At seventeen years old, Mr. Rickenbacker’s journey began when he landed a job at Firestone Tire Company as a master mechanic in charge of the experimental department. After working several years with Firestone Tire Company, he developed multiple relationships with Dussenberg, the Mercer Company, and the Maxwell Company. Soon thereafter, Mr. Rickenbacker decided to leave his automotive work and focus on automotive racing.
During his racing career, Mr. Rickenbacker became a top contender of the dirt-track and brick-road competition, making him widely known as great competitor. One of his grand victories was achieved against racecar driver, Mr. Barney Oldfield. Although the race made personal achievement history, Mr. Rickenbacker’s first big win was the $10,000 Sioux City 100 mile direct track race of 1911. Mr. Rickenbacker made $80,000 as an automotive race car driver and was considered at the top of his class.
In 1916, Mr. Rickenbacker retired from the racing industry and enrolled into the army. During World War I, he put forth sufficient motivation and bravery by serving as a skillful pilot. Mr. Rickenbacker once said, “Going out to kill or be killed over the lines required a different type of courage”. Mr. Rickenbacker’s dedication carried him through 134 aerial combats, engaging in 26 confirmed victories credited to his name. Many remember Mr. Rickenbacker as America’s greatest war hero and that his time spent during war was his most honorable achievement. When the war concluded, Mr. Rickenbacker remembered his service with a certificate of enlistment showing his entry in the United States World War I as an Army Sergeant on May 25, 1917.
After the war, Mr. Rickenbacker founded the Rickenbacker Motor Car Company in 1921 and built Rickenbacker automobiles until 1927. On July 25th, 1921, the Rickenbacker Motor Company officially started its progress, which was made possible via $5,000,000 by a group of automobile men desiring a prosperous company. Mr. Rickenbacker became Vice President and Director of Sales with a set salary of $25,000 per year. In 1922, the Rickenbacker automobile made its debut at the New York Automobile show. The model included a V-6 engine capable of 60mph and featured the novelty of a flywheel at both ends of the crankshaft at which Mr. Rickenbacker first observed on a German plane that he shot down during the war. The Rickenbacker automobile had a price tag of $1,500-$2,000.
In less than two years, the Rickenbacker Motor Company had climbed from 83rd place to 19th place in sales. Although the Rickenbacker Motor Company was temporarily successful, sales began to slow, affecting the company’s progress to continue and move forward with new products. Rickenbacker Motor Company lost a great deal of money, Mr. Rickenbacker resigned, and within four months, the company was no longer in business.
The Rickenbacker Motor Company represented one of the most compelling failure stories in the American automobile industry. The company had a war time hero and the car had an advanced technical specification but with both combined and against odds, the company failed. Mr. Rickenbacker stated that the failure was due to multiple factors such as high-end competitors (Cadillac and Packard), early introduction of front-wheel brakes on certain automobiles, and a solid network of automobile dealers.
After his work with the Rickenbacker Motor Company, he became assistant sales manager of the Cadillac Motor Car Company, in charge of the La Salle Division. By the late 1920’s, General Motors transferred him as Vice President to the Fokker Aircraft Corporation. During his work, Mr. Rickenbacker purchased the Indianapolis Speedway and by 1945 he stepped down as President and held its 500-mile race, which was the country's largest sporting event. Later on, Mr. Rickenbacker took over North American Aviation, forerunner of Eastern Air Lines from which he retired in 1963. In 1973, Mr. Rickenbacker passed away in Switzerland at the age of 83. He left the automotive industry with great memories of a dual life that provided action, integrity, and courage.
A special thanks to Robert Tate, Automotive Historian and Researcher, for donating the story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Photographs courtesy of The National Automotive History Collection. (Bibliography: Beverly Rae Kimes, Hat in the Ring: The Rickenbacker, Automobile Quarterly, 13 (Fourth Quarter 1975) 418-435;
Please do not republish the story and/or photographs without permission of MotorCities National Heritage Area. For further information contact Robert Tate at btate@motorcities.org. If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at lambriez@motorcities.org.