Industry | Automotive industry |
---|---|
Founded | 1900 |
Defunct | 1915 | , 1924
Fate | Bankruptcy |
Successor | Knox Motor Company |
Headquarters | Springfield, Massachusetts, United States |
Key people | Harry A. Knox, Elihu H. Cutler |
Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 10,835 |
The Knox Automobile Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, between 1900 and 1914. Knox also built trucks and farm tractors until 1924. They are notable for building the very first modern fire engine in 1905, and the first American vehicle with hydraulic brakes, in 1915. [1]
Harry Austin Knox built three experimental gasoline cars at Overman Wheel Company between 1895 and 1898. He left Overman when they decided to build a steam car. Knox joined with his former employer, Elihu H. Cutler of the Elektron Company to form the Knox Automobile Company in Springfield Massachusetts in 1900. [2] The Waltham Watch Company factory was purchased and Knox built 15 cars in their first year. [3]
The Knox Model A was a three-wheel runabout with a 5-hp one-cylinder air-cooled engine. In 1902 a four-wheel runabout and a 8-hp two-cylinder engine joined the model line-up. Early cars were called Knoxmobile with the Waterless Knox being used from 1903. A slogan used was "The Car That Never Drinks". [3] In some models, passengers rode up front over the front axle while the driver and another passenger sat in the back over the engine. [4]
The flat-mounted single-cylinder engine was air-cooled. Rather than flanges to improve the efficiency of cooling, 1,750 threaded 3⁄16 inch (4.8 mm) diameter rods were screwed into the cylinder casing as projecting studs, which led to the engine sometimes being referred to as "Old Porcupine". A 2-speed planetary transmission was fitted. [5] [6] This engine was situated at the center of the car and produced 8 hp (6.0 kW). It was also called a "hedgehog". The one-cylinder engine was used until 1905. In 1902 a two-cylinder version was added that was used up to 1907. [3]
Knox pricing for the one-cylinder and two-cylinder models went for a low price in 1900 of $750, (equivalent to $27,468in 2023) to medium-priced by 1904. A 1904 Knox Tuxedo Touring model, equipped with a straight-twin engine producing 16 hp (12 kW), was priced at $2,200, equivalent to $74,604in 2023. [3]
In late 1904 Knox left the company over a disagreement on policy with Elihu Cutler. Knox set-up a new business across town to build the Atlas air-cooled car. [3]
In 1906 Knox Automobile Company introduced the Model G, a 40-hp air-cooled four-cylinder engine on a 112-inch wheelbase. With a limousine body priced at $5,000 (equivalent to $169,556in 2023), Knox had entered the luxury car market. The two-cylinder models were phased out in 1907 and all Knox's became mid-priced to high-priced cars. [2] Knox progressively improved their models, moving the engine from under the seat to up front under a hood and going from chain-driven to shaft-drive. [3] [2]
In 1908 a water-cooled four-cylinder engine was introduced and customers could choose air-cooled or pay $100 more for water-cooled models. [2] A six-cylinder engine became available in 1910 and all Knox's became water-cooled. Only luxury-priced Knox's were offered after 1910. [2]
The Knox was raced by William Bourque in the 1909 AAA Championship Car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1910 a Knox was driven by Fred Belcher in the Vanderbilt Cup race. [7]
By 1912 Knox sales were slipping and a receiver was called in. The last Knox automobiles were built in 1914 and Knox was declared bankrupt in 1915. Knox reorganized as the Knox Motors Corporation and continued to build tractors and trucks until 1924. [3] [2]
Afterwards Harry Knox moved on to design tanks for the US Army Ordnance Department; his T1 Light Tank wasn't adopted, but his Vertical volute spring suspension and his track design were used on almost all American tanks of the WWII, and he designed its replacement HVSS, which served until 1980s in some countries, as well.
