Maxwell Motor Company
Maxwell-Briscoe Motor Co. Standard Motor Co. Maxwell Motor Co.
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legal form | Corporation subsidiary |
founding | 1904 |
resolution | June 6, 1925 |
Reason for dissolution | Reorganization as Chrysler Motor Corporation |
Seat | Tarrytown , New York ; Detroit , Michigan ( USA ) |
management |
Benjamin Briscoe Jonathan Dixon Maxwell Walter Flanders Walter P. Chrysler |
Branch | Automobile manufacturer , commercial vehicle manufacturer |
The Maxwell Motor Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced automobiles from 1904 to 1925.
history
Benjamin Briscoe
Benjamin Briscoe (1867–1945) was already a wealthy entrepreneur when he founded a company with Jonathan Maxwell. He had previously founded Benjamin Briscoe & Co. , a metal stamping plant that became the American Can Company . Later he invented a pipe bending process, which he also used industrially. Briscoe took over the years unprofitable Buick Motor Company in 1901 , which he sold in 1904 to the carriage manufacturer James H. Whiting (1842-1919), the owner of the Flint Wagon Works . He invested the proceeds in the joint venture with Jonathan Maxwell.
Jonathan D. Maxwell
Jonathan Dixon Maxwell (1864–1928) worked as a bicycle mechanic in Elmer Apperson's workshop and in 1894 was involved in building the automobile for the Apperson brothers for Elwood Haynes . Their cooperation resulted in one of the first commercial automobile manufacturers with the Haynes-Apperson Company . Maxwell then worked for the Olds Motor Works . He worked on the design of the single cylinder engine in the hugely successful Oldsmobile Curved Dash . In 1902 he founded with Charles Brady King (1868–1957), whom he knew from his work for Oldsmobile, the Northern Manufacturing Company in Detroit. There King performed the function of chief engineer, Maxwell was the operations manager. In 1903 he invented thermosiphon cooling , which was widely used. In 1904 he separated from King and entered into a new business partnership with Benjamin Briscoe.
Maxwell-Briscoe Company
The company began in 1904 as the Maxwell-Briscoe Company in Tarrytown , New York . The company was named after its founders. Investors included JP Morgan , who contributed two-thirds of the original share capital of $ 150,000. Ironically, Briscoe's motive for starting the company was his suspicion of losing faith in an investment in Buick of his own. The company's first domicile was in the facilities of the former steam car maker Mobile Company of America .
The new Maxwell , designed by Jonathan Maxwell, was an instant success, with 542 vehicles sold in the first six months. The vehicle had a front-mounted two-cylinder engine, the cooling system of which included a modern honeycomb cooler and thermosiphon circuit. Other modern features were the two-speed planetary gearbox and power transmission via cardan shaft . The company flourished; in 1905 a second plant was opened in Pawtrucket (Rhode Island) ; another followed in Chicago in 1906 . The largest new plants were built in New Castle (Delaware) in 1907 , and were put into operation before the construction work was completely completed. This plant remained in operation at Chrysler until 2002.
Maxwell was the only profitable company of the United States Motor Company, founded in 1910 . However, due to a conflict between two of its shareholders, the company failed in 1913.
In 1913, the Maxwell assets were purchased by Walter Flanders, who reorganized the company as Maxwell Motor Company, Inc. , but had a branch in Dayton , Ohio . For a while, Maxwell was among the top three vehicle manufacturers in the United States, alongside Buick and Ford Motor Company .
The growth of Maxwell, however, was too strong, the company too much debt, and half of the production capacity was in recession after the First World War not be used. From 1918 the Renault FT tank was built under license at the Dayton plant. In 1921 Walter Percy Chrysler was able to take over a controlling stake in Maxwell. The company was founded in West Virginia ; Chrysler became CEO. Around the same time, the merger with the ailing vehicle manufacturer Chalmers was operated; Chalmers production stopped in 1923.
In 1925, Walter Chrysler founded the Chrysler Motor Corporation . The Maxwell car brand expired; Maxwell's assets were incorporated into Chrysler. The design of the Maxwells was incorporated into Chrysler's four-cylinder motor vehicles, which were newly introduced in 1926 . 1928 saw another revision, the first Plymouth models.
