Editing White Motor Company (section)

===White Steamer===
[[File:Henry Ford Museum August 2012 70 (1907 White Model G steam touring car).jpg|thumb|A 1907 White Model G steam touring car at the [[Henry Ford Museum]].]]

Rollin H. White patented his new design and offered it to, among others, Locomobile. Finally, he persuaded his father, founder of the [[White Sewing Machine Company]], to allow the use of a corner in one of his buildings to build an automobile.

White's brother, Windsor, who was a management talent{{clarify|date=December 2021}}, joined the business venture, followed by their brother, Walter, who became instrumental in the sales, promotion and distribution of the product. The first group of fifty cars were completed in October 1900, but none were offered to the public until April 1901 so the design could be thoroughly tested. Since the cars were being offered by the automobile department of the sewing machine company, White could not afford to diminish the reputation of the parent company by the introduction of an untested product.

In 1905, it became necessary to separate the automobile department from its [[Holding company|parent company]] to accommodate the growth of the business and to physically separate them, as a fire in one could ruin both operations. On 4 July 1905, a racing steam car named "Whistling Billy" and driven by [[Webb Jay]] set a record of {{convert|73.75|mph|abbr=on}} on the [[Morris Park Racecourse]].<ref name="registry-history">{{cite web |url=http://www.whitesteamcar.com/White_Steam_Car_Registry/History.html |title=History |publisher=White Steam Car Registry |access-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620000142/http://whitesteamcar.com/White_Steam_Car_Registry/History.html |archive-date=20 June 2013 }}</ref>
[[File:TaftMotorCar1909.jpg|thumb|Taft's car]]
[[File:1909 White.jpg|thumb|1909 White touring car at the [[Petersen Automotive Museum]] ]]
A 1907 White Steamer was one of the early vehicles in the White House when [[Theodore Roosevelt]], the 26th President of the United States, allowed the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] to use the car behind his horse-drawn carriage.<ref name="freeman">{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NeMDAAAAMBAJ&q=Presidential+Car+1907+steam-powered+manufactured+by+White+Sewing&pg=PA36 |pages=36–37 |title=Cars of the Presidents |first=David W. |last=Freeman |journal=Popular Mechanics |date=January 1993 |volume=170 |issue=1 |access-date=15 May 2013 }}</ref> In 1909, president [[William Howard Taft]] converted the White House [[stable]]s into a [[Garage (residential)|garage]] and purchased four automobiles: two [[Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company|Pierce-Arrows]], a [[Baker Motor Vehicle|Baker Electric]], and a 1911 White.<ref name="freeman"/> This $4,000 car was one of the last steam cars produced and proved a favorite of the President who used bursts of steam against "pesky" [[Photojournalism|press photographers]].<ref name="freeman"/> The {{convert|40|hp|kW|abbr=on}} White Model M 7-seat [[Touring car|tourer]] generated favorable press for the newly formed White Motor Company.<ref>{{cite news|title=White Motor Company |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=24 February 1909}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virtualsteamcarmuseum.org/makers/white_steam_car_president_taft.html|title=President Taft's White Steam Car|first=Donald R. | last = Hoke |website=www.virtualsteamcarmuseum.org|access-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924045842/http://www.virtualsteamcarmuseum.org/makers/white_steam_car_president_taft.html|archive-date=24 September 2017}}</ref>  Taft's White Model M is currently housed in the collection at the [[Heritage Museums and Gardens]] in Sandwich, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/heritage-museums-classic-car-collection/1909-white-steamer/|title=1909 White Steamer - Heritage Museums & Gardens|work=Heritage Museums & Gardens|access-date=23 September 2017|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924045502/https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/heritage-museums-classic-car-collection/1909-white-steamer/|archive-date=24 September 2017}}</ref>

The last steam car was built in January 1911 as the company made a transition to gasoline-powered vehicles.<ref name="registry-history"/> The company continued to show them in their catalogues as late as 1912. 9122 White steam-powered cars<ref>{{cite web|url= https://trombinoscar.com/heavytruck/white0905.html |title= 9122 White steam-powered cars |date=1918-11-19|publisher= trombinoscar.com |access-date=2025-03-02}}</ref> were built, more than the better known [[Stanley Motor Carriage Company|Stanley]].

In 2019 Mitch Gross and Chris Rolph drove a 1910 model MM 40&nbsp;hp White steam car from Beijing to Paris, likely the only time such a feat has been done by a steam car. The journey of over 8000 miles crossed 12 countries, 7 time zones and included the first crossing of a major desert (the Gobi) by a steam car. 

The White steam car reentered popular culture in 2023 when comedian and classic car collector [[Jay Leno]], while repairing his 1907 White steam car in his garage in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], suffered third-degree burns on his face and hands when a fuel line sprayed him at the same time a spark ignited.