Graham-Paige

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graham-Paige was an American automobile manufacturer founded in 1927 when the brothers Joseph B., Robert C. and Ray A. Graham bought the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company . From 1930 the vehicles were sold under the brand name Graham . In the years that followed, the company produced a number of mid-range cars and was at times considered a leader in automotive design. Today the company still exists, albeit not in the automotive business, but as a successful real estate branch of a larger company.

history

The Graham brothers were successful businessmen who had cards in various industries. Her first company made glass bottles. The Graham brothers' glass production facility was the first to produce bottles upside down so that the molten glass could build up around the mouth of the bottle. The reinforcement of the mouth area in turn made the whole bottle stable enough to be able to hold a crown cap instead of a cork . The Graham brothers' glass production later became part of the Owens Glass Co. , which in turn later became the "O" in the LOF Libbey Owens Ford company .

Entry into the automotive business

Graham-Paige model 610 sedan 4 door (1928)

Then the Graham brothers started making conversion kits that could be used to convert Ford T and TT models into trucks. They later built their own trucks with engines from different manufacturers. Soon they were limited to engines from Dodge Brothers and their trucks were offered by Dodge dealers. The company expanded from its beginnings in Evansville, Indiana, and soon had plants in Detroit, Michigan and Stockton, California . The Canadian market was supplied by Dodge Brothers Canada. In 1925, Dodge Brothers bought the Graham brothers' truck manufacturing business and all three brothers became directors of Dodge Brothers.

When the banking syndicate that controlled Dodge Brothers thought of selling the company in 1927, the Graham brothers entered the automotive industry on their own account. In the same year they bought the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company, which manufactured Paige and Jewett cars and whose history dates back to 1909, for $ 4 million.

First, the new company offered a range of Graham Paige cars with six- and eight-cylinder engines. Light trucks also existed for a while under the Paige name , but those were soon abandoned when Dodge Brothers reminded the Grahams of the non-compete agreement they signed as part of the acquisition of the Grahmam Brothers Company.

Graham-Paige soon gained a reputation for quality and sales grew rapidly. They also had some success in racing, which also helped the sales figures.

Graham-Paige Blue Streak sedan 4 door (1932)

Graham-Paige initially resisted the challenges of the Great Depression, but sales fell over time. The 1932 models were designed by Amos Northup , head of design at coachbuilder Murray Corporation of America . This particular automobile design was considered to be the “single most influential design in automotive history” (the design that alone had the most influence in automobile history). The car's new eight-cylinder engine was called the “Blue Streak” (blue stripe). The press and the public also used the name Blue Streak for the cars themselves. The design contained some innovations. The most copied were the fenders, which were pulled down to the side to keep the dirt and mud that collected under the car away from the body. This became a trend in the USA from 1933 onwards. The radiator cap disappeared under the bonnet, which was later modified so that it covered the bulkhead and ended at the approach of the windshield.

The use of the “banjo frame” eliminated the excessive height of the frame above the rear axle. As is not usually the case, the rear axle was led through the frame, which required large openings on both sides with rubber pads that absorbed every impact between the axle and the frame. This in turn made a wider body possible. To make the car lower, the rear springs were mounted on the outside of the chassis and not under the frame. This idea was later adopted by other automobile manufacturers, e.g. B. Chrysler 1957, copied.

In 1934 Graham-Paige used a compressor that was driven by the crankshaft . At first it was only offered for the large eight-cylinder models, but when these were discontinued in 1936, it was offered for the six-cylinder models. The compressor was designed by Floyd Kishline at Graham-Paige. Over the years, Graham-Paige produced more supercharged vehicles than any other automaker in the US until Buick broke that record in the 1990s.

In 1935 the “Blue Streak” looked a bit old-fashioned. A revision of the front and rear sections for the 1935 model year turned out to be a flop, as the cars looked so taller and narrower. Since Graham-Paige had no money for a new development of their own, they signed an agreement with the Reo Motor Car Company to use their Hayes-made bodies, with Reo receiving a license fee of US $ 7.50 each. The Graham Paige models in 1936 and 1937 were based on these bodies.

