American Locomotive Company Enters the Auto Industry
Their decision to enter auto manufacturing was part of a national pattern of business retooling at the time, similar to the transition at Pierce from bicycles to autos or Studebaker from carriages and wagons to autos.

...rather than start their automotive operations from gound zero, Alco entered into a three-year agreement with the French automotive firm of Berliet. Alco's management admired the advanced engineering of continental autos, but had reservations about European endurance and lasting power on rough American roads. They concluded that it was not feasible to consider any car except one built to shrug off the rugged mountain routes of the Rhone Valley in France.

Caption: "Harry Grant's Vanderbilt-winning Alco. Car was a double winner, capturing the cup in both 1909 and 1910."

1909 and 1910 were Alco's glory years in racing as they scored impressive victories at America's premier contest in those days- the Vanderbilt Cup races. Harry Grant, the Alco dealer from Boston, was a virtual unknown in racing circles but he chauffered his mounts to the winner's circle with coolness and precision in both the 1909 and 1910 contests.