The Bates was an automobile manufactured in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, by the Bates Automobile Company from 1903 to 1905. The Bates was the brainchild of M.F. Bates, who was vice-president of the company.

History

Bates Automobile was organized on May 27, 1903, by M.F. Bates, an ex-P. F. Olds & Son company (founded by

Ransom E. Olds Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was a pioneer of the American automotive industry, after whom the Oldsmobile and REO brands were named. He claimed to have built his first steam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-powe ...

) draftsman and developer.''Ingham County Biographical Sketches: M.F. Bates''
US Gen; xcerpt from "Past and Present of the City of Lansing and Ingham County, Michigan;" by Albert E. Cowles; published by The Michigan Historical Publishing Association, Lansing, Michigan; 1905; Pp. 249–250]; accessed January 2014. Bates automobile manufacturing was started up in an old Armory building in Lansing, on south Capitol Street.Google Books: Industrial Lansing
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Production

The company started out producing brass-era

single-cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ( ...

runabouts; and later produced a few two-seater and four-seater cars with four-cylinders. The four-seater touring cars produced cost

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2,000. In all, a total of about 25 cars were produced. The early cars had two-cylinder 16 hp engines, while in 1905, a three-cylinder, 18 hp engine was used.

Marketing and details

The company's slogan was "Buy a Bates and Keep Your Dates." The Bates Automobile Company was entirely separate from the Bates & Edmonds Company, another auto manufacturing firm of which Bates was a partner.

Notes

Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Vehicles built in Lansing, Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan {{Veteran-auto-stub