The Russell Motor Car Company was an automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 manufacturer in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 that produced cars from 1904 to 1916. The company is considered to have produced Canada's first successful automobile.

In 1903, weakness in the bicycle

Bicycle

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

 market prompted Canada Cycle and Motor Co.

CCM (cycle)

CCM, formerly an initialism for Canada Cycle & Motor Co. Ltd. The company would eventually split into two separate entities both maintaining the CCM trademark, one maintaining bicycle manufacturing and the other, CCM , producing hockey equipment.-History:The formation of C.C.M...

 (C.C.M.), a bicycle manufacturer, to acquire the assets of Canadian Motors Ltd., a failed automobile producer. Thomas (Tommy) Alexander Russell, C.C.M.'s new general manager, saw an opportunity to diversify his company's product line.

From 1903 to 1905, C.C.M.'s new automobile division, named Russell Motor Car Company with Russell serving as president, began production of electric-powered two-passenger runabouts

Runabout (car)

Runabouts were a popular car body style at the beginning of the 20th Century. They were small, inexpensive, open cars. Most runabouts had just a single row of seats, providing seating for two passengers. Many also had a tonneau at the rear to provide optional seating for four or five...

. In 1905, the company produced its first "Model A" car with a two-cylinder gasoline engine. A larger "Model B", and a four-cylinder "Model C", arrived in 1906. A 40 horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 touring car was introduced in 1907, with a more prestigious 50 horsepower

Horsepower

Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 model coming in 1908.

The Russell vehicles developed a reputation as well-built and engineered cars, and success allowed Russell to focus on the high-end market. Sales offices were opened in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. In Canada, Russell promoted its vehicles as "The Thoroughly Canadian Car," built with Canadian material, labour and capital. Marketing included publicity stunts such as races on frozen Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 between Russell cars and ice-yachts

Ice boat

An ice boat is a boat or purpose-built framework similar in functional design to a sail boat but fitted with skis or runners and designed to run over ice instead of through water. Ice yachting is the sport of sailing and racing iceboats. Sailable ice is known in the sport as "hard water" versus...

. The Russell Motor Car Company Limited was incorporated separately from C.C.M. in 1911.

The company began to experience difficulties with its sleeve valve

Sleeve valve

The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve-valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in USA in the Willys-Knight car and light truck...

 engines in 1913. A downturn in the high-end market, coupled with the commencement of the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914, resulted in Russell selling its automobile production business to the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 manufacturer Willys-Overland Motors

Willys

Willys was the brand name used by Willys-Overland Motors, an American automobile company best known for its design and production of military Jeeps and civilian versions during the 20th century.-Early History:In 1908, John Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company...

 in 1916. Russell produced munitions

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

 during the war, and manufactured automobile parts after the war ended. In 1938, the company changed its name to Russell Industries Limited, as it continued its shift away from the automobile industry, expanding into the manufacture of machine parts. The company continued to exist into the 1950s, but the name Russell Industries Limited since 1972 the name has been used by a Burnaby, BC lighting fixture company.