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GhostCorp Apparel - resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Start the day with the story of a bold local automaker. Founded in Richmond, Indiana, in 1909, the Pilot Motor Car Company began building cars in a buggy factory while its dedicated plant was under construction. “The Car Ahead” was its advertising promise, backed by a changing range that included six-cylinder models and the Sportster of 1922. This coffee mug honors Pilot’s brief but memorable place in early American automotive history, making it a welcome choice for car collectors, Indiana enthusiasts, and fans of forgotten marques.

The Pilot Motor Car Company was founded in Richmond, Indiana, in 1909 and headed by George Seidel, of the Seidel Buggy Company. Its first cars were built in the buggy factory while a separate automobile plant was being constructed across town. The company name is believed to have reflected Seidel’s wish to become a riverboat pilot, and its advertising slogan was “The Car Ahead.” The new plant could initially build 500 cars a year; production approached 1,000 in some later years. Pilot first used four-cylinder Teetor-Hartley engines, adding a six-cylinder model in 1913. From 1915 through 1924, the range was six-cylinder, except for a V8 option offered for one year, 1916. A larger Herschell-Spillman six joined the line in 1920, and the Sportster followed in summer 1922. The company took over Richmond’s Lorraine automobile maker and briefly produced a few Lorraine hearses. The 1920–21 depression did not spare Pilot: the firm entered receivership in 1923, and its final cars were built in early 1924. The factory was then sold to a local businessman. Seidel’s own cars reflected his hometown ties: he drove a Richmond, then a Pilot, and later a Davis.