William Anderson established the firm of William Anderson , coal merchant and contractors, in 1832 at premises at Thornliebank, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. The firm remained in the hands of the family after the death of William Anderson. In 1895 , new premises were acquired at Speirsbridge, near Thornliebank. Robert Anderson (d1937) ran the company from the 1840s. As keen cyclist, he moved into selling and repairing bicycles and in 1904 the company sold its first motorcar, a 10/20 Coventry Humber for £358. In 1902 , he acquired further premises at Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, which he operated as Robert Anderson , bicycle repairers and garage. The William Anderson coal company was retained as a separate concern and operated under its original name until 1930.
The Newton Mearns site became the firm's main garage premises, although a second garage was acquired at Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, in 1915 . In 1930 the business was incorporated as a limited liability company, Andersons (Newton Mearns) Ltd . Robert Anderson's son, James, was responsible for building the "Anderson's Specials" of the 1920s. There were 4 car models available with a variety of chassis, suspensions and power units, the most famous being the 'Bug'. The first Anderson Special was built in 1922 and was torpedo shaped with a space frame built up from light mild steel angle to carry units and panels. The power units for the 'Bug' varied but it finished up with 2 Austin 7 engines side by side.
