Cycle Car Company

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cycle Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Wilmington (Delaware) . In 1914, small cars were built there under the name Cyclecar . Soon, however, the name was changed to Bradford and again to Diamond a few weeks later to distinguish it from vehicles in the Cyclecar category . Automobile enthusiast TC Bradford , who previously operated a trading company called Marvel, Marvel and Wolcott , founded the company.

description

The Cyclecar - later the Diamond Cyclecar - was too powerful for a Cyclecar with a four-cylinder engine with 16/20 hp. The gasoline consumption of the two-seater roadster should be 5.9–7.9 ltr. 100 km. It reached a top speed of 88.5 km / h. Unusual for that time was the complete electrical lighting with high and low beam.

Bradford stated that it had many orders, including from abroad. At the end of 1914, however, the production of the US $ 350 car had to be stopped because of fewer orders. Instead, a lightweight car with the same design was produced in 1915, which had a larger track width than the cycle car. It cost US $ 450 as a roadster and US $ 475 as a four-seater touring car. But there were not enough buyers for these models either. At the end of 1915, the Cycle Car Company had to go out of business.

A reference to the Diamond Automobile Company , which also built two automobile prototypes in Wilmington in 1902 , is not known.

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase Superstructures
Cycle car 1914 4 row 20 bhp (14.7 kW) 2540 mm Roadster 2 seats
Light car 1915 4 row 20 bhp (14.7 kW) 2540 mm Roadster 2 seats, touring car 4 seats

literature

  • Beverly Ray Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 . (English)