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The Spanish General Company of Automobile Cars Emilio de la Cuadra, più note as De la Quadra, è stata a spagnola automotive house attiva dal 1898 al 1901.
L'azienda venne fondata a Barcellona nel settembre 1898, dal capitano d'artiglieria Emilio de la Cuadra, allo scopo di commerciare i veicoli prodotti dalla Benz & Cie. e, altresì, costruire in proprio automobili a propulsione elettrica, progettate dall'ingegnere svizzero Carlos Vellino.
L'anno seguente, his consiglio di Vellino, l'azno assunse a altro ingegnere svizzero, il ventunenne Marc Birkigt, all'epoca giunto to Barcellona dalla natia Ginevra in cerca di occupazione e destined to divenire one of the più geniali progettisti nella storia dell ' automobile, nonché cofondatore della Hispano-Suiza.
Nell'agosto of the 1900 elettrica vettura fu ultimata e presentata alla stampa nel corso di a pubblica dimostrazione, rivelatasi discontent. L'insuccesso causò le dimissioni di Vellino che substituta alla direzione tecnica da Birkigt.
Lastly, nei mesi precedenti, aveva studiato a fondo i motori della Benz & Cie., Acquisendo le basilari nozioni tecniche sul motore to internal combustion and realizzato a suo progetto per quel type di propulsore, sottoponendolo a la Quadra che autorizzò alla Sperimental phase. Dopo the realizzazione di alcuni prototipi, approntati negli ultimi mesi del 1900, l'azienda decise di mettere in produzione 6 automobili complete with motore a benzina.
In questa avventura Emilio de la Cuadra aveva investigated ogni sua sustanza e contratto forti debiti con i fornitori, both the sciopero generale spagnolo del maggio 1901 was enough to break the fragile financial equilibrium dell'azienda. L'imprenditore fu costretto to suspendere i pagamenti ed ottenne il rebate nell'esercito, lasciando l'azienda nelle mani dei creditori. In that moment, delle sei autovetture programmate, cinque erano in fase di assemblaggio.
The ditta fu rilevata dal principale creditore, Jose Maria Castro Fernandez, che diede vita alla nuova casa automobilistica J. Castro.
The company was founded in 1920, José María González being its president, Agustín Barbón its vice president and Santiago Gommes Rodríguez the CEO and secretary of the board. It had been set up with the capital of the French company "Societe Paris-France", owner of the chain of stores "Les Dames de France", and had bought the buildings 19, 21, 23 and 25 of the Desengaño street and the number 40 of the calle Mesonero Romanos in the future to house the Madrid-Paris department store whose entrance would be made in the new building through Pi and Margall Avenue, number 6, popularly known Avenue and later renamed the "Gran Vía".
In 1921 work began on a six-storey building on the site that was not completed until the end of 1923 and the store was not inaugurated until January 1924 six months later than planned.
Just as from the planning to the inauguration of the building there had been problems, since the works had been slow due to the strikes and the complexity of the construction, the first year of sales did not give the expected results. Focusing on the excess of dependents and the lack and inadequacy of the merchandise acquired, after removing the Director General from his position, to restructure the template, to get rid of the excess of unsold merchandise of the previous year, applying a kind of sales , and to restructure the sections. Likewise, given the financial burden that the company bore, due to the strong investment in the construction of the building and the acquisition of merchandise, it was decided to lease the sixth floor of the building to Unión Radio with the double intention of obtaining a source of income and publicity. In June of 1925 Union Radio would begin its broadcasts from here without they have stopped until the date.
The previous and other reforms led the Company to exit the losses in 1929 and begin its expansion through Spain in 1930, opening new branches in Cuenca and Campo de Criptana.
Despite the socio-political situation that since 1930 occurs, the company enters a spiral of losses and finally closes its doors in 1934. After its closure the building was sold in parts to three companies. The first Radio Union that remained on the sixth floor and the roof. On the eighth floor, the 40 Principales music chain also has its central studios. The second one to the Spanish Society of Unique Prices (Sepu) that would open that same year its Sepu Popular Stores and the third one to the Anonymous Society of Programs and Shows that would open in 1935 the Cinema Madrid-Paris.
After a profound reform in the whole interior surface, in which it has tried to partially recover the image of its beginnings, it currently houses the largest store in Spain of the Primark chain, 1 2 inaugurated in October 2015.
