Michigan 1903 at Gilmore Car Museum DSC04987 (34515738942)

The Michigan was a brass era automobile built in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

by the Michigan Automobile Company, Ltd from 1903 to 1907.

History

The Fuller brothers, Charles D. and Frank D. owned the Fuller Brothers Manufacturing Company that made washboards and other wood products. Negotiating with the Blood brothers, owners of the Kalamazoo Cycle Company and builders of a prototype car,they decided to go into automobile manufacturing. On December, 30th, 1902, they established the Michigan Automobile Company, LTD, Charles Fuller as chairman, Frank Fuller as secretary and general manager, Maurice E. Blood as treasurer, and Charles C. Blood as superintendent. A business dispute resulted in the Blood brothers leaving the company at the end of 1904. The Bloods set up production of their own car and the Blood automobile was identical with the last car they developed for Michigan. The Bloods quit building automobiles (for a decade) in 1905 and built

automobile parts This is a list of auto parts, mostly for vehicles using internal combustion engines which are manufactured components of automobiles: Car body and main parts Body components, including trim Doors Windows Low voltage/auxiliary ele ...

instead. The Michigan was continued into 1907 when the Fuller brothers followed the Bloods into automobile parts. As Fuller and Sons Manufacturing Company, they made transmissions and clutches.

Models

The Bloods small prototype car, was a two-passenger runabout with a

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

of just 48 in., a steering lever and an

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...

single-cylinder engine 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 ...

that delivered 3.5

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

. For production, a longer frame with a wheelbase of 54 in. was used. It was marketed as the Model A runabout, priced at $450 () and weighing only 360 pounds. About 100 cars were built by 1904. A larger car, Model C, was added in 1904. It had a 2-cylinder engine that developed 12 hp, a wheelbase of 78 in., a

steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...

but the engine still placed under the seat. Available as a Light Touring, similar to a detachable

Tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

, the price was $900. The Bloods designed two more 2-cylinder cars that were introduced in 1905. Model D with the 12 hp engine, wheelbase of 80 in. and Demi Tonneau body was priced at $1,100. For $150 more, a larger Model E was offered with 16 hp engine, and a 90 in.wheelbase. From 1906, Model E remained available priced at $1,500 () until end of production in 1907.

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1903 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 1903 establishments in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1908 1908 disestablishments in Michigan Companies based in Kalamazoo, Michigan Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Cars introduced in 1903

History

Models

See also

References