Models
model | Model years * | cylinder | power | wheelbase |
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Model L | 1905 | 2 cyl. | 12 bhp (8.8 kW) | 1828 mm |
Model H. | 1905 | 2 cyl. | 16 bhp (11.8 kW) | 2235 mm |
Model L | 1906 | 2 cyl. | 10 bhp (7.4 kW) | 1828 mm |
Model S | 1906 | 2 cyl. | 10 bhp (7.4 kW) | 1828 mm |
Model N | 1906 | 2 cyl. | 20 bhp (14.7 kW) | 2159 mm |
Model H. | 1906 | 2 cyl. | 20 bhp (14.7 kW) | 2159 mm |
Model M | 1906-1907 | 4 cyl. | 40 bhp (29 kW) | 2642 mm |
Model R | 1907 | 2 cyl. | 12 bhp (8.8 kW) | 1829 mm |
HB model | 1907 | 2 cyl. | 20 bhp (14.7 kW) | 2184 mm |
Model LC | 1908 | 2 cyl. | 14 bhp (10.3 kW) | 1829 mm |
Model K | 1908 | 4 cyl. | 22 bhp (16.2 kW) | 2470 mm |
Model D | 1908 | 4 cyl. | 22 bhp (16.2 kW) | 2470 mm |
HC model | 1908 | 2 cyl. | 20 bhp (14.7 kW) | 2286 mm |
Model M | 1908 | 4 cyl. | 40 bhp (29 kW) | 2896 mm |
Model a | 1909 | 2 cyl. | 10 bhp (7.4 kW) | 2083 mm |
LD model | 1909 | 2 cyl. | 14 bhp (10.3 kW) | 2134 mm |
HD model | 1909 | 2 cyl. | 20 bhp (14.7 kW) | 2438 mm |
Model DA | 1909 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2642 mm |
Model KA | 1909 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2642 mm |
Model AA | 1910-1911 | 2 cyl. | 12 bhp (8.8 kW) | 2184 mm |
Model Q | 1910-1911 | 4 cyl. | 22 bhp (16.2 kW) | 2362 mm |
Model E. | 1910 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2794 mm |
Model G | 1910 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2794 mm |
Model I. | 1911 | 4 cyl. | 25 bhp (18.4 kW) | 2642 mm |
Model EA | 1911 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2794 mm |
Model GA | 1911 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2794 mm |
Messenger | 1912 | 2 cyl. | 16 bhp (11.8 kW) | 2184 mm |
Mascotte | 1912 | 4 cyl. | 25 bhp (18.4 kW) | 2642 mm |
Mercury | 1912 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2794 mm |
Special | 1912 | 4 cyl. | 36 bhp (26.5 kW) | 2896 mm |
Model 22 | 1913 | 4 cyl. | 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) | 2362 mm |
Model 30 | 1913 | 4 cyl. | 30 bhp (22 kW) | 2819 mm |
Model 40 | 1913 | 4 cyl. | 40 bhp (29 kW) | 2921 mm |
Six-38.4 | 1913 | 6 cyl. | 38.4 bhp (28.2 kW) | 3302 mm |
Six-31.54 | 1913 | 6 cyl. | 31.54 bhp (23.2 kW) | 2997 mm |
Model 25-4 | 1914 | 4 cyl. | 21 bhp (15.4 kW) | 2616 mm |
Model 35-4 | 1914 | 4 cyl. | 26 bhp (19.1 kW) | 2794 mm |
Model 50-6 | 1914 | 6 cyl. | 41 bhp (30 kW) | 3302 mm |
Model 25 | 1915-1919 | 4 cyl. | 21 bhp (15.4 kW) | 2734 mm |
Model 25 | 1920-1924 | 4 cyl. | 34 bhp (25 kW) | 2769 mm |
Model 25 C | 1925 | 4 cyl. | 38 bhp (28 kW) | 2769 mm |
- = The model year always begins in September of the previous calendar year.
literature
- Beverly Rae Kimes (Ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942 (Second Edition). Krause Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-87341-111-0 .
- Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI, 1996; ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9 .
- GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 .
- GN Georgano (Ed.), G. Marshall Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles ; MBI Motor Books International, Osceola WI, 1979; ISBN 0-87341-024-6 .
- Vincent Curcio: Chrysler: The Life and Times of an Automotive Genius. (First edition, 2000). Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-195-14705-7 .
- George H. Dammann: 70 Years of Chrysler. Crestline Publishing Co., Glen Ellyn IL, Crestline Series , Osceola WI, 1974; ISBN 0-912612-06-1 .
- Spence Murray (Ed.): Complete Book of Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler. Petersen Publishing Co., Los Angeles, 1977; ISBN 0-8227-5008-2 . Partial coverage of Chalmers, DeSoto, Maxwell and Willys-Overland
Web links
- Maxwell / Maxwell-Briscoe (English)
- Early Chrysler history (English)
- allpar.com: Maxwell: First Builder of Chrysler Cars. (English) (accessed October 8, 2017)
- allpar.com: Maxwell - Chrysler New Castle Plant. (English) (accessed October 8, 2017)
- americanautohistory.com: Pioneers: Jonathan Dixon Maxwell (1864-1928) . (English) (accessed October 8, 2017)
Individual evidence
- ↑ americanautohistory.com: Pioneers: Jonathan Dixon Maxwell (1864-1928) .
- ↑ allpar.com: Maxwell: First Builder of Chrysler Cars.
- ↑ allpar.com: Maxwell - Chrysler New Castle Plant.
- ^ Benedict Crowell: America's Munitions 1917-1918 . Government Printing Office, Washington 1919, p. 156 ( Digitized - report by US Secretary of War Benedict Crowell).