Merkel Motor Company

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The Merkel Motor Company was an American manufacturer of built-in motors for motorcycles , complete motorcycles and automobiles. Brand names were Merkel-Light and Flying Merkel for the two-wheelers and Merkel for the automobiles.

Joseph F. Merkel (1872–1958) took over the Layton Park Manufacturing Company in Milwaukee ( Wisconsin ) in early 1901 and merged the company with his Merkel Manufacturing Company . In September 1904 it was reorganized as the Merkel Motor Company .

The innovative company was successful in sport. The main competitors at this time were Harley-Davidson , Indian , Excelsior , Marsh-Metz and Orient .

Automobiles too

In 1905, the production of automobiles for the model year 1906 began. Three models in the middle and upper price range appeared around the same time. All had four-cylinder engines , cardan drive and were right-hand drive ; the customer could choose between water and air cooling .

In 1906, the widespread, lightweight Oldsmobile Curved Dash Model B with a single-cylinder engine of around 7 hp cost US $ 650. The Ford Model T Touring , introduced in late 1907 , had a list price of US $ 825. It developed around 20 hp from a displacement of 2.9 liters . At the other end of the scale were luxury cars with prices above US $ 4,000, such as the Locomobile 35 HP Model H (US $ 4500 as a 7-seater Touring), the Lozier 40 HP Model F or 60 HP Model E (US $ 5000 resp. 7000 as a 7-seater Touring), the mighty Pierce Great Arrow 40/45 HP (US $ 5000 as a 7-seater Touring) or the well-known Packard model Thirty with a 7.1 liter four-cylinder engine (US $ 4,200 as a 7-seater Touring).

At a price of US $ 3500, Merkel's top model Form N 35/40 HP was a fair offer, at least on paper. Many motor vehicles are unlikely to have been built. The end of production is not certain, but was probably in the first half of 1907.

designation power
Cubic capacity c.i. / cm³
Wheelbase
inches / mm
body Wheels
inch
Weight
lbs / kg
Price
US $
Small Four 14/16 HP 14 HP ALAM 134.7 / 2207 86/2184 Runabout , 2 pl. 32 × 3.0 1450 / 567.7 1500
Form P 20/24 HP 20 HP ALAM 226.2 / 3707 98/2489 Light Touring , 4 pl. 32 × 4.0 1900 / 861.8 2250
Form N 35/40 HP 35 HP ALAM 336.0 / 5506 110/2794 Touring, 5 pl. 32 × 4.5 2800/1270 3500

This data was compiled from two standard works

Flying Merkel

After the takeover by the Light Manufacturing and Foundry Company in 1909, the company moved to the new owner's headquarters in Pottstown (Pennsylvania) . Only engines and two-wheelers were produced here, the latter initially as Merkel-Light and from 1910 as Flying Merkel . Merkel test driver Maldwyn Jones defeated Erwin "Cannonball" Baker in a 10-mile race in Ohio in 1909 and began a successful professional career the following year.

In 1911, the company was taken over by the Miami Cycle and Manufacturing Company in Middletown, Ohio . Although the racing team was also dissolved, some drivers continued to receive racing machines from the factory.

Merkel Cyclecar

Joseph Merkel tried again as a self-employed automobile designer in 1914. His new car was a small car, known as Cyclecar was called, although he did not meet the criteria. While the tandem seating arrangement with the driver and front passenger behind each other instead of side by side was at least not unusual, four-cylinder engines like the one in the Merkel were rarely used. The wheelbase was 2438mm with almost as large as that of his former car standard P . These specifications and the solid construction led to a high weight for a cycle car of around 480 kg and a calculated sales price of US $ 520 - almost twice as much as some highwheelers cost and well over US $ 100 more than a customer was used to Create vehicle of this class. Merkel did not succeed in finding interested parties for the production and so it was left with two prototypes assembled in his basement .

designation power
Cubic capacity c.i. / cm³
Wheelbase
inches / mm
body Wheels
inch
Weight
lbs / kg
Price
US $
9/12 HP 12 HP 95.0 / 1557 96/2438 Tandem Roadster , 2 pl. 28 × 3.0 1060/481 520

This data was compiled from two standard works

Merkel Motor Wheel

1916–1918 Merkel introduced his Merkel Motor Wheel Company. Inc. manufactured a motorcycle component of the same name, which consisted of the engine, rear wheel, tank, brake and fender. This company was taken over by ( Indian ) in 1919 .

Then Joe Merkel went back to Miami Cycle and Manufacturing , where he worked as chief engineer and only developed two-wheelers. Around 10,000 motorcycles were sold annually and around 100,000 bicycles were produced by the time the USA entered the war . After that, the company switched to war production and never returned to two-wheeler construction. Merkel worked for a short time for the Autoped Company of America , which manufactured an original motor scooter , which was temporarily also manufactured under license at Krupp in Germany.

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e Kimes (1996), p. 963.
  2. a b c Mirco de Cet (2002), pp. 284-287.
  3. Kimes (1996), p. 1063.
  4. ^ Kimes (1985), p. 550.
  5. Kimes (1985), pp. 852-857.
  6. Kimes (1985), pp. 865-868.
  7. Kimes (1985), pp. 1137-1148.
  8. packardinfo.com: Model Information / 1907.
  9. packardclub.org: Encyclopedia / 1907.
  10. totalmotorcycle.com: Merkel
  11. hemmings.com: Look out for the Autoped Girl!

Remarks

  1. a b Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.), Henry Austin Clark jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 963 and Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era. 2013, p. 98.

literature

  • Mirco de Cet: Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles. Motorbooks International, 2002, ISBN 0-7603-1417-9 . (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 (ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 . (English)
  • Robert D. Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era: Essential Specifications of 4,000+ Gasoline Powered Passenger Cars, 1906-1915, with a Statistical and Historical Overview. Mcfarland & Co, 2013, ISBN 978-0-7864-7136-2 . (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)
  • James J. Flink: America Adopts the Automobile - 1895-1910. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), 1970, ISBN 0-262-06036-1 . (English)
  • David Beecroft: History of the American Automobile Industry. A series of articles reprinted in The Automobile magazine . first published between October 1915 and August 1916. Publisher: lulu.com, 2009, ISBN 978-0-557-05575-3 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (Ed.): Packard, a history of the motor car and the company. General edition. Automobile Quarterly, 1978, ISBN 0-915038-11-0 (English)
  • Mirco de Cet: Illustrated Directory of Motorcycles. Motorbooks International, 2002, ISBN 0-7603-1417-9 . (English)
  • Doug Mitchel, Editors of Consumer Guide: American Motorcycle Classics. Publishers Group International, Lincolnwood IL 1994, ISBN 0-7853-0668-4 . (English) 1896-1994; Models from Crocker, Excelsior, HD, Indian, Marks & Pope

Web links

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