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Many of the early automobile manufacturers began by building buggies and wagons. Jacob J. Deal, who was born in Seneca County, New York, in 1827, came to Jonesville,Michigan in 1858 and opened a blacksmith shop. In 1865 he constructed two small buildings where he began to build wagons and buggies. During 1877 the company turned out 1,200 carts,300 wagons and carriages that were shipped throughout the midwest. At that time Jonesville had 28 trains a day passing through the town,so transportation was no problem. An ad for the Deal buggies said: "They are build for bad roads-and fairly spin over the hard,smooth stretches. There's speed and service and lasting satisfaction in every Deal." This is a picture and a wagon and surrey from an early Deal catalog:
 
Joing the company was George V Deal,who in 1891 was admitted as a partner. The firm was remaned J.J. Deal and son. He was especially interested in automobiles and began building cars around 1908. He died during a mastoid operation that was being performed on the kitchen table in his home in 1908. One of the first cars manufactured was the Deal Model G auto runabout:
The auto runaboat was a nighweeler-the wheels were 38 inches fitted with Firestone 11/2 inch solid rubber tires,wheelbase of 82 inches.The car was right hand drive. Jonesville was a farming community with no paved roads in 1908 so it is not unusual for the car to be a high wheeler. An article in the Jonesville Independent stated the factory was running overtime and there is no prospect of shorter days in the future. This was also an advertising technique of the early car manufacturers. As far as I know, there is no record of the number of Model G Runaboats produced, and none have survived to this day.
The next auto produced was a1910 Model S Deal Surrey car. An article in the February 24,1910 issue of Motor Age has a photoraph and an article about the car. The article states that the motor buggy was a two cylinder air-cooled power plant, a two speed planetary gear set,an 82 inch wheelbase,36 inch wheels and solid rubber tires. An article in the Jonesville Independent dated February 3,1910 stated the price was $950,4 cylinders and 30 horsepower.
The third and last Deal auto that I have information about is the Deal Model R. The Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal of 1911 has a picture of the car. It states the motor has 30 horsepower, a 15 gallon fuel tank,and a wheelbase of 102 inches. The price for the Model R 5 passenger touring car is $1,250. On the same page is a picture of the Model C four passenger surrey with a price of $1,000. The Jonesville Independent of April 20,1911 mentions the cars being manufactured.
In 1962 the Village of Jonesville purchased a 1908 or 1910 Deal Model S Surrey car for $3,000. The car was found and restored by Ted Balmer from Chelsea,Michigan. The car is now on display in the front window of the Village Office in Jonesville. The car is painted red,with black trim. It has a single Mother-in-law seat instead of the bench seat that pictured in the ads.
Harrah's Automobile Collection in Reno, Nv. owned a 1910 Deal 4 passenger surrey. When the collection was broken it was purchased by a collector in Grand Rapids,MI but I havn't been able to contact him. And so ends the story of The Deal Motor Vehicle Co,one that can be repeated many times by the buggy manufacturers who hoped to transform themselves into auto companies.
A special thanks to Wade Leonard, for donating the story to the MotorCities Story of the Week program. Please do not republish the story without the permission of MotorCities. For further information contact Wade Leonard at wadeleonard@comcast.net
If you have a story that you would like to donate to be featured as a MotorCities Story of the Week, email Lisa Ambriez at: lambriez@motorcities.org
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