Little Motor Car Company

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Little Four (1912)

The Little Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that was merged into the Chevrolet Motor Company .

description

The company was founded in 1911 by William H. Little and William Crapo Durant . The seat was in Flint , Michigan . Previously, Little (contrary to his name, a tall man nearly two feet tall) was general manager of the Buick Motor Company and the Waltham Manufacturing Company . Durant had acquired control of Buick in 1904 and founded the General Motors Company in 1908 , but had to vacate his chief position at GM in September 1910 because his aggressive acquisition policy did not work and the company had got into serious trouble. For him, the successful re-entry meant the chance to regain control of GM. Little was one of two brands he tried to do this with. The other was Chevrolet . Durant organized a group umbrella over both brands, the new holding company Republic Motor Company based in Tarrytown , New York .

Little Four

Production of the Little was established at Durant's Flint Wagon Works , where the Whiting motor car had previously been built. Alex Hardy became the production manager . The first vehicle of the new brand was officially announced on October 30, 1911. Delivery began in the late summer of 1912. For the time being, there was only one model and only one body variant: The Little Four was an inexpensive and reliable roadster with a four-cylinder engine of 20 hp according to the method of calculation at the time. At a price from US $ 690, it offered space for two people. The wheelbase was 90 inches (2310 mm).

A Ford Model T Runabout with two seats, similarly motorized with 22 hp according to NACC, cost US $ 680 in 1911; In 1912 it was offered for only US $ 590 - and Ford continued to lower prices.

Little Six

In a hurry, a light six-cylinder model had to be added, which was available from the end of 1912 for the 1913 model year. Such a vehicle should actually have come from Chevrolet , but the idiosyncratic chief designer Louis Chevrolet not only delayed the completion of the first car, but had other plans in general: Instead of the already widely announced mid-range model, he delivered a veritable luxury car for which there was actually no place in the company concept.

The Little Six came exclusively as a five-seater touring (open four-door with emergency roof) at a price from US $ 1285. It offered an output of 26.4 hp and a chassis with a 106 inch (2692 mm) wheelbase. Unfortunately, the lightweight construction and the hasty introduction of the Six led to serious quality problems. An extensive test ordered by Durant indicated a lifespan of less than 25,000 miles (approximately 40,000 km). As a Durant product, however, it sold quite well.

The end

The Chevrolet Classic Six was a seriously designed and solidly built car. However, the selling price of US $ 2250 stood in the way of large-scale production like Durant wanted. Therefore, Durant decided the advantages of both structures in a new model, the Chevrolet Light Six L model to combine. That this car at Chevrolet and was not created by Little was next to production reasons, a sign making: who "only" a small car could not afford, did not attach special importance to ensuring that this just "Little" (English for Klein called).

In May 1913, production of the Little in Flint ran out. A total of around 3500 Little Four and Six have been built.

literature

  • Martin Sinzig: Louis Chevrolet - The man who gave the Chevy its name. Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld (Switzerland) 2011, ISBN 978-3-7193-1566-5 .
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.); Henry Austin Clark, Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (English)
  • GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Published by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Permissions, Warrendale PA 2005, ISBN 0-7680-1431-X . (English)
  • Axel Madsen: The Deal Maker: How William C. Durant made General Motors. John Wiley & Sons, 1999, ISBN 0-471-39523-4 . (English)
  • Alfred P. Sloan: My years with General Motors. 2nd Edition. Verlag Moderne Industrie, Munich 1965, OCLC 641185310 . (Licensed by My Years With General Motors. Doubleday & Co., Garden City NY)

Web links

Commons : Little Motor Car Company  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 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. 888 (English).