vehicle assembly plants in Michigan, Georgia, and Ontario, together with timberland, lumber mills, a wheel manufacturer, the Flint Axle Works, and the Flint Varnish Works. Diamond Buggy Company A separate business named Diamond Buggy Company was established in 1896 to build low-priced carts sold for cash only. The first plant manager was A.B.C. Hardy. Manufacture of own components 1897: established Flint Gear and Top Company 1898: bought Imperial Wheel Company, Jackson. Imperial Wheel was later moved to Flint and Buick took over the Jackson plant 1900: established Flint Axle Works on a farm just north of Flint where the unavoidable noise would give less offence 1901: Flint Varnish Works Durant decided making their own components instead of buying them in would give Durant-Dort better control over costs and the ability to improve efficiency. All component factories were relocated to Flint to further speed production. These extra activities placed a lot of pressure on Durant's friends. Dallas Dort left the business in 1898 and didn't return until 1900. Hardy was sent on a tour of Europe in 1901. On that holiday he became fascinated by automobiles. In 1902 he established his Flint Automobile Company and built over fifty cars with Weston-Mott axles and W F Stewart bodies. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers demanded a licence fee of $50 for each engine Hardy had built so he ended production and "moved to Iowa". Dort Motor Car Company Durant-Dort continued making horse-drawn vehicles until 1917 but from 1915 the factory and office buildings refocused on the manufacture of Dort Motor Car Company automobiles. J. Dallas Dort began his own independent automotive business, Dort Motor Car Company, in 1915. Dort used the old Durant-Dort buildings but added more to them. Dort shipped 9000 cars in its first year. J Dallas Dort decided to retire and liquidated Dort Motor Car Company in 1924 and died the following year. Associates A.B.C. Hardy's Flint Automobile Company Alexander Brownell Cullen Hardy (1869–1948) began working at Durant-Dort in 1889. By 1895, he was supervising production of the Diamond, a low-cost buggy. In 1898, J. Dallas Dort took a two-year leave of absence from his position as president of Durant-Dort, and Hardy stepped into his place. After Dort's return in 1900, Hardy took his own leave of absence, and while touring Europe discovered the automobile. On his return, he supposedly told Durant to "get out of the carriage business