Mitchell was a major brass-era

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

in Racine, Wisconsin, from 1903 to 1923.

History

Wisconsin Wheel Works was established in the 1890s by the wagon maker Mitchell & Lewis Company, Ltd. to manufacture bicycles and developed a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

in 1900. The company began manufacturing automobiles in 1903 as the Mitchell Motor Car Company.

Motor Cars

The company's first models were a chain driven and

water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...

four-stroke 4 hp and

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

7hp runabout, with tiller

steering Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle. Introduction The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...

and a two-speed

planetary transmission An epicyclic gear train (also known as a planetary gearset) consists of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other. A carrier connects the centers of the two gears and rotates the planet and sun gea ...

. The cars were designed by John W. Bates, a Chicago engineer. 1904 brought air-cooling and the addition of a four-cylinder model . By 1907 four-cylinders only were produced, improved with shaft drive on all models and all engines water-cooled. Mitchell participated in many automobile contests to show the power and reliability of their new four-cylinder cars. William T. Lewis retired in 1910 and William M. Lewis took over. The wagon business and automobile company were combined into Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company. The 1910 line of Mitchell's included two four-cylinder models and a new

six-cylinder The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...

model was introduced. The Mitchell engines were cast in pairs with three-bearing

crankshafts A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating shaft containing one or more crankpins, that are driven by the pistons via the connecting ...

on the fours and five-bearing crankshafts on the six-cylinders.

Growth

Mitchell built virtually all of the components for their cars, and the company enjoyed a reputation as a quality builder of medium-priced cars. Mitchell annual production was growing steadily from 82 cars in 1904 to 1,377 in 1907, 2,946 in 1909, 5,614 in 1910 and to just over 6,000 in 1912. This made them the leading car maker in Wisconsin. A small production of trucks and buses were run from 1905 to1908. Pricing in 1912 ran from a runabout at $950 () to a limousine at $2,250 () and Mitchell would remain in this mid-price market. French engineer Rene Petard was imported to design a new series of T- head engines which were introduced for the 1913 model year. These were called "The American built French car" in advertisements. Financial issues in 1913 caused the retirement of William Mitchell Lewis from the company and with Rene Petard, he started a new company to produce a car called the Lewis. A banker, Joseph Winterbottom, Jr. became president of Mitchell-Lewis.

Major Manufacturer

The firm was reorganized as Mitchell Motors Company, Inc. in 1916 and Mitchell sales manager Otis Friend took over the presidency. Sales in 1917 reached a record 10,938. Otis Friend left in 1918 and subsequently built a car of his own called the

Friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

in Pontiac, Michigan. A

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

executive named D.C. Durland was appointed as the new president. In 1916 the four-cylinder Mitchell was dropped, and a V-8 was built that year, but from 1917 only six-cylinder cars were produced. The Mitchell introduced in 1920 had a sloping radiator configuration and was given the epithet of "drunken Mitchell.” This styling mistake hurt sales. In 1922 a million-mile test was done by 109 Mitchell “White Streaks” which resulted in good publicity.

Fate

With the effects of styling mistakes, competition from mass producers of automobiles and the post-war depression, output had plummeted to less than 2,500 in both 1920 and 1921. Mitchell Motors Company, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in June 1923. Sales of unfinished automobiles and raw materials continued into 1924. In February 1924 the Mitchell factory was sold to

Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...

and the

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

automobile would be produced there.

Gallery

File:Mitchell-autos 1906.jpg, alt=, 1906 Mitchell Advertisement showing victories in motor car contests File:1908 Mitchell G Roadster (2534461431).jpg, alt=, 1908 Mitchell Model G Roadster File:Family in a 1910 Mitchell (14938558547).jpg, alt=A family packed into a 1910 Mitchell, 1910 Mitchell Model T Touring loaded with a family File:Mitchell auto. (13162849114).jpg, alt=, 1911 Mitchell Model T Touring in Christchurch New Zealand File:1912 Mitchell 2-6 50hp Runabout (5806664038).jpg, alt=, 1912 Mitchell Model 7-6 Roadster File:Mitchell Model E-40 Touring 1919.jpg, alt=Mitchell Model E-40 Touring 1919 photographed in 2008, 1919 Mitchell Model D-40 Touring File:Herald Staunton Tour, Mitchell car LCCN2016828806.jpg, alt=, 1920 Mitchell Model E-40 Touring ''(drunken Mitchell)'' File:Mitchell car LCCN2016846481.tif, alt=, 1922 Mitchell Model F-50

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell Motor Car Company 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Racine, Wisconsin Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Veteran vehicles Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin Cars introduced in 1903 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923