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Locomobile Company of America
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Locomobile Company of America
The Locomobile Company of America was a pioneering American automobile manufacturer founded in 1899, known for its dedication to precision before the assembly-line era. It was one of the earliest car manufacturers in the advent of the automobile age. For the first two years after its founding, the company was located in Watertown, Massachusetts. Production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1900, where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The company manufactured affordable, small steam cars until 1903, when production switched entirely to internal combustion-powered luxury automobiles. Locomobile was taken over in 1922 by Durant Motors and eventually went out of business in 1929. All cars produced by the original company were always sold under the brand name Locomobile.
The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899, the name coined from "locomotive" and "automobile". John B. Walker, editor and publisher of Cosmopolitan, bought the plans for an early steam-powered vehicle produced by Francis and Freelan Stanley for a price they could not resist, US$250,000 (equivalent to $9,449,000 in 2024). At the time, one car had been built, and 199 more had been ordered. Walker promptly sold half of his interest to paving contractor Amzi L. Barber for the same price as he had purchased the entire company. Walker and Barber's partnership lasted two weeks. Walker went on to found Mobile Company of America in North Tarrytown, New York, while Barber moved house to Bridgeport, Connecticut, as Locomobile, where the Stanley twins were named general managers. The Stanley twins founded the Stanley Motor Carriage Company in 1902, becoming the sharpest rival to Locomobile.
Locomobile began by producing steam cars. The steam Locomobiles were unreliable, finicky to operate, prone to kerosene fires, had small water tanks (getting only 20 mi (32 km) per tank), and took time to raise steam; author Rudyard Kipling described one example as a "nickel-plated fraud". Initially, they were offered with a single body style only, an inexpensive runabout at $600 (equivalent to $22,678 in 2024). Nevertheless, they were a curiosity and middle-class Americans clamoured for the latest technology. Salesmen, doctors, and people needing quick mobility found them useful. More than 4,000 were built between 1899 and 1902.
In 1901, Locomobile offered seven body styles at prices between $600 (equivalent to $22,678 in 2024) and $1,400 (equivalent to $52,914 in 2024). Most Locomobiles had simple twin-cylinder engines (3x4 in, 76.2x102 mm; 57 in3, 927 cm3) and a wire-wrapped 300-psi boiler, and burned the liquid fuel naphtha to create steam. Typical of the product was the 1904 Runabout, which seated two passengers and sold for $750 (equivalent to $26,247 in 2024). The two-cylinder steam engine was situated amidships of the wood-framed car. By now, the car had improved boilers and a new water pump, manufactured by the Overman Wheel Company in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. This company itself built the Victor Steamer.
During the Boer War, Locomobile did establish a new mark of sorts, becoming the first automobile to be used in war; it was a generator and searchlight tractor used to dismantle the Klein Nek minefield. It also served as a catering vehicle, with the useful ability (in British eyes, at least) of being able to brew a cup of tea by tapping the boiler.
This was, unfortunately, not a sure way to guarantee commercial success, even in Britain, and Locomobile started experimenting with gasoline internal combustion engines in 1902, starting with a four-cylinder, steel-chassis model designed by Andrew L. Riker. This encouraged the firm to drop steam vehicles the following year, selling the Stanley brothers back their rights for $20,000. In 1903, Barber relinquished his position to his son-in-law Samuel Todd Davis, Jr., who became President of the Locomobile Company.
The 1904 internal combustion Locomobile Touring car had a tonneau and space for five passengers, and sold for $4500, quite a change from the low-priced steam buggies. The front-mounted, vertical, water-cooled straight-four engine produced 16 hp (12 kW). A three-speed sliding transmission was used, as on the Système Panhard cars with which it competed. The angle steel-framed car weighed 2,200 lb (1,000 kg). The 1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout was a 60 hp (45 kW) two-seater and sold for $4,750 (equivalent to $166,232 in 2024). On the strength of recent competition successes, Locomobile soon became known for well-built and speedy luxury cars.
Like other early marques, Locomobile entered motor racing, contesting the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup with a 17.7-litre (1,080 in3) racer; after suffering a transmission gear failure, and with no spare available, driver Joe Tracy only managed two circuits of Auvergne before the transmission packed up entirely. Tracy did better for the company at the Vanderbilt Cup, placing third. A 90 hp (67 kW), 16.2-litre (990 cu in) F-head was damaged by tire trouble, so Tracy failed again in the 1906 Vanderbilt, but in 1908, George Robertson (wearing number 16) took the win in this car, ahead of fellow Locomobile pilot Joe Florida in third, becoming the first United States-built car to win in international competition. This was the high-water mark for Locomobile racing, and they soon faded from the scene, though Orin Davis did score a win in the Los Angeles–Phoenix rally in 1913. A Locomobile was raced by Eva Mudge, believed to be the first female driving licence holder and first female racing driver. In 1925, the Locomobile team entered a front-wheel-drive Miller car called the "Junior Eight Special" after their recently introduced smaller car at the Indianapolis 500, but there was nothing Locomobile about it aside from the name.
