Welch Motor Car Company

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Chelsea Manufacturing Company Limited
Welch Motor Car Company
legal form Company
founding 1903
resolution 1911
Reason for dissolution Takeover by General Motors
Seat Pontiac , Michigan , USA
Branch Automobiles

Which from 1905

Welch Motor Car Company , previously Chelsea Manufacturing Company Limited , was an American manufacturer of automobiles .

Company history

AR Welch had operated the Chelsea Manufacturing Company in Chelsea , Michigan , since about 1899 . Together with his brother Fred Welch, he made his first car in 1901. In early 1903 he presented it at the Chicago Automobile Show . He then founded the Chelsea Manufacturing Company Limited in the same city. The production of automobiles began. The brand name was Welch . JD Watson was a financier. Bankruptcy followed in early 1904 . One source indicates a total production of 15 vehicles, another 15 vehicles per month.

A reorganization led to the Welch Motor Car Company in 1904 . The seat was now in Pontiac , also in Michigan.

In 1909, the Welch Company was also founded in Detroit to produce cheaper vehicles. The vehicles from Pontiac were then unofficially called Welch-Pontiac .

In the summer of 1909 there was a connection with General Motors . The takeover took place in 1910.

Production ended in 1911. General Motors moved the factory equipment to the former factory of the Rainier Motor Car Company in Saginaw and launched Marquette as the successor brand in 1912 .

vehicles

The prototype from 1901 had a self-made two-cylinder engine . It had OHV valve control and had an output of 20 hp . It was mounted under the seat and drove the rear axle. Was steered with a steering lever.

From 1903 to 1904 there was the tourist . It had an engine with the same performance data, but as a front engine. The chassis had a wheelbase of 198 cm . The options were runabout and tonneau .

The 30/36 hp followed in 1905 . Its four-cylinder engine was specified with 30/36 hp. The wheelbase was 290 cm. Are Narrated Tonneau with partial boarding, sedan , Canopy Top - touring cars , Victoria and Landaulet .

In 1906 there were two cars to choose from. Both had a four-cylinder engine with 50 hp and a wheelbase of 300 cm. Model D was available as a five-seat touring car and also as a five-seat sedan, while Model F was only available as a five-seat touring car.

1907 saw a further expansion of the range. With the engine known from the previous year, there was the unchanged Model D , Model E with 284 cm wheelbase as a runabout with two and four seats, Model F with 315 cm wheelbase as a seven-seater touring car, Model G with 328 cm wheelbase as a seven-seater touring car, and Model I with it the same wheelbase as the seven-seater sedan. The Model H was the first to have a six-cylinder engine that developed 70 hp. The only structure was an open touring car with seven seats. The wheelbase was 351 cm.

In 1908 the Model 4-I as a sedan and Model 4-L as a touring car had the four-cylinder engine with 50 hp and the shorter chassis with a 328 cm wheelbase. The Model 6-I as a sedan and Model 6-L as a touring car had the 70 hp six-cylinder engine and 351 cm wheelbase. All superstructures offered space for seven people.

In 1909, the wheelbase of the four-cylinder models was shortened to 318 cm. Model 4-I was now also available as a landaulet with seven seats and a town car with six seats. The model 4-M was new with the same engine, but only 305 cm wheelbase and a body as a baby tonneau . The six-cylinder engines now developed 75 hp. The body range of the Model 6-I corresponded to the Model 4-I . The Model 6-M as a baby tonneau was new on the market.

In 1910 there were four models to choose from. Model 4-L as a seven-seater sedan and Model 4-N as a seven-seater touring car corresponded to the four-cylinder models of the previous year. The Model 4-R had a more powerful engine with 70 hp, a longer wheelbase of 330 cm and was bodied as a seven-seater touring car. The Model 6-N replaced the Model 6-L .

In 1911 only the Model 4-R remained.

Model overview

year model cylinder Power ( hp ) Wheelbase (cm) construction
1903-1904 tourist 2 20th 198 Runabout, tonneau
1905 30/36 HP 4th 30/36 290 Side Entrance Tonneau, Limousine, Canopy Top Touring Car, Victoria, Landaulette
1906 Model D 4th 50 300 5-seater touring car, 5-seater sedan
1906 Model F 4th 50 300 5-seater touring car
1907 Model D 4th 50 300 5-seater touring car, 5-seater sedan
1907 Model E. 4th 50 284 Runabout 2-seat and 4-seat
1907 Model F 4th 50 315 7-seater touring car
1907 Model G 4th 50 328 7-seater touring car
1907 Model H 6th 70 351 7-seater touring car
1907 Model I. 4th 50 328 7-seater sedan
1908 Model 4-I 4th 50 328 7-seater sedan
1908 Model 4-L 4th 50 328 7-seater touring car
1908 Model 6-I 6th 70 351 7-seater sedan
1908 Model 6-L 6th 70 351 7-seater touring car
1909 Model 4-I 4th 50 318 7-seater sedan, 7-seater landaulet, 6-seater town car
1909 Model 4-L 4th 50 318 7-seater touring car
1909 Model 4-M 4th 50 305 Baby tonneau
1909 Model 6-I 6th 75 351 7-seater sedan, 7-seater landaulet, 6-seater town car
1909 Model 6-L 6th 75 351 7-seater touring car
1909 Model 6-M 6th 75 351 Baby tonneau
1910 Model 4-L 4th 50 318 7-seater sedan
1910 Model 4-N 4th 50 318 7-seater touring car
1910 Model 4-R 4th 70 330 7-seater touring car
1910 Model 6-N 6th 75 351 7-seater touring car
1911 Model 4-R 4th 70 330 7-seater touring car

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. 1526-1528 (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. 1731 (English).

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 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. 1526-1528 (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. 1731 (English).