Empire Automobile Company

Empire Motor Car Company Empire Automobile Company
legal form	Company
founding	1909
resolution	1919
Seat	Indianapolis , Indiana , USA
Branch	Automobiles

Empire from 1910

Empire as a touring car

Empire Model 31 from 1913 in a British car museum

Empire Automobile Company , previously Empire Motor Car Company , was an American manufacturer of automobiles .

Company history

Four well-known people founded the Empire Motor Car Company in 1909 . These were Arthur Newby, President of the National Motor Vehicle Company , Carl Graham Fisher , Founder of Perst-O-Lite , James Ashbury Allison of what would become the Allison Engine Company, and Robert Hassler, an engineer with National. The seat was initially in Indianapolis , Indiana . They started producing automobiles in late 1909. The brand name was Empire .

At the same time, Newby, Fisher and Allison, together with Frank H. Wheeler from Wheeler-Schebler, were busy building and marketing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , so vehicle production was neglected. After the racetrack was paved with bricks in December 1909, the first Empire was the first vehicle to drive the new track. In early 1911 Harry C. Stutz worked briefly as an engineer for the company and revised the vehicles.

In late 1911 the company was sold to another group of Indianapolis businesspeople, albeit without a factory floor. The name was changed to Empire Automobile Company . The search for a new plant led to Greenville , Pennsylvania . The local Greenville Metal Products Company manufactured the vehicles from 1912. The brand name Empire was retained for one model. Another model from 1912 was named after Frank Fay, then President of Greenville, and marketed as Fay . To do this, Greenville only assembled existing parts.

In 1914, Empire took over the Connersville Wheel Company from Connersville , Indiana, and continued production there.

In 1915, production was relocated to the former Federal Motors plant in Indianapolis. Production ended in 1919.

A total of 4834 vehicles were built.

There was no association with Sterling Automobile & Engine Company and William T. Terwilliger & Company , which also marketed vehicles as Empire .

vehicles

Brand name Empire

In 1910 there was the Twenty . A four-cylinder engine with 20 HP power drove the rear axle via a chain. The chassis had a wheelbase of 244 cm . There was a choice of Model A as a Roadster and Model B as a Speedster , both two-seater.

In 1911 it became the Model C as a roadster. The cardan drive that Stutz had developed was new .

The Model 25 appeared in 1912 . The four-cylinder engine with 25 hp came from Teetor-Hartley . The wheelbase was lengthened to 264 cm. A semi- torpedo roadster with two seats and a touring car with five seats are mentioned.

In 1913 the roadster was discontinued on the Model 25 . The Model 31 was added to the range. Its engine output was given as 23 hp. The wheelbase was 274 cm. The body shape was also a five-seat touring car.

In 1914 there was only the Model 31 . The wheelbase was lengthened to 277 cm.

In 1915 the range consisted of Model 31 and Model 31-40 , the latter being a bit more expensive. The engine output of 23 hp, the wheelbase of 279 cm and the superstructures as a five-seat touring car and two-seat roadster were the same.

There were major changes in 1916. Model 33 with 284 cm wheelbase and Model 45 with 295 cm wheelbase replaced the previous models. The engine output had been increased to 24 hp. There was a choice of touring cars and touring limousines, each with five seats. The model 60 with a six-cylinder engine from the Continental Motors Company completed the range. It was specified with 25 hp. The wheelbase of 305 cm made a seven-seater touring car possible.

In 1917 the six-cylinder model was further developed into the Model 70 . Touring cars and sedans were now available , both with seven seats.

In 1918, the Model 50 was again a four-cylinder model on offer. 20 HP engine power, 295 cm wheelbase and superstructures as a five-seat touring car and two-seat roadster were his data. The model 70 A technically corresponded to the previous year's model. Touring cars with five and seven seats and a limousine with five seats were available.

In 1919 it became the Model 72 . The five-seat variants were omitted.

Brand name Fay

The only model Twenty corresponded to the previous Empire Twenty .

Model overview

year	brand	model	cylinder	Power ( hp )	Wheelbase (cm)	construction
1910	Empire	Twenty Model A	4th	20th	244	Roadster
1910	Empire	Twenty Model B	4th	20th	244	Speedster
1911	Empire	Twenty Model C	4th	20th	244	Roadster
1912	Empire	Model 25	4th	25th	264	Semi-torpedo roadster 2-seater, touring car 5-seater
1913	Empire	Model 25	4th	25th	264	5-seater touring car
1913	Empire	Model 31	4th	23	274	5-seater touring car
1914	Empire	Model 31	4th	23	277	5-seater touring car
1915	Empire	Model 31	4th	23	279	5-seater touring car, 2-seater roadster
1915	Empire	Model 31-40	4th	23	279	5-seater touring car, 2-seater roadster
1916	Empire	Model 33	4th	24	284	5-seater touring car, 5-seater touring limousine
1916	Empire	Model 45	4th	24	295	5-seater touring car, 5-seater touring limousine
1916	Empire	Model 60	6th	25th	305	7-seater touring car
1917	Empire	Model 70	6th	25th	305	7-seater touring car, 7-seater sedan
1918	Empire	Model 50	4th	20th	295	5-seater touring car, 2-seater roadster
1918	Empire	Model 70 A	6th	25th	305	5-seater and 7-seater touring cars, 5-seater sedan
1919	Empire	Model 72	6th	25th	305	7-seater touring car
1912	Fay	Twenty	4th	20th	244

Production numbers

year	Production number
1910	289
1911	343
1912	353
1913	373
1914	461
1915	577
1916	693
1917	917
1918	637
1919	191
total	4834

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. 533-535 (English).
• George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 1: A-F . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 496-497 (English).

Web links

Commons : Empire Automobile Company  - Collection of pictures, 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. 533-535 (English).
2. ↑ ^{a b} George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 1: A-F . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 496-497 (English).