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Locomobile Company of America
The Locomobile Company of America was a pioneering American automobile manufacturer founded in 1899, known for its dedication to precision before the assembly-line era. It was one of the earliest car manufacturers in the advent of the automobile age. For the first two years after its founding, the company was located in Watertown, Massachusetts. Production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1900, where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The company manufactured affordable, small steam cars until 1903, when production switched entirely to internal combustion-powered luxury automobiles. Locomobile was taken over in 1922 by Durant Motors and eventually went out of business in 1929. All cars produced by the original company were always sold under the brand name Locomobile.
The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899, the name coined from "locomotive" and "automobile". John B. Walker, editor and publisher of Cosmopolitan, bought the plans for an early steam-powered vehicle produced by Francis and Freelan Stanley for a price they could not resist, US$250,000 (equivalent to $9,449,000 in 2024). At the time, one car had been built, and 199 more had been ordered. Walker promptly sold half of his interest to paving contractor Amzi L. Barber for the same price as he had purchased the entire company. Walker and Barber's partnership lasted two weeks. Walker went on to found Mobile Company of America in North Tarrytown, New York, while Barber moved house to Bridgeport, Connecticut, as Locomobile, where the Stanley twins were named general managers. The Stanley twins founded the Stanley Motor Carriage Company in 1902, becoming the sharpest rival to Locomobile.
Locomobile began by producing steam cars. The steam Locomobiles were unreliable, finicky to operate, prone to kerosene fires, had small water tanks (getting only 20 mi (32 km) per tank), and took time to raise steam; author Rudyard Kipling described one example as a "nickel-plated fraud". Initially, they were offered with a single body style only, an inexpensive runabout at $600 (equivalent to $22,678 in 2024). Nevertheless, they were a curiosity and middle-class Americans clamoured for the latest technology. Salesmen, doctors, and people needing quick mobility found them useful. More than 4,000 were built between 1899 and 1902.
In 1901, Locomobile offered seven body styles at prices between $600 (equivalent to $22,678 in 2024) and $1,400 (equivalent to $52,914 in 2024). Most Locomobiles had simple twin-cylinder engines (3x4 in, 76.2x102 mm; 57 in3, 927 cm3) and a wire-wrapped 300-psi boiler, and burned the liquid fuel naphtha to create steam. Typical of the product was the 1904 Runabout, which seated two passengers and sold for $750 (equivalent to $26,247 in 2024). The two-cylinder steam engine was situated amidships of the wood-framed car. By now, the car had improved boilers and a new water pump, manufactured by the Overman Wheel Company in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts. This company itself built the Victor Steamer.
During the Boer War, Locomobile did establish a new mark of sorts, becoming the first automobile to be used in war; it was a generator and searchlight tractor used to dismantle the Klein Nek minefield. It also served as a catering vehicle, with the useful ability (in British eyes, at least) of being able to brew a cup of tea by tapping the boiler.
This was, unfortunately, not a sure way to guarantee commercial success, even in Britain, and Locomobile started experimenting with gasoline internal combustion engines in 1902, starting with a four-cylinder, steel-chassis model designed by Andrew L. Riker. This encouraged the firm to drop steam vehicles the following year, selling the Stanley brothers back their rights for $20,000. In 1903, Barber relinquished his position to his son-in-law Samuel Todd Davis, Jr., who became President of the Locomobile Company.
The 1904 internal combustion Locomobile Touring car had a tonneau and space for five passengers, and sold for $4500, quite a change from the low-priced steam buggies. The front-mounted, vertical, water-cooled straight-four engine produced 16 hp (12 kW). A three-speed sliding transmission was used, as on the Système Panhard cars with which it competed. The angle steel-framed car weighed 2,200 lb (1,000 kg). The 1908 Locomobile 40 Runabout was a 60 hp (45 kW) two-seater and sold for $4,750 (equivalent to $166,232 in 2024). On the strength of recent competition successes, Locomobile soon became known for well-built and speedy luxury cars.
Like other early marques, Locomobile entered motor racing, contesting the 1905 Gordon Bennett Cup with a 17.7-litre (1,080 in3) racer; after suffering a transmission gear failure, and with no spare available, driver Joe Tracy only managed two circuits of Auvergne before the transmission packed up entirely. Tracy did better for the company at the Vanderbilt Cup, placing third. A 90 hp (67 kW), 16.2-litre (990 cu in) F-head was damaged by tire trouble, so Tracy failed again in the 1906 Vanderbilt, but in 1908, George Robertson (wearing number 16) took the win in this car, ahead of fellow Locomobile pilot Joe Florida in third, becoming the first United States-built car to win in international competition. This was the high-water mark for Locomobile racing, and they soon faded from the scene, though Orin Davis did score a win in the Los Angeles–Phoenix rally in 1913. A Locomobile was raced by Eva Mudge, believed to be the first female driving licence holder and first female racing driver. In 1925, the Locomobile team entered a front-wheel-drive Miller car called the "Junior Eight Special" after their recently introduced smaller car at the Indianapolis 500, but there was nothing Locomobile about it aside from the name.