Mr. Clutch

This book, first published in 1948, is an enjoyable biography of George William Borg (1887-1960), an American industrialist, inventor, and one of the founders of the Borg-Warner Corporation. While at Borg & Beck, which was formed in 1914 by his father Victor Borg and Gary Marshall Beck, George W. Borg was instrumental in developing the first successful automobile clutch, a revolutionary clutch using a circular pressure plate that would hold well when engaged yet slip as needed when starting out. He managed the partnership, which was ultimately merged with Warner Transmission in 1922 to form Borg-Warner Corp.In 1925, Borg, who wanted his own business independent of Borg-Warner, collaborated with William Greenleaf to develop a new venture in automobile clocks. Following a brief partnership with Greenleaf Corp. from 1926-1927, Borg set up the George W. Borg Corp, whose clocks first appeared in 1928. With the Depression soon at hand, Borg's lower-cost clocks were in demand, and soon Borg clocks were sold as factory equipment in all the major car lines, including General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.