Spirit of Motion

Graham-Paige Model 97 Supercharger sedan 4 door (1939)

Murray Body's Amos Northup was won over to design the 1938 models, but died before the design was finished. It was probably completed by Graham Paige engineers. The 1938 Graham Paige was introduced with the slogan "Spirit of Motion". Even at a standstill, the car looked like it was going 100 km / h. The fenders, wheel arches and the radiator grille were tilted forward. This design was widely recognized in the American press and by American designers. It also won the Concours d'Élegance in Paris . There were also reports on winning the Prix ​​d'Avant-Garde in Lyon , the Prix ​​d'Élegance in Bordeaux and the Grand Prix d'Honneur in Deauville . American customers didn't buy the wild styling. The recessed grille ensured that the car was later called "Sharknose" (shark nose). However, this nickname is not used in contemporary press articles. It didn't appear until the 1950s. The styling of the 1938 models was considered a complete flop in sales, but Graham-Paige managed to save himself through 1939 and 1940.

Cooperation with Hupp Motor Co.

Graham-Paige needed a successful range of models but was unable to purchase new press tools; so the end of 1939 was a contract with the Hupp Motor Co. closed. According to this, the stumbling company should make an arrangement with Hupmobile to build cars based on the Cord 810/812 models drawn by Gordon Buehrig . After Cord's production ceased in 1937, Hupp acquired Cord's plans, but was not financially able to build the cars. The 1938 models from Hupmobile were even more unsuccessful than the "Spirit of Motion" from Graham-Paige.

Graham-Paige agreed to manufacture a Hupp Skylark on a contract basis if they could get the rights to the noble Cord Skylark plans and manufacture a similar vehicle themselves, which would be called Hollywood . This Skylark / Hollywood model differed from the Cord in that it had a shorter bonnet and conventional headlights. The long bonnet was not necessary because the Hupp and Graham versions - unlike the Cord - had rear-wheel drive. The floor of the vehicle had to be changed to make room for a cardan shaft . Still, Hollywood couldn't stop the company's decline. In fact, this model was a bigger flop for Hupp and Graham than their previous models. Production ceased in September 1940 and from then on made military equipment for use in the Second World War .

As a further business area, tractors were manufactured and sold under the name Graham-Bradley from 1938 . In order to use existing resources, they were equipped with 6-cylinder engines from the automotive industry. They also had a four-speed gearbox, an electric starter, rubber tires, a power take-off and a hydraulic lifting mechanism . From 1939 they had a top speed of 32 km / h, which was relatively high for the time. However, sales remained disappointing and production ceased in 1941.

In 1946 the company resumed automobile production and, in collaboration with the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, manufactured a new car, the Frazer Standard . The production of agricultural machinery under the name Rototiller also began . In August 1945, Graham-Paige published plans to re-manufacture cars under his own name, but nothing came of it.

End of automobile manufacturing

On February 5, 1947, the owners of Graham-Paige agreed to sell all automotive activities to the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation for 750,000 shares in this company. Graham-Paige's manufacturing facilities on Warren Avenue were sold to Chrysler, who first used the facilities to manufacture the DeSoto models and later to manufacture the Imperial in 1959–1961.

Graham-Paige dropped the "Motors" in their name and went into real estate business, buying properties like Roosevelt Raceway and Madison Square Garden in New York . In 1962 the company was renamed Madison Square Garden Corporation and was later swallowed up by Gulf & Western Industries . Madison Square Garden is currently owned by Madison Square Garden LP , the majority of which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation .

Gallery images

  • Graham-Paige Model 827 Roadster (1929)

  • Graham-Paige 612 Tourer (1929)

  • A fully restored example of the Graham-Paige Model 613 from 1929

  • Model 613 steering column. The switches on the steering wheel were used to move the main headlights.

  • Model 613 dashboard

  • Graham-Paige Convertible Coupe (1930)

  • Graham-Paige Model 80A Crusader Touring Sedan 4 Doors (1936)

  • Graham-Paige Cavalier (1937)

Web links

Commons : Graham-Paige  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jim Glastonbury: Tractors. Marvels of technology; then and now (“The ultimate guide to tractors”, 2003). Edition XXL, Reichelsheim 2004, ISBN 3-89736-324-0 .