History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

Yale; A late friend of mine had a 1905 Yale that had been in his family since new. Then he found another one and had two. The family has sold the second one and now wants to sell the original one.




1902-1905
Cycle maker the Kirk Manufacturing Company of Toledo, Ohio, planned to begin making automobiles in 1899 but it was not until 1902 that this enterprise became reality. The first Yale was an orthodox American car of the period with a 10hp horizontally-opposed two-cylinder underfloor engine, planetary transmission, and central chain drive. It was though left-hand drive with wheel steering. Kirk claimed that it made the entire car apart from the differential and the lubricator. Over the next two years the engine output rose to 12 and then 16 horsepower whilst a four-cylinder model with a vertical front-mounted engine was introduced for 1905.

In 1903 Kirk had amalgamated with two other Toledo businesses to form the Consolidated Manufacturing Company but when it tried to sell the Yale automobile department there were no buyers and so it was closed down. This seems an odd decision, as Yale motorcars were reported to be popular in Toledo and its environs.

 

1911 OctoAuto



<script type="text/javascript"> tiiQuigoWriteAd(755769, 1489006, 525, 240, -1); </script>
Milton Reeves had a very hard head and, apparently, very poor eyesight. While the general conformation of the automobile was largely sorted out in the first decade of the 20th century — particularly that business about four wheels — Reeves thought perhaps eight or a minimum of six wheels might provide a smoother ride. Welding in some bits to a 1910 Overland and adding two more axles and four more guncart-style wheels, Reeves created the OctoAuto, proudly displaying it at the inaugural Indianapolis 500. Like its Marvel Comics-worthy name, the car was a bit of a monster, measuring over 20 ft. long. Talk about scaring the horses. Zero orders for the patently ugly and silly OctoAuto apparently didn't discourage Reeves, who tried again the next year with the Sextauto (six wheels, single front axle design). Reeves is remembered today as the inventor of the muffler, which is far from ignominy.

Time Magazine considered this one of the 50 worst automobiles of all time.

​

 

SunroofCord, stimulating input there! The YALE had a STEERING WHEEL in 1902, instead of a TILLER???

We'll have to do some research, 'cause some other maker claimed credit for the FIRST steering wheel, too! Interesting stuff!

 

And I though I had a strange
one in the bird/fish car!!!???

 

BTW, Reeves did not invent the auto muffler.

MAXIM (same family that invented the fully automatic MACHINE GUN) also invented the auto muffler.

 

Maybe not so strange. this is evidentaly from 2009

When you look back on past failures, are you in the habit of writing off entire projects and experiences or do you search for the triumphs lurking within every disappointment?







It may turn out that you have not failed at all. Milton Reeves did not live to see his dream realized by Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu and his team at Keio University. The OctoAuto is back, it’s electric, and it’s very, very fast.

 

Just goes to show you that you can't always believe everything you read on the Internet. Only true source of history is those that were there and sometimes even that is questionable. Not to get away from our automotive focus here but a good example is that "The Declaration Of Independence" was signed on July 2nd, not July 4th. As Henry Ford once said "History is Bunk" LOL

 

Good points ALL, SunRoof! LOL In double checking I even found spelling errors in the Maxims' (father/son) names. Sheesh. This is biographical history, BUT it DIRECTLY relates to the auto muffler. Here's the straight poop:

Among his 59 patents, Hiram Percy Maxim could count invention of, variously, HAM radio (ARRL, the national/international "amateur" radio network), the firearm silencer and the auto muffler. (His FATHER, Hyram Stevens Maxim, invented the Maxim gun. Following after the Gatling gun, the Maxim was the first true fully automatic, meaning self-operated, machine gun and led to the improved Vickers, used right through WWII.)

Hiram Percy Maxim
1867-1936​

 

1965 Hannibal 8

1965 Hannibal 8
Driven by Jack Lemmon in The Great Race (1965)

Based loosely on the 1908 New York-to-Paris race, The Great Race cost a then-high $8 million to make. Unusual for a movie of the time, over $100,000 was spent building special vehicles that would be featured in most of the action scenes. Tony Curtis (Leslie Galant III) drove the Leslie Special against Jack Lemmon (Professor Fate) in the Hannibal 8. The Leslie Special, four of which were built, was a loose interpretation of the 1907 Thomas Flyer that won the real race. The Hannibal 8, one of approximately five built, was a "rocket-propelled" elevator car that was powered by a Volkswagen industrial engine. Painted the requisite black, the Hannibal 8 was driven by the movie's villain.

