Michigan (1908 automobile)
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The Michigan was a brass era automobile manufactured 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 ...
from 1904 to 1913 by the Michigan Buggy Company and its subsidiary the Michigan Motor Car Company.


History

The Michigan Buggy Company founded in 1883 By M. Henry Lane and Frank B. Lay was a major producer of buggies, carriages and wagons. In 1904 it motorized one of its buggies and offered the high-wheeler for $450. The car was powered by a single-cylinder 3 1/2 hp engine, the
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 ...
was 54-inches, the tread 36-inches and it had a two-speed
transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
which had no reverse. This motor buggy was offered on a limited basis, occasionally under the name of Kalamazoo, but more often as the Michigan.


Michigan Motor Car Company

Serious production of an automobile did not begin until 1911 with the formation of the Michigan Motor Car Company. Involved in this venture were company officials Victor L. Palmer, Frank B. Lay, Jr. and George T. Lay. W. H. Cameron, who had been an engineer for both Willys-Overland and
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
designed the new car. A coachwork designer, John A. Campbell, styled the body. The first car Model B was assembled from outside parts including the 40 horsepower engines from
Buda Engine Co. Buda Engine was founded in 1881 by George Chalender in Buda, Illinois, to make equipment for railways. Later based in Harvey, Illinois, Buda from 1910 manufactured engines for industrial, truck, and marine applications. Early Buda engines were gas ...
and Falls Engine Co. The coachwork was done by Michigan Buggy Co. and the car originally was on a 112-inch wheelbase. It had leather upholstery and a 22-coat paint finish of 'golden auto brown' with a price of $1,750. In 1912 the wheelbase was increased to 116-inches for the Model 40 and a junior Model 33 with a 33-hp engine was offered. Prices were in the mid-range for the Model 40 at $1,500, . This model range continued into 1913. The resulting Michigan 40 was nicknamed the 'Mighty Michigan' and it was aggressively advertised with the slogan of "A Mechanically Right and Right Priced Car Supreme in the Forty Field". The $1,500 price was considered very low for a 40-hp automobile.


Fate

The Michigan's problem was in management. Under pricing of their car caused huge debts, but other issues resulted. Newspapers headlined “one of the worst business deals in Michigan financial history". Though the company had announced that its labor force had risen from 348 in 1909 to 553 in 1913, a lot of these people were on paper only. Four officials of the Michigan firm were said to have earned an extra $100,000 each from what the press called the “velvet payroll". Two officials were convicted of embezzlement. Another was sentenced to a two-year prison term for using the mails to defraud banks. There was an attempt by Edward F. Gerber, the Michigan distributor in Pittsburgh, to continue manufacture, but this plan fell through. Hugh Chalmers was asked to take time away from his Chalmers to get the company back on its feet, but the scandal doomed the Michigan and his efforts were unavailing. Assets were disposed at a bankruptcy auction. In 1915 the Michigan plant was sold and the States Motor Car Company moved in to build its Greyhound light car there.


Gallery

File:Michigan 4 Place Surrey, Michigan Buggy Company (9416938727).jpg, alt=, Michigan Buggy Company 4 Place Surrey File:Michigan 40 Ad Cosmopolitan October 1912.jpg, alt=, 1912 Michigan 40 advertising File:1912 Michigan Model 33 H.jpg, alt=, Michigan Model 33 H - 1912 brochure File:1912 Michigan Model M 40.jpg, alt=, Michigan Model 40 M - 1912 brochure File:Michigan 40 Ad Cosmopolitan April 1912.jpg, alt=, 1912 Michigan 40 Advertisement


See also

* The Reynolds-Alberta Museum has an un-restored
four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
1905 Michigan high-wheeler.
1913 Michigan Model R at conceptcarz.com

Site dedicated to the Michigan Motor Car

Michigan Buggy Company history at the Kalamazoo Public Library


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michigan (1908 Automobile) Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Coachbuilders of the United States Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Highwheeler Cars introduced in 1904 Cars introduced in 1911 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1911 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1914