De Luxe
Product brand
UnclaimedA short-lived American luxury automobile brand produced in Detroit in the early twentieth century.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
De Luxe was an American automobile brand associated with the De Luxe Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. It occupied the high-price end of the very early American automobile market and produced a vehicle marketed as an unusually expensive and prestigious car for its time. The brand's history was brief: after taking over the former Kirk Manufacturing Company factory, the company relocated its operations to a newly built Detroit facility and produced fewer than 100 cars in 1908 before being absorbed by the E-M-F Company in 1909. The company’s industrial origins were connected with the Kirk Manufacturing Company, which had produced the Yale automobile in Toledo, Ohio. In 1906, De Luxe took over the Kirk factory. Soon afterward, it established a new plant on a 15-acre site at Clark Street and Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. This move placed the brand within the expanding Detroit automobile manufacturing cluster, although De Luxe did not achieve the production scale or commercial longevity of the larger manufacturers that later dominated the industry. The De Luxe automobile was positioned as a high-priced vehicle. Contemporary descriptions place its retail price at approximately $5,000, a level that made it an elite purchase in the period. The available historical material does not provide a complete model range, detailed technical specifications, production totals for every year, or a clearly identified founder. The brand is therefore best understood as a limited-production early luxury automobile rather than as a mass-market marque. Production remained very small. Fewer than 100 automobiles were made in 1908, and the company was acquired by E-M-F in 1909. E-M-F subsequently used the Detroit factory to build the Flanders 20. After E-M-F itself was acquired by Studebaker in 1910, Studebaker continued automobile production in Detroit for a time before moving operations to South Bend, Indiana, during the 1920s. De Luxe did not survive as an independent automobile brand after the E-M-F acquisition. De Luxe should not be confused with later uses of similar wording, including Pontiac’s “De-Luxe” marketing designation or unrelated brands and products named Deluxe. The canonical subject represented here is the early American automobile manufactured by the De Luxe Motor Car Company, not a French food brand or a contemporary company using the name Deluxe.
History
The De Luxe was an early American automobile manufactured by the De Luxe Motor Car Company. The company operated during the formative years of the United States automobile industry, when numerous small manufacturers attempted to establish independent marques and production facilities. Unlike later mass-market manufacturers, De Luxe appears to have pursued a premium and highly limited-production position. In 1906, De Luxe took over the Toledo, Ohio, factory previously associated with the Kirk Manufacturing Company, maker of the Yale automobile. The takeover gave the new automobile concern an existing industrial base, but the company soon moved beyond the former Kirk facility. It established a new plant on a 15-acre site at Clark Street and Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, one of the most important emerging centers of American automobile production. The De Luxe automobile was sold as a high-priced car. Historical accounts describe a retail price of about $5,000, placing it among the more expensive vehicles available in its period. The surviving reference material does not establish a complete technical specification or a comprehensive catalogue of models, but the price and the brand’s limited output indicate a focus on affluent customers rather than broad consumer adoption. Commercial results were modest. De Luxe produced fewer than 100 cars in 1908. The company was acquired by E-M-F in 1909, ending its existence as an independent manufacturer. E-M-F repurposed the Detroit factory to build the Flanders 20, so the plant continued to have an automotive role even though De Luxe production ceased. The industrial succession continued in 1910, when Studebaker acquired E-M-F. Studebaker maintained automobile manufacturing in Detroit for several years before moving its operations to South Bend, Indiana, during the 1920s. De Luxe therefore became part of the chain of small-company consolidation that characterized the early automobile industry: an ambitious premium marque, a short production run, acquisition by a larger manufacturer, and eventual absorption into a broader manufacturing system. The brand’s historical identity is distinct from later uses of “De-Luxe” or “Deluxe” by other automobile manufacturers and from unrelated modern food, retail, entertainment, and service brands. The relevant subject is the early American automobile and its manufacturer in Detroit.
- 1920
Studebaker later moved operations away from Detroit
[1]During the 1920s, Studebaker moved its automobile operations from Detroit to South Bend, Indiana, ending the later Detroit manufacturing phase associated with the site.
- 1910
Studebaker acquired E-M-F
[1]Studebaker’s acquisition of E-M-F transferred the former De Luxe industrial assets into Studebaker’s corporate network.
- 1909
E-M-F acquired De Luxe
[1]The De Luxe Motor Car Company was absorbed by E-M-F, ending the brand’s independent manufacturing period.
- 1908
Production remained below 100 automobiles
[1]De Luxe produced fewer than 100 cars during the year, reflecting its limited-production business model and weak industrial scale.
- 1907
The De Luxe automobile entered production
[1]The De Luxe was manufactured as a high-priced American automobile.
- 1906
De Luxe took over the former Kirk Manufacturing Company factory
[1]The company acquired or took over the Toledo, Ohio, factory associated with the Yale automobile maker Kirk Manufacturing Company.
Products and positioning
High-priced, limited-production American automobile for affluent buyers in the early automotive era.
Luxury automobile · 1907
De Luxe automobile
The De Luxe automobile was the company’s principal and apparently defining product. It was positioned as a high-priced American car during the early automobile era, with historical accounts placing its retail price at approximately $5,000. Production was highly limited, with fewer than 100 cars built in 1908. Detailed specifications and a complete model breakdown are not established in the available reference material. Production ended after the company was acquired by E-M-F in 1909.
Brand decisions
1909
Acquisition by E-M-FM&ABackground
De Luxe had produced fewer than 100 automobiles in 1908 and did not continue as a large independent manufacturer.
Action taken
E-M-F acquired the De Luxe Motor Car Company and took control of its manufacturing assets.
Aftermath
E-M-F used the Detroit factory to manufacture the Flanders 20, ending De Luxe’s independent brand production.
1906
Relocation from the former Kirk facility to a new Detroit plantStrategyBackground
After taking over the Kirk Manufacturing Company’s former factory in Toledo, De Luxe established a new facility in Detroit on a 15-acre site at Clark Street and Jefferson Avenue.
Action taken
The company shifted its manufacturing base into Detroit, an increasingly important center of American automobile production.
Aftermath
The Detroit facility became part of the site’s subsequent use by E-M-F and later by companies connected with Studebaker.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Deluxe completes acquisition of Celero Commerce[2]
Deluxe Corporation completed its acquisition of Celero Commerce, a deal first disclosed on June 18, expanding Deluxe's digital payments capabilities. The combined entity is expected to handle over $70 billion in annual transactions and incorporate more than 55,000 merchant relationships and 130 bank partners.
Reported
Deluxe selects Hitachi Vantara[3]
Deluxe recently chose to work with Hitachi Vantara; Deluxe's CIO said the services helped simplify its move toward becoming an agile, technology-driven company and supported cloud cost reductions and infrastructure adjustments.
Reported
Platinum Equity acquires Deluxe distribution business[4]
Platinum Equity acquired Deluxe’s distribution business, which includes its localisation and digital cinema mastering operations. The acquisition did not affect Deluxe’s creative businesses.
Reported
Deluxe completes restructuring[5]
Deluxe announced that it had completed its comprehensive restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11, shedding more than 75 percent of its debt and obtaining $115 million in new financing.
Reported
Deluxe appoints Eric Cummins as CEO[5]
Deluxe appointed Eric Cummins as its next chief executive officer, succeeding John Wallace, who is retiring.
Sources5 sources
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