Pilot Motor Car Company

The Pilot Motor Car Company of Richmond, Indiana, was an American automobile manufacturer founded in 1909 and headed by George Seidel, of the Seidel Buggy Company.

History
Initially, the cars were built in the Seidel Buggy factory while a stand-alone factory was constructed across town. The origin of the makes name is believed to have come from Seidel's desire to become a river boat pilot. They were marketed under the advertising slogan "The Car Ahead". The new factory, once completed, had an initial capacity of 500 cars per year, though in some later years, production approached 1,000. The firm was one of the first in the automotive field to hire women, though mainly for upholstery and curtain work.

Models
At first, 4-cylinde r Teetor-Hartley engines were the motive force of the cars. In 1913, a 6-cylinder engine was added to the line-up. From 1915 to 1924, only six-cylinders were offered, except for 1916, when a V8 engine made a one-year appearance as an engine choice. In 1913, the six-cylinder car cost $2,500, as opposed to the mid-priced $1,500 to$1,800  four-cylinder cars. In 1920, a larger Herschell-Spillman six was added. A Sportster model was introduced in the summer of 1922, with barrel headlights and no running boards.

Pilots were durable cars, and was regularly exported. Seidel received a letter in the 1940s from a car dealer in South America, who inquired if any Pilots were still available, and their price. Seidel was proud supporter of his hometown industries, as evidenced by the cars he drove during his lifetime: first, a Richmond; then a Pilot, and finally, a Davis.

Lorraine and Pilots demise
The firm took over the local Lorraine automobile manufacturer, but that could not help it survive long beyond the 1920-21 depression. A few Lorraine hearses were produced before that marque was discontinued. The Pilot Motor Car Company was forced into receivership in 1923 by what Seidel described as "cut-throat tactics of Eastern money interests." The last Pilots were produced in early 1924, and the factory was then sold to a local businessman for $28,500.