Olds’s new company soon experienced financial problems, but with funding from Michigan lumber magnate Samuel Smith he reorganized as Olds Motor Works in 1899. Several experimental models were made before fire levelled the plant in 1901. The only vehicle saved was a small curved dash runabout.
The company was soon back in business, now in Lansing, Michigan, building the only thing it had, Curved Dashes. They were capable, inexpensive little machines, so popular they became world’s the first mass produced car.
Unfortunately, Olds and Smith disagreed. Olds favoured entry level cars like the Curved Dash while Smith wanted heavier, more luxurious vehicles. Unable to reconcile, Olds left the company in 1904.