the production manager’s car. They then completely repainted it and returned it to its original spot. Bone dry and gleaming in the afternoon sun. A deal with Kettering’s fast dry enamel paint, for all of G.M’s Automotive Division, was soon signed.