in one of the wings of the Heemaf, one of the companies he had founded. Although this was all a hobby for him initially, he began assembling Spijkers at Heemaf with the approval of the Spijker brothers and subsequently with that of those who had taken over Spijker. He provided them with improvements on the automobiles. Heemaf's board of directors complained that Hofstede Crull was using a part of the factory as his personal garage and auto park. To circumvent the criticism, he established the Spijker Automobiel Verhuur Maatschappij which along with Amsterdam's Trompenburg Bedrijf became the first auto rental companies in the Netherlands. One of his other companies was the American Refined Motor Company, which helped improve mechanical motor parts. This all stemmed from an automobile accident that he, Hofstede Crull, and his chauffeur, a man named Poorthuis, had in 1909 when he subsequently discovered a defect in the Spijker's steering mechanism which he improved. Car models Aircraft Spijker V.1 - 1917 single seat fighter Spijker V.2 - 1917 trainer Spijker V.3 - 1919 single seat fighter Spijker V.4 - two seat reconnaissance aircraft, construction abandoned before completion. Spyker on stamps and in film Both Spyker brand automobiles appear on Dutch postage stamps (first day of issue: May 10, 2004). The car driven by Kenneth More in the 1953 film Genevieve, about the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, is a 1905 Spyker 12/16-HP. See also Spyker Cars References External links Company history at RitzSite Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1880 Manufacturing companies based in Amsterdam Car manufacturers of the Netherlands Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1926 1926 disestablishments in the Netherlands Bus manufacturers of the Netherlands Dutch companies established in 1880 Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the Netherlands