Collection of Cornwell and Sheridan Picture Cars, Dave Simon ​

 

Staver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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1911 Staver-Chicago


<table class="infobox hproduct" style="text-align: left; font-size: 88%; line-height: 1.5em; width: 25em;" cellspacing="5"> <caption class="fn" style="font-size: 125%; font-weight: bold;">Staver</caption> <tbody><tr class=""> <th style="text-align: left;">Production</th> <td class="" style="">1907-14</td> </tr> <tr class=""> <th style="text-align: left;">Body style(s)</th> <td class="" style="">high wheeler, torpedo, tourer</td> </tr> <tr class=""> <th style="text-align: left;">Engine(s)</th> <td class="" style="">four- or six-cylinder gasoline</td> </tr> </tbody></table> The Staver was an American automobile manufactured at 76th and Wallace Streets in Chicago, Illinois,<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">[1]</sup> by the Staver Carriage Company from 1907 until 1914. It was also known as the Staver Chicago or Staver-Chicago.
The company's initial offerings were 18/20hp high wheelers, but after two years, production was turned over to conventional four-cylinder models, which came in torpedo or touring bodywork.
For 1911, Staver offered a tourer at US$1600 and a five-seat open torpedo at US$1850.<sup id="cite_ref-Clymer.2C_p.104_1-0" class="reference">[2]</sup> By contrast, the Brush Runabout was at US$485,<sup id="cite_ref-Clymer.2C_p.104_1-1" class="reference">[2]</sup> the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for US$650,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">[3]</sup> the Colt Runabout and Cole 30 at US$1500,<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4]</sup> the Oakland 40 US$1600,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">[5]</sup> an FAL for US$1750,<sup id="cite_ref-Clymer.2C_p.104_1-2" class="reference">[2]</sup> an Enger 40 US$2000,<sup id="cite_ref-Clymer.2C_p.104_1-3" class="reference">[2]</sup> and the American's base model was US$4250.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference">[6]</sup>
1914's Staver 65 had a 452in³ (7413 cc) monobloc six.

Just read a very good article on Staver in the Jan 2010 Hemmings Classic Car under "History Of Automotive Design"

 

The Staver Co. also heightened their public image (and presumably sales) by racing -- and doing pretty well at it. And, as high-wheelers went at the time, it seems the Staver was a good deal more STYLISH than most. From the material above, it almost sounds as though the company kept making the cars beter, until the concomminant price tags drove them out of business! Up t $4,250? Whoa!

I WONDER HOW MANY SURVIVE (???)

 

1908 Staver Runabout
Staver Carriage Co. Auburn Park, IL
1907-1914


Sport: Jinx Race

Monday, Jul. 23, 1934

In November 1902 Barney Oldfield was a brisk young sport who had made a fair reputation as a bicycle racer and just got a job with Henry Ford. When Ford perfected the automobile named 999, which he thought might become the first in history to go a mile a minute, he set about to select a driver for a five-mile race. Barney Oldfield had never driven a car, only ridden in one twice, but he asked for a chance to drive it. After learning to drive in the morning, he won the race in the afternoon, covered a mile in 60 seconds. For the next 16 years his round, good-humored face, invariably accented by a cigar which he smoked at the angle of a steering-gear shaft, was a symbol for fast driving in an era when auto-racing rivalled baseball as the U. S. national sport. By the time he retired from racing in 1918, Barney Oldfield had held every dirt track record for distances up to 50 miles.

Fifty-five, fat, still recognizable by his cigar, Barney Oldfield last week engaged in his first race in 16 years, an absurd "Jinx Derby" to advertise the Chrysler exhibit at Chicago's Century of Progress, where Oldfield heads a staff of 20 exhibition drivers. Oldest car in the race was an 1896 Tallyho made by the Chicago Vehicle Co., which had not been moved for 34 years. Others in the field of 13 were an 1897 Stanley Steamer, a chain-drive International, a 1904 one-cylinder Cadillac, a rope-drive 1902 Holsman, a 1902 Lincoln truck-roadster, a 1907 Staver roadster with hard tires on its buggy wheels, a 1906 Model N Ford, a 1908 Maxwell driven to the Fair by its owner. The cars had been lent by the Fair pageant Wings of a Century. The race was run on Friday the 13th. Driving a 1904 Maxwell carrying No. 13, Barney Oldfield, whose real name (Berna Oldfield) has 13 letters, won by chugging seven times around a 1,300-ft. course at an average speed of 13 m.p.h.

 

According to the Hemmings Classic Car article, about 5 still exist and they are all different models. There is also a sidebar on the Racing Stavers and in February, they will be doing an article on "The amazing story of survival and restoration of Staver #236

 

Black


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



<!-- start content --> The C.H. Black Manufacturing Company built the "Black" automobiles in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1896-1900.

There's an 1894 in the ACD Museum in Auburn and a fellow in Northern Mn. had one "For Sale" not long ago. Can't find much more then this on the Internet. Guess I'll have to dig out my book on Indiana made automobiles.

 

Hemmings says only about FIVE Stavers exist -- out of a few thousand (at least) MADE? Guess that puts Stavers among the NEAR-EXTINCT!!!

