CW Kelsey Manufacturing Company

CW Kelsey Manufacturing Company
legal form	Company
founding	1910
resolution	1914
Seat	Hartford , Connecticut , USA
management	Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey
Branch	Automobiles

Motorette from 1911

Side view

Rear view

CW Kelsey Manufacturing Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles .

Company history

Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey had previous automotive experience. In 1910 he founded the company in Hartford , Connecticut . In the same year he designed a four-wheel prototype that did not go into series production. Kelsey then worked on a tricycle. It was presented at Grand Central Palace in New York City on New Year's Eve 1910 . Series production began in 1911. The brand name was Motorette . Exports were made to Denmark , Japan and Canada . A second source also mentions Mexico . Series production ended in September 1913. Some vehicles were finished in 1914. A total of 210 vehicles were built.

Kelsey founded the Kelsey Motor Company in 1920 .

vehicles

The four-wheel prototype was the Spartan . It had a four-cylinder engine , a three-speed gearbox and cardan drive . The chassis had a wheelbase of 264 cm . The open touring car had four doors. He was against the Model T Ford compete. After Ford cut prices significantly, Kelsey realized he couldn't compete with it.

Instead, a tricycle appeared in 1911. A two-cylinder two - stroke engine was purchased. It was air-cooled and developed 7 hp . Another source gives 10 hp. It drove the individual rear wheel via a chain. Some engines were found to be faulty. A second source states that Lycoming supplied the engines when they defaulted due to a strike , and Kelsey sold the vehicles untested after the engine was installed. There was sand in the engines , and a source suspects it was deliberate by the strikers. That ruined the reputation. Kelsey changed the engine supplier and now used four-stroke engines . Water cooling came later .

Model M appeared in 1911 . The wheelbase was 188 cm. The setup was a runabout with two seats. The original price was 385 US dollars , about half of the Ford Model T.

In 1912 there was the Model A as a runabout, the Model L as an open delivery van and the Model N as a light delivery van.

In 1913 the wheelbase was reduced to 183 cm. Model M-1 was a two-seat runabout, and Model R-1 was a two-seat auto rickshaw that was specially sold in Japan.

In 1914 nothing changed.

Plans for an electric car , in which Thomas Alva Edison helped, were no longer implemented.

In 1914 there were also plans for a four-wheeled compact car the size of a cycle car with a four-cylinder engine, which did not lead to series production.

Model overview

year	brand	model	cylinder	Power ( hp )	Wheelbase (cm)	construction
1910	Spartan		4th		264	Touring car
1911	Motorette	Model M	2	10	188	Runabout
1912	Motorette	Model A	2	10	188	Runabout
1912	Motorette	Model L	2	10	188	Conv. Delivery
1912	Motorette	To model	2	10	188	Light delivery
1913-1914	Motorette	Model M-1	2	10	183	Runabout 2-seater
1913-1914	Motorette	Model R-1	2	10	183	Rickshaw 2-seater

literature

• Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1006-1007 (English).
• George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1083 (English).

Web links

Commons : CW Kelsey Manufacturing Company  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1006-1007 (English).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 2: G-O . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1083 (English).
3. ↑ Automobile Quarterly Volume 29, Issue 2.