 1912 Multiplex Automobile brochure cover | |
 1912 Multiplex from brochure | |
| Type | Automobile manufacturer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 1913 |
| Fate | ceased automobile manufacturing |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | F. Bingaman, Crispin family |
| Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 14 (1912-1913) |
The Multiplex was an automobile built in Berwick, Pennsylvania by the Multiplex Manufacturing Company (today: Crispin Multiplex Manufacturing Company; Crispin Valve) from 1912 to 1913.
The Multiplex was a sporty, upper-priced and large car equipped with a four-cylinder engine, and offered as a Touring, a Roadster, and a Raceabout. A prototype "Sports" car with an 85 inches (2,200 mm) wheelbase, weighing in at just 980 pounds (440 kg) and allegedly capable of a top speed of 126 mph (203 km/h) was also built. [1]
The Multiplex 50 HP was claimed as the "highest expression of touring luxury". The car was developed by Fritz Bingaman in 1911, and offered for sale in 1912 and 1913. The wheelbase of the stock automobiles was 134 inches (3,400 mm), front tires were 38 × 4½ in, rear 39 × 5 in. [2]
The engine was a Waukesha. [1] It was a very large four cylinder unit with 5 inches (130 mm) bore and 6 inches (150 mm) stroke, giving it a volume of 471.2 c.i. (7722 cc.). It delivered 50 bhp, [2] and with this bore, the car had an ALAM rating of 40 hp. [3]
The Multiplex was expensive; $3,125 for the raceabout, $3,175 for the roadster, and $3,600 (equivalent to $101,086in 2021) for the touring car. [1] Sales competition would have included Lozier, Mercer, Packard, Peerless, Thomas, and many others. The prototype sports model had an envisioned price tag of around $4,000. [1] In 2 years only 14 cars were built. [1]
The most remarkable success in motor sports was a victory in the Sealed bonnet road test, held by the Philadelphia Automobile Club in spring, 1913. [1]
After the failure of the car, Multiplex Manufacturing returned to making valves, which it did since 1905. There was a brief try with a sports car in 1954, but only prototypes of the Multiplex-Allied 186 with a Willys F-head six cylinder engine and coachwork copied straightaway from the Cisitalia 202 were actually built.
The Saxon Motor Car Company was located in Detroit, Michigan, from 1914 to 1922. In 1917, 28,000 cars were made, making it the seventh largest car maker in the United States.
The Stutz Bearcat was an American sports car of the pre– and post–World War I period.
The Lexington was an automobile manufactured in Connersville, Indiana, from 1910 to 1927. From the beginning, Lexingtons, like most other Indiana-built automobiles, were assembled cars, built with components from many different suppliers. The Thoroughbred Six and Minute Man Six were popular Lexington models.
The Marion was an automobile produced by the Marion Motor Car Company in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1904 to 1915.
Marquette was an American automobile manufacturer established by General Motors in 1909 after the purchase of the Rainier Motor Car Company. The Marquette Company did not last long and in 1912 GM announced the company would be closed.
The Car-Nation was a brand of automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913 to 1914.
The Sun automobile was made in Elkhart, Indiana from 1916 to 1917, and in Toledo, Ohio from 1921 to 1922.
Scripps-Booth was a United States automobile company based in Detroit, Michigan. Established by James Scripps Booth in 1913, Scripps-Booth produced motor vehicles and was later acquired by General Motors, becoming a division of it, until the brand was discontinued in 1923.
The Matheson was a luxury American automobile manufactured from 1903 to 1912, first in Grand Rapids, Michigan, then Holyoke, Massachusetts and from 1906 in a purpose-built factory in Forty Fort, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Midland Motor Company was a American brass era automobile manufacturer in Moline, Illinois from 1908 to 1913.
The Metz Company was a pioneer brass era automobile maker established by Charles Herman Metz in Waltham, Massachusetts, from 1909 to 1922.
The Cole Motor Car Company was an early automobile maker based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cole automobiles were built from 1908 until 1925. They were quality-built luxury cars. The make is a pioneer of the V-8 engine.
The Cunningham automobile was a pioneering American production automobile, one of the earliest vehicles in the advent of the automotive age. It was produced from 1896 to 1931 in Rochester, New York by James Cunningham, Son and Company.
The Flanders Automobile Company was a short-lived US-American automobile manufacturer which operated in Detroit, Michigan, from 1910 to 1913. Its only product was sold through Studebaker dealerships.
The Lyons-Knight was an American automobile manufactured from 1913 until 1915 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The Chevrolet Series FA of 1917–1918 is an American vehicle manufactured by GM's Chevrolet Division. It was a replacement of the Series F which had improvements in engine capacity as well as other features. In this transformation of series, the pre-existing names of the H and F series cars, The Royal Mail and Baby Grand were dropped in favor of the names Roadster and Touring respectively. The FA Series was then replaced by the Chevrolet Series FB in 1919. Production was not interrupted while the United States entered World War I starting in 1917.
The Buick 4 was a series of passenger cars produced by the Buick Division of GM from 1909 through 1918, and was available as a touring car, phaeton or roadster. It was available with the Buick Model B as a larger alternative offering a larger engine and better durability. It became the junior sedan in 1914 when the Buick Six was introduced.
The Chevrolet Series F of 1917 was an American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet before they became a division of General Motors. The successor of the Series H, it had a longer wheelbase and other improvements, but kept the same engine. It was replaced the following year by the Series FA in 1918, which had a larger, more powerful engine. It was sold as the larger alternative to the Chevrolet Series 490, and the Model F was available for US$800 as either a roadster or touring sedan. As the Model F and Series 490 were in direct competition with the Ford Model T, sales were recorded at 110,839 for Chevrolet, with 57,692 Series 490 and 3,493 Model F. Chevrolet instituted Knock-down kit assembly where the product was created at Flint Assembly, then shipped by rail to the branch locations and locally assembled using locally sourced items such as tires, glass and other items. In 1917, the Monroe Motor Company was sold to William Small of Flint MI and was no longer sold by independent Chevrolet dealers when they weren't part of GM. Mason Motor Company was merged into Chevrolet once it became a division of GM and was used to supply engines for GM-Chevrolet vehicles.
The Oldsmobile Series 28, also known as the Autocrat, was a mid-level four seat passenger car produced by GM's Oldsmobile Division for 1911 and 1912. It was based on the top-level Oldsmobile Limited while using a four-cylinder engine, and was manufactured in Lansing, Michigan.
The Packard Six was a series of luxury automobiles built over several generations by Packard from 1913 until 1947. The name was originally used to describe the car in general terms, while Series numbers were initially used and changed every year to denote wheelbases, then the number classification changed as market conditions changed so as to keep competitive with other luxury brands.