Diamond Taxicab Company

Diamond Taxicab Company
legal form	Corporation
founding	1922
resolution	1925
Seat	New York , USA
management	Robert L. Owen , Frank L. Klingensmith, Harry T. Hanover, OD Heavenrich, Fred H. Lewis, Frank F. Beall
Branch	Automobiles

Diamond Taxicab Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles .

Company history

organization

The company was established in 1922 in the State of New York founded as a joint venture of the Gray Motor Corporation , the Apex Motor Corporation (manufacturer of the Ace -Personenwagens) and Guy Disc Valve Engine Corporation , with a sleeve valve engine was coming to the market. The company was based in Detroit ( Michigan ). President of the society was the US Senator from Oklahoma and attorney Robert L. Owen (1856-1947).

Senator Robert Latham Owen (Oklahoma, 1907-1925)

The impetus for the establishment came from Nat D. Jacoby, the head of the New York taxi company Black and White Cab Company . Frank L. Klingensmith, Frank F. Beall and HT Hanover were also significantly involved. Other board members included engineer OD Heavenrich as secretary and Fred H. Lewis, president of the Lewis Spring & Axle Company .

The companies were closely linked in terms of personnel. There were already close ties between Apex Motor and Guy Disc Valve . So also one Diamond -President Owen's Board of Directors Guy Disc Valve on; its founder, Fred M. Guy, was previously vice president and chief engineer at Apex Motor . Klingensmith was a former Ford executive and at that time co-owner and president of Gray Motor . He also served on the board of directors at Apex Motor . Beall had given up a high position at Packard to also invest in Gray Motor . He was their managing director and one of the vice-presidents. Hanover was President of Apex Motor and a board member at Guy Disc Valve . Heavenrich previously worked for the chassis builder Detroit Pressed Steel Company .

The company was amply capitalized at US $ 10 million; the paid-in share capital was US $ 500,000. The Diamond Taxicab Co. secured a suitable area in Ypsilanti (Michigan) . The planned output was initially 10 vehicles per day. The brand name was Diamond .

In 1922 the first partial order for 250 Black and White taxis was received. Production was initially started at Elcar Motor Car Company in Elkhart (Indiana) . Black and White's order totaled 1,000 taxis.

Jacoby takes control

Outwardly, the Elcar L4 Taxi corresponds to the Diamond (1922).

Elcar L4 taxi with the roof closed (1922).

The circumstances changed as early as August, as the specialist magazine Automobile Topics reported on the 12th of the month. Accordingly, Jacoby had now taken control of the company and also headed Diamond . Changes in the board of directors were not noted. Apparently Jacoby was planning a far-reaching reorganization with the establishment of a parent company, under whose roof, in addition to Diamond, taxi and bus transport companies were to be organized. This concept should be carried over to all major US cities. The larger competitors Checker Cab and Yellow Cab , which had each secured their own production facilities with the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company and the Yellow Cab & Coach Manufacturing Company , proceeded in a similar manner . However, there were different views on this, because Gray Motor denied such intentions. However, there should not have been much resistance, because Apex Motor's financial situation quickly deteriorated, which led to its closure in early 1923. Jacoby had previously acquired the taxi prototype, including construction plans and distribution rights. A source suggests that Hanover saw his future career at Diamond .

The handover of the first Diamond -Taxis took place probably in August 1922. Probably should Diamond on the model of Checker and Yellow try to sell vehicles to third parties.

Driggs

As a result of the new plans, the taxi was revised. It was made lighter and got a smaller engine. In particular, it was designed for two instead of five passengers. Jacoby had found that taxis rarely carried more than two passengers at the same time and expected these measures to drastically reduce operating costs, which would largely be passed on to the passengers. The fare should be reduced to 10 cents instead of the 30 to 40 cents per mile that is usual in the USA . The vehicle should now be assembled by the Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Corporation in New Haven (Connecticut) and no longer be called Diamond .

But after Driggs-Seabury got into financial difficulties in November 1923 , this company lost the taxi order to the Elcar Motor Car Company in Elkhart (Indiana) , which already produced its own taxis under the brand names Elfay , Martel and Royal Martel .

The end

As mentioned, the Diamond taxi was not made exclusively for Black and White . Like the larger competitors Checker and Yellow with their Checker Cab and Yellow Cab main customers, established as franchisors , Jacoby was only supposed to secure a basic stock of orders. It seems that the home market was saturated. Plans to manufacture vehicles for eastern regions such as Baltimore , Boston , Philadelphia and Washington, DC were not implemented.

Until the final closure in 1925, Diamond manufactured its own taxi. Production totaled 1,000 vehicles, although it is unclear how many of them were produced for Black and White . It is unlikely that there were more than the 250 copies of the first order. In January 1925, Klingensmith Gray left Motor , which was on the verge of bankruptcy. That was the end for Diamond too.

vehicles

Only taxis were offered that Diamond probably had manufactured for itself. These were assembled vehicles , i.e. That is, they were assembled from purchased components. Three versions can be identified.

AM Graffis, chief engineer at Elcar Motor Company , designed the first. The prototype for this was created at Apex Motor . This taxi was typical of the time as a Town - Landaulet designed d. H. with an open chauffeur compartment and a hood over the back seat. The sheet metal parts were "removable" so that they could easily be replaced after an accident, which suggests a bolted body. This is described as "wide" and "low" with "little glass". Jacoby, who knows the taxi market, expressed his wishes. The windows were actually smaller than usual in order to allow passengers more discretion . He also wanted the discs to be easy to change. The upholstery could be removed for morning cleaning. A sales price between US $ 1900 and 1950, "including disc wheels, a spare wheel, lighting, battery, magneto ignition, starter, Stewart-Warner hand horn and on-board tools" was envisaged. The engine was a four-cylinder from Herschell-Spillman .

The second vehicle is the version taken over from Driggs and the third a further development of the first, which was developed by Elcar .

Remarks

↑ Disc wheels were fashionable, but also made sense in taxis because they were more robust than the usual artillery wheels . Detroit Pressed Steel offered such a wheel under the brand name Desteel .

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. 453 (English).
George Nick Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover), 1973; ISBN 0-525-08351-0 .
Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Ed. SAE ( Society of Automotive Engineers ) Permissions, Warrendale PA, 2005; ISBN 0-7680-1431-X .
Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1920-39. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-026-8 .

Web links

coachbuilt.com: Driggs Ordnance & Manufacturing Corp. (accessed January 26, 2018)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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. 453 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Automobile Topics, July 8, 1922: Diamond Cab Allied With Gray and Ace. , quoted at coachbuilt.com.
↑ ^a ^b ^c coachbuilt.com: Driggs Ordnance & Manufacturing Corp.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Automobile Topics: August 12, 1922: Diamond Cab Starts Under New Program. , quoted at coachbuilt.com.
↑ 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. 520 (English).
↑ 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. 493 (English).

[7] Disc wheels were fashionable, but also made sense in taxis because they were more robust than the usual artillery wheels . Detroit Pressed Steel offered such a wheel under the brand name Desteel .

[Kimes-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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. 453 (English).

[AT1922-07-08=-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Automobile Topics, July 8, 1922: Diamond Cab Allied With Gray and Ace. , quoted at coachbuilt.com.

[coachbuilt_Driggs-3] uilt.com: Driggs Ordnance & Manufacturing Corp.

[AT1922-08-12=-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Automobile Topics: August 12, 1922: Diamond Cab Starts Under New Program. , quoted at coachbuilt.com.

[Kimes520-5] 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. 520 (English).

[Kimes493-6] 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. 493 (English).