Puritan Motor Company

The Puritan Motor Company was a short-lived automobile manufacturer in the United States and one of several to manufacture Puritan automobiles.

description

The company, based in Chicago ( Illinois ) was active from 1913 to 1914 and specialized in cyclecars .

The Puritan Motor Company was founded by FP Choate , formerly President of the Kissel Motor Car Company in Hartford ( Wisconsin ), and other business people from Chicago. You correctly foresaw that cyclecars would experience a boom in the US. The Puritan designed by Choate should be able to survive in this market . An export to Europe was planned. The company started with a capital of 150,000 US dollars.

technology

It should be noted in advance that the manufacturer described the vehicle as a cycle car, but it did not meet the criteria. The two-cylinder engine had 88.9 mm cylinder bore , 93.218 mm piston stroke and thus 1157 cm³ displacement . The limit for cycle cars, however, was 1100 cc.

The Puritan was, in fact, unlike many competitors, a reputable constructed lightweight car. It had a two-cylinder DeLuxe engine with 10 hp (based on the calculation method at the time). The chassis was large enough with a wheelbase of 2743 mm (108 inches) and with a track of 1067 mm (42 inches) wide enough to accommodate two passengers side by side. That was not a matter of course either; many cyclecars had a tandem arrangement with individual seats one behind the other. The power was transmitted to the rear axle via a belt in accordance with the class . In contrast, the two-speed planetary gearbox was unconventional . The Puritan was only available as a roadster with "motorcycle" fenders, indicated aerodynamics and a moderate pointed tail. Wire-spoke wheels came as standard as well as a choice of colors. The calculated sales price was US $ 350.

prototype

The prototype was completed in autumn 1913. It was painted cherry red with white accent strips. Choate sent the car to Europe in November 1913, where it could be seen at the motor shows in London and Paris .

Quick end

The management had correctly recognized that cyclecars would become popular in the United States, but not that this, unlike in Europe, would not be a trend, but only a relatively short-lived fad.

One of the reasons was the Ford Model T introduced in 1907 . As a five-seater touring, it cost from $ 600 in 1913; by the end of 1916, that price had dropped to $ 350. The development of the two-seater was even more dramatic: the Roadster cost less than the Puritan in 1913, starting at US $ 525 and at US $ 345 at the end of 1916 . With its dimensions, its construction and the four-cylinder engine with 20 bhp (14.9 kW), the Ford was considered a "full-grown" car.

Choate expected "thousands of cyclecars " to be built after 1915 . That was initially true, but the market collapsed as early as 1916. The Puritan stood up to the competition in his class; the light automobile sold better than most of its competitors. The fact that it was conceived in a market niche that was disappearing left neither the car nor the company a chance.

A connection to the Puritan Motors Company from Framington ( Massachusetts ) is not known.

literature

• Beverly Ray Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, Iola 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 . (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Kimes / Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , p. 1210
2. ↑ Kimes / Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , pp. 555-556