Pioneers producing cars in Argentina

As it is known, there were many individual attempts of manufacturing cars in Argentina from the end of xix century to the beginning of xx century, the first filed case belongs the Spanish clever mechanic called Celestino Delgado.
In 1901, Don Celestino assembled a vehicle for four passengers equipped with a 6hp engine with local and European components, in a garage located in Buenos Aires.
The car, acquired then by Enrique Anchorena, had a good local press diffusion including some photographs and technical information. The builder’s efforts and the car qualities were well known. The popular magazine “Caras y Caretas” published: “it was elegant in its shape, painted red and covered with Moroccan lace tapestry”.

First integraly Argentinean car

However, the first car assembled in Argentina with local components was the work of other Spanish immigrant, Don Manuel Iglesias. He has been in Argentina with his family since 1884 in Campana location, Buenos Aires. Don Iglesias was a railway worker and due to this job, he developed his interest in mechanics. With the help of one lathe and some tools he handmade all the pieces of the vehicle.
The design was utilitarian and simple. It was an one people vehicle built on a rectangular chassis with beams, a rigid front axle which included the steering and a rear axle with differential. Equipped with a monocylindric engine with an exhaust valve set in the front part, the vehicle could get 15 km/h. In its front it lodged some water and fuel tanks.

The driver’s seat was integrally composed of wood, its shape was similar to a backed bench and it had a covered space to keep some objects in its inferior part. The wheels were composed of wooden rays without tires.
On November the 20th, 1907, after four years of an intense construction, Don Iglesias with his wife drove his car through the dusty streets of Campana.
Precisely, this real relic can nowadays be appreciated in this city museum.

Anasagasti and the first mass production

The first attempt to manufacture mass-produced cars in Argentina belonged to the young engineer Horacio Anasagasti´s project. He was graduated from Buenos Aires University in 1902 and a few years later he traveled Italy in order to take some improvement courses in Isotta Fraschini company in Milano. On his return he set a society with Ricardo Travers and Jose Gálvez. They get Isotta Fraschini representation and the Gregoire and Gordon Brille marks.
As well as cars, the society sold different components and car accessories included modern facilities, used for the brass and aluminium casting, where ten workers were employed.

However, the Anasagasti´s plan was the mass-produced car, and in 1909 he decides to forsake his partners and stars his career as constructor. He builds a facility and founds Horacio Anasagasti Mechanical Engineers Company in 1600 Alvear Ave.
The plan consisted of manufacturing from imported components, specially from Italy and France and, gradually replaced them with national products.
From the beginning, Anasagasti equipped his facility with an important set of machinery powered by a great electric motor that moved an aerial leather strips transmission, to activate the corresponding machines. For the vehicles bodyworks, the facility included also a sector destined to metalwork, bodywork and painting work.

The facility staff was about twenty workers, most of them were European immigrants with some type of specialization, between them were Spanish, French and Italian people. Anasagasti´s treatment was excellent and he instructed the workers in their own languages because he had a good command of English, French and Italian.
In the international railway and transport by land exhibition carried out in Buenos Aires in 1910, Anasagasti y Cia. showed some of the components for cars produced in his facility, among them a gear box of four forward and backward speed and a motor of four cylinders of his own design, constructed from imported steel. These components were carefully showed and protected by means of some glass panels in their edges in order to let the visitors watch their inner operation. The exhibition jury awarded him with the diploma of grand prize, the highest prize awarded to the national industry in the automobile sector.

The sportive success

On September, 1911, the engineer Anasagasti, very fond of car races, took part in Rosario-Cordoba-Rosario car race. The car had a French Ballot 12 hp motor of four cylinders, water refrigerated by thermo siphon. The cylinder size was 75mm. X 120 mm., what means a total capacity of 2,125cc. The valves were lateral situated in the same side of the block.
Anasagasti intended to prove his cars were as reliable as the imported ones. So he traveled Europe when he took part in some tour car competitions.
The competition more demanding was the France tour with a route of 5,500km. Three cars with 15 hp motors were driven by the English engineer Brown, Marquis D´avaray, and Jacques Repoussean, finishing among the first ones and without points against, excelled European and American makes.

On his return from Europe, Anasagasti was training for the commercial public presentation of his cars. The facility manufactured blocks, carters, connecting rods, crankshafts, gear boxes and their gears, axle tips, elastics for suspension, transmission axles, cardan axles and their crossroads, steering mechanism and bodyworks.
On January, 1912, the showed cars were offered into two versions of motor: 12hp normal and 15hp sport, meanwhile the bodyworks which only had one lateral and front door, were available in Double Phaeton and Lanadaulet versions.
The price of the 12hp engine model was 6,000 pesos and they could entirely be financed in dues of 200 pesos.
Unfortunately the Argentinean public distrusted the quality of Anasagasti´s ones and they preferred the European cars, in spite of its high price. The most of Anasagasti´s cars finished like taxis in Buenos Aires.

A honest man

His technical knowledge made of engineer Anasagasti a respectable man, and his human conditions turned him into an exceptional being. The social, human and economic conditions of his company´s staff were excellent, to such an extent that many of the benefits given by Anasagasti to his employees turned into law some years later. The salaries were the highest in that time. The day work did not overpass the eight hours and in summer each worker had a fan in his place of work. Also the facility had a refrigerator with soft drinks for personal use.
Two reasons plotted against the company continuity. On the one hand, the financial difficulties produced by the delay in the payments of the buyers who chose from the payment in dues. On the other hand, the first World War outbreak finished with the delivery of the products imported from Europe and to replace them locally was impossible because of the lack of raw material.
After manufacturing hundred of cars the facility closed its doors in 1915, Anasagasti was only 35 years old. His staff in gratefulness by the received treatment kept on working without earning salaries until 1916, when Anasagasti finally decides to sell off the society.