Kline Kar

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BCK Motor Company
Kline Motor Car Corporation
legal form Corporation
founding 1910
resolution 1924
Seat Richmond , Virginia , USA
Branch Automobiles

Kline Kar 6-38 Touring (1917)

Kline Kar Motor Corporation was an American automobile manufacturer. He was from 1910 to 1912 in York, Pennsylvania and then from 1912 to 1924 in Richmond, Virginia .

description

James A. Kline came to York to work on an automobile initially called York and later known as the Pullman . After leaving that company, he teamed up with a former colleague, Samuel E. Baily , and Joseph C. Carrell , to create BCK Motor Company . The new company manufactured the Kline Kar from 1910 in a building that Baily owned and used for his carpentry business . Soon after its appearance, the Kline Kar with a six-cylinder engine was used in races. There were two rally cars named "Jimmy" and "Jimmy Jr." after their chief designer and his son. These racing cars earned the company US-wide attention. The latter received a Duesenberg engine with 4 cylinders, 16 valves and 4918 cm³ in 1914 . With that he achieved 19 victories on round courses by 1919.

A group of businesspeople in Richmond, Virginia, also showed interest. They found out how well Kline Kar was selling in Virginia, bought the company, and moved it to Richmond. They renamed it Kline Motor Car Corporation and built a new factory to make the cars. As of November 1912, the Kline Kar was completely manufactured in Richmond, with the exception of the motor, which came from the Kirkham Machine Company in Bath, New York . This outsourcing of engine production enabled the new company to soon start series production.

The Kline was an inexpensive car and was touted as a quality product. The Model 6-50, a runabout that cost US $ 2585, was advertised as "one of the best roadsters that came out for many years (...) for a doctor or young man with a sense of speed". The cart was also popular with Washington, DC government officials and people involved in equestrian sports such as jockeys and horse trainers. The company went into bankruptcy in 1915, but survived and two years later was again making almost 500 cars a year. The company was now financially more stable, but another crisis weakened it again. The Kline was now a fully assembled automobile, which James A. Kline didn't like. From 1919 all Kline had a wheelbase of 3,073 mm. From 1920 a Continental engine with 3672 cm³ displacement was offered. In 1923 the displacement increased to 3959 cm³. The sales prices during this period were between US $ 1865 and US $ 2790. The company closed its doors in early 1924 after James Kline said of his beloved Kline Kar: "I would rather see my children dead than be exposed to cheap shopping and poor craftsmanship."

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase
4-24 1910-1911 4 row 24 bhp (17.6 kW) 2794 mm
6-40 1910 6 row 40 bhp (29 kW) 3124 mm
4-30 1911-1914 4 row 30–33 bhp (22–24 kW) 2844-2921 mm
4-40 1911-1914 4 row 40 bhp (29 kW) 2972-3048 mm
6-50 1911-1914 6 row 41–50 bhp (30–37 kW) 3150-3251 mm
6-60 1912-1914 6 row 44–60 bhp (32–44 kW) 3302-3353 mm
6-42 1915 6 row 41 bhp (30 kW) 3124 mm
6-42A 1915 6 row 44 bhp (32 kW) 3226 mm
6-36 1916 6 row 44 bhp (32 kW) 3048 mm
6-38 1917-1918 6 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 3048 mm
H 6-42 1919 6 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 3073 mm
6-55-J 1920 6 row 55 bhp (17.6 kW) 3073 mm
6-55-K 1921-1922 6 row 55 bhp (40 kW) 3073 mm
6-60-L 1923-1924 6 row 55.5–60 bhp (40.8–44 kW) 3073 mm

literature

  • George Nicholas Georgano (Editor): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. (3rd edition), Krause Publications, Iola 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 .

Web links

Commons : Kline Kar  - collection of images, videos and audio files