The Frontenac Catalog
In 1931, as the end approached for Durant Motors, the Canadian Durant factory at Leaside became an independent company. Leaside became totally owned and operated by Canadians on January 14, 1931, to make whatever it wanted. Nash cars were originally to be built there, but that fell through. They decided to continue the Durant car and Rugby truck. Dominion Motors Ltd. is first mentioned on February 13, 1931. On March 14, 1931, Dominion Motors Limited received its charter. On May 4, 1931, Durant Motors of Canada was dissolved with all its assets being taken over by Dominion Motors.
The Frontenac was an all-Canadian car, which came out in August 1931 and was built side by side with Durant. Frontenacs were initially based on the USA 1931 619 Durant; the next model, the 6-85, was based on designs from the 1932 680 Continental-DeVaux. The three 1933 models were based on Continental designs. Continental Motors stopped making cars and continued making engines only. Dominion Motors was building cars by July 1931. All production stopped before December 1933, with drawings on the board for 1934 models.
The end of Dominion Motors
In January 1934 the Riverdale Tire & Auto Exchange bought Dominion Motors' entire stock of new vehicles. It published only two advertisements for them. The first, on January 5, 1934, offered "Frontenac Cars & Rugby Trucks": "We have purchased from Dominion Motors Ltd. their entire stock of Coupes, Coaches, Sedans and Trucks." The second, on March 15, 1934, offered the Frontenac 400 and 600 series and said that 75 percent of them had been sold since January 1. It noted that the four-cylinder Standard Sedan came equipped with a radio and converted into a sleeping car in only three minutes.
By then Continental was out of the picture, and Reo was operating most of the Leaside plant on its own. In September 1934 Dominion's directors were authorized to sell what they could at their discretion, and the business was wound up in 1935. The company formally ended on June 23, 1944, when the last section of the factory and the remaining land were sold to Frigidaire, with not enough money left to pay the shareholders, and Dominion Motors Limited gave up its charter. It was a fitting end: in 1918 W. C. Durant had bought the refrigerator company that he renamed Frigidaire.
E E6-18, 6-18
The model E was the first car produced by Dominion Motors under the Frontenac name. It was based on the Durant 6-19, with changes to wheelbase, engine size, and body detail to give it a Frontenac personality. The car featured "Free Wheeling" and the Startix starting system as standard equipment on its De Luxe models.
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Fact sheets: 1931, 1932.
6-70 Frontenac Six
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The model 6-70 was introduced in 1932 as a replacement for the model E. The car is essentially an E with some trim updates. Its car numbers start at G-1001, and its car number plate shows the model only as “E,” so the registry lists these cars as the E-670.
Fact sheets: 1932.
6-85
In the spring of 1932, the 6-85 was introduced. The car was based on the 1932 DeVaux 6-80 six-cylinder car. The car featured a "simplified" version of "free wheeling and automatic starting." Its car numbers start at K-1001. The only known surviving 6-85 has been in pieces in a museum in Oshawa, Ontario, since the 1990s.
Fact sheets: 1932, 1933.
ACE
The 1933 ACE (model 91) was the Canadian version of the 1933 Continental Ace (model 81). Its car numbers start at 91-1001, and its Hayes body tags begin with 191- (the US Continental Ace used 81- car numbers and 181- body tags).
Fact sheets: 1933.
C-400
The 1933 4-cylinder model C-400 was based on the 1933 Continental Beacon car. It sold for half the price of the previous year's Frontenac models, a sign of the dire economic conditions of 1933. Its seat back could be lowered (by removing two bolts) to make a bed, and unlike the US Continental Beacon it had a glove box.
Fact sheets: 1933.
C-600
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The 6-cylinder model C-600 was based on the 1933 Continental Flyer car.
Fact sheets: 1933.
Open questions
We are still looking for answers to the following questions. If you can help, please contact us.
| Model | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C-800 | 1933 | Did this car exist? |
References
- [Baldwin et al]pg.899
- [Durnford; Baechler]pg.181-187, 351-352
Fact sheets
Each fact sheet gives the model’s special features, body styles and prices, serial number range, and specifications, with pictures where available.
| Year | Model |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Frontenac E |
| 1932 | Frontenac 6-70 |
| 1932 | Frontenac 6-85 |
| 1933 | Frontenac ACE |
| 1933 | Frontenac C-400 |
| 1933 | Frontenac C-600 |