 The Car Ahead | |
| Formerly | Seidel Buggy Company |
|---|---|
| Company type | Incorporation (business) |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Founder | George Seidel |
| Defunct | 1924 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | Richmond, Indiana, |
| Products | Automobiles |
Production output | 5,282 (1910-1924) |
The Pilot Motor Car Company of Richmond, Indiana, was an American automobile manufacturer founded in 1909 and headed by George Seidel, of the Seidel Buggy Company.
Initially, the cars were built in the Seidel Buggy factory while a stand-alone factory was constructed across town. The origin of the makes name is believed to have come from Seidel's desire to become a river boat pilot. [1] They were marketed under the advertising slogan "The Car Ahead". [1] The new factory, once completed, had an initial capacity of 500 cars per year, though in some later years, production approached 1,000. The firm was one of the first in the automotive field to hire women, though mainly for upholstery and curtain work. [1]
At first, 4-cylinde r Teetor-Hartley engines were the motive force of the cars. In 1913, a 6-cylinder engine was added to the line-up. From 1915 to 1924, only six-cylinders were offered, except for 1916, when a V8 engine made a one-year appearance as an engine choice. In 1913, the six-cylinder car cost $2,500, as opposed to the mid-priced $1,500 to$1,800 (equivalent to $55,491in 2023) four-cylinder cars. In 1920, a larger Herschell-Spillman six was added. A Sportster model was introduced in the summer of 1922, with barrel headlights and no running boards. [1]
Pilots were durable cars, and was regularly exported. Seidel received a letter in the 1940s from a car dealer in South America, who inquired if any Pilots were still available, and their price. Seidel was proud supporter of his hometown industries, as evidenced by the cars he drove during his lifetime: first, a Richmond; then a Pilot, and finally, a Davis. [1]
The firm took over the local Lorraine automobile manufacturer, but that could not help it survive long beyond the 1920-21 depression. A few Lorraine hearses were produced before that marque was discontinued. The Pilot Motor Car Company was forced into receivership in 1923 by what Seidel described as "cut-throat tactics of Eastern money interests." [1] The last Pilots were produced in early 1924, and the factory was then sold to a local businessman for $28,500. [1]
Berliet was a French manufacturer of automobiles, buses, trucks and military vehicles among other vehicles based in Vénissieux, outside of Lyon, France. Founded in 1899, and apart from a five-year period from 1944 to 1949 when it was put into 'administration sequestre' it was in private ownership until 1967 when it then became part of Citroën, and subsequently acquired by Renault in 1974 and merged with Saviem into a new Renault Trucks company in 1978. The Berliet marque was phased out by 1980.
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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.
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The Simplex Automobile Company was formed in 1907 to take over the manufacturer of the S & M Simplex. The Simplex was an American luxury Brass Era automobile manufactured from 1907 to 1918. Headquartered with a manufacturing plant in New York City, manufacturing from 1912 was in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The Simplex Crane Model 5 was commonly called Simplex-Crane and Crane-Simplex. The Crane-Simplex Company of Long Island, New York, was an attempt in 1922 to revive the brand but closed after only a few chassis were built.