 

HJ, THANKS for the post RE Barney Oldfield! I just don't think MOST people today can appreciate what a daredevil, but capable, driver he was!!! (After all, he didn't get KILLED, which a LOT of drivers DID back then -- on live-rubber tires!)

 

Beleive it or not.
The Hannibal 8 was not powered by a Volkswagan motor, it was powered by a Corvair Motor. Many who wrote these articles originally saw an air cooled motor and assumed it was a VW. I get that to this day when someone sees one of my Corvairs and assumes it is a VW motor.
Point of History. George Schuster, who was the real driver of the Thomas Flyer in the Great Race, was invited to a screening of the film by Tony Curtis. Schuster was aghast at the depiction of an event he was rightfully proud of and washed his hands of the film.
For a true depiction of how it was check out.
http://www.thegreatestautorace.com/
I own a copy of the DVD and had the priviledge of seeing it's premier in Springville NY. Home town of George Schuster.
Buffalo of course, is the home of the Thomas Flyer that won the race.
this is a great documentary telling the true story of the event.
I've heard the presentation by Jeff Mahl 3 times regarding his great Grandfather's exploits on this.
http://www.thegreatautorace.com/info.htm
If you ever get a chance to see Jeff Mahl do his first person narration of his Great Grandfather's trip, do it!

 

SWI66- Another case of the Corvair not getting its due.

 

1938 Walker Dynamotive delivery truck. Well, at least there's two of em. (these are the only two KNOWN survivors)



Same truck...the one in the foreground, now restored and at Jay Crist's museum in PA.

 

Terre Haute's one and only auto-maker, and like every other manufacturer, they too left. Durnit. Heard they went on to bigger and better things though.......

This red 1902 model is in the Frank Kleptz museum here in Terre Haute. Located in the old Packard dealership, yet another "defunct" maker.

 

All this stuff about the Chevy Corvair engines has been -- to say the LEAST -- enlightening!

 

Depending on how the suspension was arranged, the principle of the OctoAuto might have been sound. Alex Moulton proposed an eight-wheeled bus during the '60s, with interconnected pairs of hydropneumatically-sprung wheels. If each corner's wheels were at the ends of an inverted, pivoting semi-elliptic the effect would have been emulated very crudely. Connecting 1L-1R, 2L-3L, 2R-3R, and 4L-4R would be more effective, but I doubt if Reeves would have gone to the trouble. And, once you start thinking in those terms it almost immediately becomes apparent that you don't need eight wheels to get the benefit.

Moulton had more of a point. With an urban bus you're working with lots of wheels anyway, to carry the load, especially if you want small-diameter tyres to lower the floor and limit intrusions into the passenger deck.

 

Dawie, do you remember (later-'60s/early-'70s, I seem to recall) when a coupe of OPEN WHEEL race teams seriously raced six-wheelers. Though I think the main benefit there was supposed to be diver safety, I don't think they got the up-front handling they were hoping for, so those racers faded away. I didn't follow Grand Prix-style racing too closely, so the six-wheelers just seemed an interesting experiment, actually put to the test. And before I knew, they were no more.

Some people look at unsuccessful efforts and just see failure. I have always felt ideas usually need to be "seen through" to some end. Otherwise, we never break out of the theoretical -- or "bench" -- realm to the applied realm of technology. I say, VIVA, the inventors and dreamers!!!

 

The Tyrrell P34 is the best-known. The idea was to gain a lower aerodynamic profile over the front wheels by using four tiny ones instead of two small ones. It worked fairly well. Here's my countryman Scheckter at the wheel:


The March 2-4-0 tried it the other way around, with less success:


The high public profile of Formula One (which I could never understand, personally) led to a number of six-wheeled road cars in the years following. Panther 6:


More recently, Covini:


Of course, the phenomenon did not escape the notice of that genius, Stan Mott:

The Cyclops XII does rather exemplify the aesthetic of that era!

 

HJ, I am not sure (long time ago!). But I seem to recall that the hind-most front wheels were "trailing," as opposed to answering to the steering wheel. Am I off base?

 

Also, am I correct in believing that the six-wheeler is a defunct design (though, of course, the CARS would be in museums/collections and, therefore, NOT EXTINCT) ???

 

Dawie, you really posted up some EXOTIC stuff there, man!

I'll say it again: Some people look at unsuccessful efforts and just see failure. I have always felt ideas usually need to be "seen through" to some end. Otherwise, we never break out of the theoretical -- or "bench" -- realm to the applied realm of technology. I say, VIVA, the inventors and dreamers!!! <!-- / message -->

 

Then, of course, there's the original FAB 1 from Thunderbirds (I shall not mention the live-action movie redesign):


Someone had the good sense to build a full-scale replica, albeit getting the roof a bit wrong:


Might I suggest that these are not so much extinct as unborn?