Studebaker
Studebaker Four Touring Car
Studebaker Erskine
Car : Studebaker Four Touring Car
Year : 1914
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :89×127 mm
Cylinder capacity : 3150 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 35
Maximum speed : 44 mph
Wheelbase : 9 ft 8 ins (2.74 m)
Suspension : front and back : semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Car : Studebaker Erskine
Year : 1927
Engine : 6 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :66.67×114.3 mm
Cylinder capacity : 2395 cc
Gears : 3 forward
Brake horse power : 40
Maximum speed : 60 mph
Wheelbase : 8 ft 11 ins (2.71 m)
Suspension : front and back : semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Studebaker is one of the oldest names in the history of transport, going back to 1736, when Peter Studebaker first arrived in the United States from Holland. He set the path for future generations of his family, building carriages. This business was consolidated by two great-grandchildren, Henry and Clem, who started a coach factory at South Bend, Indiana. A third grandchild, John, joined them, and during the Civil War the firm supplied military wagons to the Union army.
From wagons (the famous Conestogas) Studebaker began to build chassis for the first car manufacturers, and eventually they started thinking about making cars themselves. Studebaker thus became a car firm, but did not stop making horse-drawn vehicles until 1921. It began in a small way in 1902 with electric cars, and in 1904 progressed to 4-cylinder engines, in collaboration with Garford. They also had agreements with E.M.F. of Detroit, Northern, Wayne, and Flanders, which gives some indication of how cautiously they turned to car manufacture.
With the absorption of E.M.F. in 1910 the Studebaker Corporation was formed, that being the name given to all subsequent designs. In 1914 it became a car company in the full sense, producing cars under the name Studebaker only. There were basically two models, 4- and 6-cylinders, both cheap, and thus in direct competition with the most common makes of the day. The Four Touring Car sold for $1,050. The water cooled 4-cylinder engine was rated at 35 bhp. It had shaft transmission. As all American companies used to specify, the price included hood, trunk, lights, wind-shield, speedmeter, and removable wheel rims. The listing of such details leads one to suppose that not all car manufacturers at that time considered these accessories as standard.
The Erskine had a 6-cylinder in-line engine rated at 40 bhp, crankshaft on four bearings, pump cooking, and sindle-disc dry clutch. Among the car’s innumerable features, included in the price, was a device for locking the steering-wheel and at the same time disconnecting the ignition. Car thefts were thus already considered a problem.
In 1928 Studebaker took over Pierce-Arrow, makers of de luxe cars. In 1933, however, Pierce-Arrow became independent again, the company announced that it was going to cease production.
Stanley was the brainchild of twin brothers, Francis and Freelan, who after various industrial ventures, including manufacture of photographic equipment, decided to try making cars in 1897. They wee so successful that they have earned a prominent place in the history of American car production. Surprisingly, they remained faithful to steam propulsion; indeed their cars were always known by the name Stanley-Steamer. The classic ‘coffin-shaped’ hood also remained virtually unchanged from 1906 to 1917.
Simplex was another American firm which only operated for a short time (1907 to 1917), but which nonetheless left favourable memories because of the very high quality of its cars.
Reo was started by the energetic and idiosyncratic industrialist Ransom Eli Olds (after whose initials these cars were named from 1904 on). Olds had already founded Olds Motor Vehicle Company in 1897, which later became Oldsmobile.
The company started under Thomas B. Jeffery in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1901. It began with small-cylinder capacity engines and progressed to both higher cylinder capacities and greater numbers of cylinders. The 38 HP belongs to the period when the company was still called Rambler: a solid car, but essentially conventional. In 1904 the firm went from twin-cylinder engines to 4 cylinders; the engine in the car illustrated here had the distinctive feature of having equal bore and stroke. It was thus known as a ‘square’ engine, a type adopted by many makers after the Second World War. Rambler’s early cars were all built along certain lines (lightness, cheapness, twin-cylinder front-mounted engine), which earned it a good reputation.
The 1921 PA represents one of the milestones in the company’s history, in incorporating engine mountings using rubber bearings. This innovation was adopted by all other manufacturers, as it solved one of the major problems of comfort. The man responsible, Fred Zeder, one of the most versatile of American engineers at the time, and who, together with Owen Skelton and Carl Breer, provided the technical expertise with which Walter Chrysler was able to start his company. His faith in the future of the car persuaded Chrysler to build a factory specially for Plymouths in 1929. Such a decision appeared folly at the time, but in the event proved justified. It celebrated production of its millionth car in August 1934, only six years after its foundation, thanks essentially to its very sensible price policies.
Georage Pierce opened a small factory for household articles in Buffalo in 1870. In 1900 the company produced its first car, powered by a single-cylinder De Dion engine. Pierce only changed to twin-cylinder engines in 1903. In 1904 it was already making a 4-cylinder 4400 cc car called the Great Arrow 24/28, which was very successful. At this point George Pierce decided it would be a good idea to compete in motor racing, and was successful in rallies. The work ‘Arrow’ perfectly illustrated the look of Pierce cars, and from 1909 the firm became officially Pierce-Arrow Motor car.
The first cars to be produced by Peerless, which were not overly successful, had single-cylinder engines; these became twin-cylinder with shaft transmission; and from 1903, a 4-cylinder engine was used. The 24 HP was the first car to have a 4-cylinder engine; it had a T-head and honeycomb radiator. The following year the company introduced a model with a similar design of 4-cylinder engine, but with a cylinder capacity of 6000 cc and limousine bodywork. That same year one of these took part in the New York-St Louis race, making it, so it is claimed, the first limousine to participate in a rally. First 6- and the V8-cylinder engines were developed, but the bodywork kept its austere elegance–which, whilst it was liked by the regular customers, did not win it new enthusiasts. The prestige model was a luxurious 16-cylinder car. It was introduced , however, in the middle of the slump, when the situation hardly augured well for such a model, beautifully designed and built as it was. In 1931, the firm’s premises were bought by Carling Brewery.