Smith Automobile Company

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Smith Automobile Company
legal form Company
founding 1903
resolution 1912
Reason for dissolution insolvency
Seat Topeka , Kansas , USA
management
  • Charles Southwick
  • George Southwick
Branch Automobiles

Smith Automobile Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles .

Company history

The Smith family was based in Topeka , Kansas and ran a healthcare company. In 1898 the brothers Clement and Anton Smith became aware of an automobile made by the mechanic Terry Stafford from the same town. They became his partners and produced small quantities of vehicles in his workshop.

In 1903 the brothers and Stafford founded the company in Topeka. They started with the production of automobiles. The brand name was initially Veracity , from 1906 Smith and from 1907 Great Smith . Stafford left the company in 1908 and then founded the Stafford Motor Car Company . The brothers also sold their shares, either in 1908 or 1909.

By late 1909, a consortium of 17 business people from Grand Rapids , Michigan, had control of the company. They tried to move the seat to their city. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers prevented it because Michigan already had many automakers and Kansas few.

The decline followed. The bankruptcy began at the end of 1910 . The brothers Charles and George Southwick took over the plant in 1911. They assembled additional vehicles with twelve employees

In April 1912 they announced plans to want to offer passenger cars and commercial vehicles of the Westerner brand . Many vehicles cannot have been created.

On May 29, 1912, everything was sold to the Perfection Metal Products Company .

vehicles

This vehicle in a private collection is described as the 1902 Smith

Brand name Veracity

The vehicles had a two-cylinder engine . It drove the rear axle via a planetary gear and a chain. Called are Observation Car as Tonneau and Traveler's car . An illustration shows a runabout .

Brand name Smith

These vehicles from 1906 had a four-cylinder engine and cardan drive . The chassis had a wheelbase of 249 cm . In the Surrey the engine developed 20 hp . There was also a tonneau with side doors and a 24 hp engine.

Brand name Great Smith

The vehicles from 1907 were based on the previous year's models. Model Q was a two-seat roadster and Model R was a five-seat touring car . What they had in common was a four-cylinder engine with 24 hp and a wheelbase of 272 cm. The 50/60 HP was new . Its six-cylinder engine was specified with 50/60 hp. The wheelbase was 334 cm. The only structure was an open touring car with seven seats. Only ten of these were sold, which led to the model being discontinued quickly.

In 1908 the wheelbase of the small models was extended to 279 cm. Type S was now a baby tonneau and Type T a roadster.

The Series XX followed in 1909 . The engine was now specified with 45 hp. The wheelbase remained unchanged. Touring cars, gentlemen's roadsters and baby tonneau have come down to us.

In 1910 there were no technical changes, but renaming. Model XII was a four-seat toy tonneau and Model XXI was a five-seat touring car.

In 1911 different wheelbases were available. Model E as a five-seater touring car and Model EB as a four-seater Baby Tonneau had a 290 cm wheelbase, Model EC as an Encl. Cruiser 292 cm wheelbase and Model ET as a five-seater touring car 279 cm wheelbase.

year model cylinder Power ( hp ) Wheelbase (cm) construction
1907 Model Q 4th 24 272 Roadster 2-seater
1907 Model R 4th 24 272 5-seater touring car
1907 50/60 HP 6th 50/60 334 7-seater touring car
1908 Type S 4th 24 279 Baby tonneau
1908 Type T 4th 24 279 Roadster
1909 Series XX 4th 45 279 Touring cars, gentlemen's roadsters, baby tonneau
1910 Model XII 4th 45 279 Toy Tonneau 4-seater
1910 Model XXI 4th 45 279 5-seater touring car
1911 Model E. 4th 45 290 5-seater touring car
1911 Model EB 4th 45 290 Baby tonneau 4-seater
1911 Model EC 4th 45 292 Encl. Cruiser
1911 Model ET 4th 45 279 5-seater touring car

Brand name Westerner

Roadsters and trucks have been handed down .

Production numbers

year Production number
1904 61
1905 79
1906 93
1907 100
1908 127
1909 153
1910 157
total 770

Source:

literature

  • 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. 1358-1359 and p. 1532 (English).
  • George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1474 (English).

Web links

Commons : Smith Automobile Company  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e 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. 1358-1359 (English).
  2. ↑ a b George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1474 (English).
  3. ↑ 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. 1532 (English).