Sam McLaughlin forms McLaughlin Motor Car Co. on Nov. 20, 1907, in Ontario.

The company's origins dated to the mid-19th century when Robert McLaughlin, a Tyrone, Ontario, farmer with Irish roots, discovered he had a knack for working with wood. He crafted an ax handle and used the ax to clear land. He later built a horse-drawn sleigh. A neighbor offered to buy it and so McLaughlin built a second sleigh just like the first. The business grew into a successful carriage maker in Oshawa, Ontario.

By the turn of the century, the McLaughlins referred to their Oshawa manufacturing hub as the largest carriage factory in the British Empire.

The Oshawa carriages developed a reputation for quality, and two of McLaughlin's three sons -- Sam and George -- got involved in the business that eventually became McLaughlin Carriage Co.

In 1905, Sam test drove several cars in the United States and decided they were becoming luxury items. He wanted to make Buicks in Canada but couldn't agree on terms with a friend, Billy Durant, then a partner in Buick Motor Co. and who later founded General Motors.

In 1907, the McLaughlin sons persuaded their skeptical father to form McLaughlin Motor Car Co. The company's engineer fell ill just as production was about to begin so they revived discussions with Durant. Both sides agreed to use Buick engines and the McLaughlin automobile was born in 1908.

The McLaughlins adopted the same painting process for the company's cars that they used for carriages, and applied as many as 15 coats of paint to the bodies.

In the first year, 154 McLaughlin cars were sold. The carriage business and automobile business flourished side by side. In 1915, the McLaughlins were invited to begin Chevrolet car production in Canada. To accommodate the new venture, the company's carriage business was sold.

In 1918, the McLaughlins realized that the future of the car company was best served by selling out to GM. So GM of Canada was formed with the purchase of the McLaughlin Motor Car Co., with Sam retained as president and George as vice president.

The Canadian operations grew rapidly in the early 1920s when GM took advantage of tariff agreements throughout the British Commonwealth and designated the Oshawa site as a leading base for exports. The company was producing Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Oaklands at the time.

In 1942 when automobile production was halted during World War II, the last McLaughlin-Buick was built. When postwar output resumed, the cars were called Buicks.

Sam McLaughlin retired as president of GM of Canada in 1945. And when he died in 1972, at age 100, he was chairman of the board.