Founded in Detroit in the autumn of 1907, the Regal Car Company hired Paul Arthur to design its car, which was bodied by the Fisher coachworks of Detroit. A conventional, medium-sized, medium-priced automobile, the Regal enjoyed considerable success, thanks in part to a promotion that saw a standard 30hp model - 'Plugger' - travel from New York to San Francisco in the summer of 1909 and then cross the continent a further five times before finally returning home to Detroit in the summer of 1910 after a journey of 22,000 miles.

In the autumn of 1910 the company's famous Underslung model was introduced at $900 for a runabout, $1,250 for a colonial coupé and since bodies were interchangeable the car could be bought with both for $1,400. Because of its lively performance and similarity in size, the Regal Underslung was frequently compared to America's pre-eminent sports car of the era, the Mercer. As the Mercer was twice as expensive the Regal came to be known as the 'poor man's Mercer'.

Annual sales increased steadily from 425 in 1908 (the first full year of production) to a peak of 8,227 in 1915, by which time Regal was large enough to be considered a major manufacturer, exporting widely. The marque gained success overseas also, Regals were imported into the UK between 1911 and 1918 by Seabrook, of Great Eastern Street, London EC2 and marketed as 'Seabrook RMC's. Financial difficulties, however, were just around the corner. The WWI materials shortage contributed to halved production in 1917 and the receivers moved in during February of 1918 to close what, almost certainly, was still a going concern.