Model [3] | Year | Cylinders | Horsepower | Wheelbase |
---|---|---|---|---|
A | 1900–1902 | 1 | 5 bhp (3.7 kW) | |
Two Cylinder | 1902 | 2 | 8 bhp (6.0 kW) | |
B | 1902 | 1 | 8 bhp (6.0 kW) | 69 in (1,800 mm) |
C | 1903 | 1 | 8 bhp (6.0 kW) | 72 in (1,800 mm) |
Two Cylinder | 1904 | 2 | 18 bhp (13 kW) | 84 in (2,100 mm) |
One Cylinder | 1904 | 1 | 10 bhp (7.5 kW) | 72 in (1,800 mm) |
E | 1905 | 1 | 10 bhp (7.5 kW) | 72 in (1,800 mm) |
F-3 | 1905–1906 | 2 | 16 bhp (12 kW) | 87 in (2,200 mm) |
F-1 | 1905–1906 | 2 | 16 bhp (12 kW) | 81 in (2,100 mm) |
F | 1905–1906 | 2 | 16 bhp (12 kW) | 90 in (2,300 mm) |
F-4 | 1906–1907 | 2 | 16 bhp (12 kW) | 81 in (2,100 mm) |
G | 1906–1908 | 4 | 40 bhp (30 kW) | 112 in (2,800 mm) |
H | 1907–1909 | 4 | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 102 in (2,600 mm) |
L | 1908 | 4 | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 102 in (2,600 mm) |
O | 1909 | 4 | 38 bhp (28 kW) | 102–114 in (2,600–2,900 mm) |
M | 1909–1910 | 4 | 48 bhp (36 kW) | 127 in (3,200 mm) |
S | 1910–1912 | 6 | 60 bhp (45 kW) | 134 in (3,400 mm) |
R | 1910–1912 | 4 | 40 bhp (30 kW) | 117–122 in (3,000–3,100 mm) |
R-45 | 1912 | 4 | 40 bhp (30 kW) | 126 in (3,200 mm) |
66 | 1913 | 6 | 60 bhp (45 kW) | 134 in (3,400 mm) |
46 | 1913–1914 | 6 | 46 bhp (34 kW) | 130–134 in (3,300–3,400 mm) |
45 | 1913–1914 | 4 | 40 bhp (30 kW) | 126 in (3,200 mm) |
44 | 1913–1914 | 4 | 40 bhp (30 kW) | 117–122 in (3,000–3,100 mm) |
Year [3] | Automobiles |
---|---|
1900 | 15 |
1901 | 100 |
1902 | 250 |
1903 | 500 |
1904 | 553 |
1905 | 572 |
1906 | 753 |
1907 | 1,000 |
1908 | 1,215 |
1909 | 1,317 |
1910 | 1,412 |
1911 | 1,215 |
1912 | 877 |
1913 | 673 |
1914 | 383 |
Total | 10,835 |
The Overland Automobile Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Toledo, Ohio. It was the founding company of Willys-Overland and one of the earliest mass producers of automobiles.
The Locomobile Company of America was a pioneering American automobile manufacturer founded in 1899, and 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 ever produced by the original company were always sold under the brand name Locomobile.
The Aerocar is an American automobile that was built from 1906 until 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. Backed by Henry Ford's former partner, coal merchant Alexander Malcomson, the short-lived company offered an air-cooled four-cylinder luxury car which sold for $2,800.
Northern Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, automobiles designed by Charles Brady King. Early advertising included catchy phrases such as "Utility is the Basis for Beauty" and "Built for Business" and the famous "Silent Northern".
Waltham Manufacturing Company (WMC) was a manufacturer of bicycles, motorcycles, motorized tricycles and quadricycles, buckboards, and automobiles in Waltham, Massachusetts. It sold products under the brand names Orient, Waltham, and Waltham-Orient. The company was founded in 1893, moving to self-propelled vehicles after 1898.
Smith & Mabley was an American veteran era importer of European automobiles and produced the American C. G. V. automobile in 1902, and the S & M Simplex automobile from 1904 to 1907, in New York City.
St. Louis Motor Carriage Company was a manufacturer of automobiles at 1211–13 North Vandeventer Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, founded by George Preston Dorris and John L. French in 1898, with French taking charge of marketing and Dorris heading engineering and production. St. Louis Motor Carriage was the first of many St. Louis automakers and produced automobiles from 1899 to 1907.
Stevens-Duryea was an American manufacturer of Veteran and Brass Era automobiles in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, between 1901 and 1915 and Vintage Cars from 1919 to 1927.
The Premier Motor Manufacturing Company built the brass era and vintage Premier luxury automobile in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1903 to 1925.
The Marion was an automobile produced by the Marion Motor Car Company in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1904 to 1915.
Single Center Spring Buggy Company was an American carriage and automobile manufacturer based in Evansville, Indiana. The Single Center factory manufactured the Zentmobile, Zent, Windsor, Worth, Single Center, Evansville, Simplicity and Traveler automobiles from 1903 to 1910.
Standard Motor Construction Company (1904-1905) was the successor to the U. S. Long Distance Automobile Company (1900-1903) of Jersey City, New Jersey. The American Veteran Era Long Distance automobile was developed into the Standard automobile in 1904.
Spaulding was used as an automobile marque by two separate companies. The Spaulding Automobile and Motor Company of Buffalo, New York built Veteran Era automobiles in 1902 and 1903. Spaulding Manufacturing Company of Grinnell, Iowa built Brass Era automobiles from 1910 to 1916.
The Michigan was a brass era automobile built in Kalamazoo, Michigan by the Michigan Automobile Company, Ltd from 1903 to 1907.
Schacht was an American marque of automobiles and High-wheelers from 1904 to 1913, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Schacht Manufacturing Company, later renamed Schacht Motor Car Company produced over 9,000 automobiles. The company was reorganized as the G.A. Schacht Motor Truck Company in 1914 and production of trucks and fire trucks continued until 1938.
The Pullman was an American automobile that was manufactured in York, Pennsylvania by the York Motor Car Company from 1905 to 1909 and the Pullman Motor Car Company from 1909 to 1917.
Mitchell was a major brass-era automobile marque in Racine, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1923.
The W. H. Kiblinger Company and the W. H. McIntyre Company produced Brass Era automobiles in Auburn, Indiana from 1907 to 1915.
The Pierce Engine Company of Racine, Wisconsin, was the manufacturer of the brass era Pierce-Racine automobile. The company was founded in 1892 and produced automobiles from 1904 to 1910.
Pope-Tribune (1904–1908) was part of the Pope automobile group of companies founded by Colonel Albert Pope manufacturing Brass Era automobiles in Hagerstown, Maryland.