Dominion Motors Frontenac

Durant Motors of New York, New York first used the Frontenac marque in 1931 on vehicles built and sold in Canada. The Canadian Durant firm was acquired by a group of Canadian investors and renamed Dominion Motors Limited. The firm continued building Durant and Frontenac cars. The first Frontenac, for 1931, was model 6-18, a 109-inch-wheelbase car based on the Durant 619.

After Durant Motors went under in 1932, Dominion Motors switched to De Vaux for a source of car designs. The 1932 Frontenac range consisted of two sixes, 6-70 (109-inch wheelbase), an update of the 1931 6-18, and the 6-85 (114-inch wheelbase) based on the De Vaux 6-80.

And just as Durant got into trouble, so did De Vaux. The firm was taken over by its major creditor, Continental Motors, in late 1932. Continental decided to continue car production under the Continental name and Dominion Motors decided to base their cars on Continental vehicles. Just as the 1933 Continental line consisted of three models, so did Frontenac.

The last Frontenac models were the C-400, a 101 1⁄2-inch-wheelbase four-cylinder car based on the Continental Beacon and the C-600, based on the 107-inch-wheelbase, six-cylinder Continental Flyer. Frontenac imported the 114-inch-wheelbase Continental Ace, putting a Frontenac nameplate on the grille and selling them as the Frontenac Ace.

Although Continental continued into 1934, Frontenac called it quits in 1933. Dominion Motors also built Reo cars and trucks for the Canadian market. Reo continued to use the plant into the early 1950s and in 1950 and 1951 Kaiser used part of the plant to assemble Kaiser sedans for the Canadian market.

Sources

Only Dominion carried on and Continental was already out of the picture and the majority of the plant was being operated by Reo on its own.

Riverdale Tire & Auto Exchange were the ones who bought up the entire stock from Dominion.

1st ad Toronto Star January 5, 1934, reads: Frontenac Cars & Rugby Trucks

We have purchased from Dominion Motors Ltd. their entire stock of Coupes, Coaches, Sedans and Trucks. It then it goes on to give prices of each model.

2nd ad Toronto Star, March 15, 1934, reads: {and only 2 were ever published} Brand New Frontenac's ( We have obtained from Dominion Motors Ltd. their entire stock of Frontenac cars 400 & 600 series. Since Jan 1st 75% of these economical cars have been sold. The number remaining on hand is very limited.) Then it goes on to give prices and mentions that the Standard Sedan 4-cylinder comes radio-equipped and that it converts into a sleeping car in only 3 minutes.

June 23, 1944, when Dominion Motors Ltd, finally sold off their last section of factories and the remaining lands to Frigidaire is when they also gave up their Charter as Dominion Motors Limited, ending the only all Canadian Car company.

There is one 1934 Frontenac in Mississauga, Ontario, that has the Pullman feature of the folding seat.

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