Wheeler (automobile manufacturer)

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Wheeler
legal form
founding 1900
resolution 1902
Seat Marlborough , Massachusetts , USA
management EO Wheeler
Branch Automobiles

Wheeler was an American manufacturer of automobiles . One source uses the company name EO Wheeler & Son . The inscription on the factory building was OD Wheeler & Co .

Company history

EO Wheeler was a graduate of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute . He planned to get into the automotive industry. His father, OD Wheeler, who ran a mechanical workshop in Marlborough , Massachusetts , helped him with this. The first vehicle was built in 1900. The brand name was Wheeler . The second followed in 1901 and the third in 1902.

Series production should then begin. The establishment of the Wheeler Automobile Manufacturing Company was firmly planned and possibly actually carried out. A Bank of Boston was willing to provide the financing. After the bank learned that another Boston bank had been caught by a New England auto fraudster, funding fell through. Production ended with that. A total of three vehicles were built.

Wheeler founded the Acme Motor Car Company in 1911 .

vehicles

The vehicle from 1900 had a single cylinder engine of unknown origin. One source sees the possibility that Wheeler made it himself. The engine was air-cooled . The setup was a runabout . There was space for two people. The vehicle sold for $ 900 .

The next vehicle was very similar and was sold in 1901.

The third and last vehicle was built in 1902. It had a built-in engine from De Dion-Bouton with 4.5 hp . One source states 3.5 " bore and 4" stroke . Converted these are 88.9 mm and 101.6 mm, resulting in 631 cm³ displacement . The engine was water-cooled . It was mounted in the front of the vehicle. The bonnet was sloping at the front and had no visible grille . The water cooler was placed very low in front of the engine. The appearance was thus similar to the vehicles from Renault and De Dion-Bouton. The engine drove the rear axle via a two-speed planetary gear and a cardan shaft . Power transmission and differential gears were from Torbensen Gear . The chassis had a wheelbase of 165 cm and a track width of 122 cm . The vehicle was bodied as a tonneau with rear entry and offered space for four people. The planned sales price should be $ 1200. This vehicle still exists today. However, the rear seats have been replaced by a small basket.

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. 1534 (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. 1736 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g 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. 1534 (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. 1736 (English).
  3. ↑ Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Automobile Manufacturers Worldwide Registry . McFarland & Company, London 2000, ISBN 978-0-7864-0972-3 , pp. 303 (English).
  4. ↑ a b c American Automobiles (accessed April 27, 2019)