The Columbia Automobile Company was a leading early Hartford, Connecticut, United States manufacturer of automobiles.
The Columbia Automobile Company was created as a joint venture of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut and the Electric Vehicle Company in 1899. Pope Manufacturing Company is a manufacturing company started by Albert Augustus Pope in Hartford CT. Electric Vehicle Company is a US automobile holding company and manufacturer
At the turn of the Twentieth century they were producing and selling hundreds of vehicles a year under Pope's Columbia brand name, while most gasoline engine automobile manufacturers had made only a few dozen. A Petrol engine or Gasoline engine is an Internal combustion engine with spark-ignition designed to run on petrol ( Gasoline) and similar volatile
In 1908, the company was renamed the Columbia Motor Car Co. and in 1910 was acquired by United States Motor Company. The United States Motor Company (USMC was organized by Benjamin Briscoe in 1910 as a selling company to represent various manufacturers
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Electric models
The 1904 Columbia Brougham was a brougham model. Equipped with a tonneau, it could seat 4 passengers and sold for US$3500. Tonneau (pronounced ta’-no in modern use describes a bed cover for a Pickup truck. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Twin electric motors were situated at the rear of the car. Similar Columbia Coupe coupes, Columbia Hansom hansoms, were also produced for the same price and could hit 13 mph (21 km/h). A Hansom cab is a kind of Horse -drawn Carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an Architect from York. A Columbia Victoria Phaeton phaeton model was priced at US$3000 but was based on the same design. A phaeton is a Car body style, similar to a sedan or convertible sedan where the rear seat area is extended for added leg room or for an additional row of seating The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
The Columbia Surrey and Columbia Victoria were more traditional horseless carriages. Both used the same power system as the larger cars, with twin electric motors, but cost much less at US$1500 and US$1600, respectively. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
At the bottom end of the range was the Columbia Runabout. Runabouts were a popular Car body style at the beginning of the 20th Century Priced at just US$750, it used a single electric motor with an Exide battery and Concord springs. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been
Columbia's basic runabout was typical of the time, resembling a horseless carriage, steered via a tiller, for $850, $200 more than the contemporary Curved Dash Olds. The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing named for the prominent Brass Fittings used during this time for such things as lights and Steering is the term applied to the collection of components linkages etc A tiller or till is a Lever attached to a Rudder post (American terminology or Rudder stock (English terminology of a boat in order to provide The Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as the first high-volume mass-produced Automobile. The 1200 pound (544 kg), single bench seat vehicle had a wheelbase of 64 inches (162cm), and rode on 30 inch (76cm) wooden spoked wheels, with leather fenders. The traditional seat installed in American Automobiles was the bench seat. The drivetrain had clear evolutionary roots in Pope's bicycle business, driving the rear axle via a chain drive, which accounted for virtually the only operating noise. Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another Between the motor and the chain drive was a transmission with three forward and two reverse speeds. Twenty batteries manufactured by Exide Batteries, also associated with Electric Vehicle Company, were placed above both axles so as to balance the weight. Exide Technologies is the world's second-largest producer of automotive lead acid batteries for automotive and industrial applications Brakes on both rear wheels featured a bell, which rang when the vehicle reached a full stop. Top speed was about 15 miles per hour (24 km/h).
In addition to the runabout, Columbia had a range of about 20 electric vehicles all the way up to electric buses, and including taxis and police cars. The vehicles were most popular in cities, where the relatively smooth roads made the superiority in smoothness and silence of the electric motor over the gasoline engine obvious, and where electrical supply for recharging was easily found within the runabout's 40 mile (64km) range. Nevertheless, in 1903, a Columbia was driven 250mi (400km) from Boston to New York City in 23 hours. The City of New York In keeping with this urban orientation, the Columbia was positioned as a high-end vehicle, with its showroom across the street from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera.
Internal Combustion engined models
The Columbia Touring Car was an entirely different car. A touring car model, it used a tonneau, seating 6 passengers, and resembled the touring models offered by many other companies at the time. A touring car was a popular Car body style in the early 20th century being a larger alternative to the runabout and the Roadster. Tonneau (pronounced ta’-no in modern use describes a bed cover for a Pickup truck. Priced at US$4500 to $5000, it used a vertically-mounted straight-4, situated at the front of the car, producing 24 hp (17. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The straight-4 or inline-4 engine (often abbreviated I4 or L4) is a four cylinder Internal combustion engine with all four cylinders 9 kW). A 4-speed sliding transmission was fitted. The car weighed 3000 lb (1361 kg). One design innovation was the "false frame" supporting the engine.
A Knight sleeve valve powered model was added to the range in 1912 and 1913. The sleeve valve is a type of Valve mechanism for Piston engines distinct from the more common Poppet valve.
See also
- Brass Era car
- Columbia (automobile)
- United States Motor Company
- List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
References
- 1903 Columbia Mark LX Electric Runabout, Autoweek Magazine, November 6, 2006
- Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)
- David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles, ISBN 0-7858-1106-0
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