Chapin started out with Olds, then with Howard Coffin formed the Thomas-Detroit Company in 1906. After Hugh Chalmers takes over Thomas-Detroit in 1908, Chapin and Coffin form Hudson, named after Detroit department store magnate Joseph L. Hudson, an initial investor. Throughout his life, Chapin was an active crusader for better roads in America, and served as Herbert Hoover's Secretary of Commerce.