The Pungs-Finch was an American automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan from 1904 to 1910. They were powerful

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

s built by a factory which primarily made marine gas engines.

History

E. B. Finch was an engineer who had studied at the University of Michigan and who had built his first automobile in 1902. William A. Pungs was his father-in-law who had arranged the purchase of the

Sintz Gas Engine Company The Sintz Gas Engine Company was formed in about 1885 by Clark Sintz and others in Springfield, Ohio. It was a pioneering marine engine manufacturing business that expanded into other fields. After its sale in 1902 to the Michigan Yacht and Power ...

for the Michigan Yacht and Power Company. Pungs bought out his partner O. J. Mulford, who departed and established the

Gray Marine Motor Company Gray Marine Motor Company was a U.S. manufacturer of marine engines between 1910 and 1967. These ranged from one to six cylinders in both gas and later diesel layouts, which were used in pleasure boats, work boats, and military craft. Gray w ...

in 1905. The new company was named the Pungs-Finch Auto and Gas Engine Company in 1904. Sintz Gas Engine had developed a car that became the basis for the 1904 Pungs-Finch that had a 14-hp twin-cylinder engine. In 1905 the twin was replaced by the much larger Finch designed Model D

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

of 5,808-cc and the Model F of 6,435-cc, selling at $2,000 or $2,500 () respectively. The Pungs-Finch were displayed at the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Chicago and Detroit automobile shows in 1905. In 1905, the marine engine and boat building part of the factory burned and production was delayed while Pungs-Finch rebuilt. E. B. Finch designed a larger advanced model for 1906 called the Finch Limited powered by an 8652-cc single overhead camshaft, four-cylinder engine priced at $3,500, . It was guaranteed to be 50 horsepower and go 50 miles an hour. E. B. Finch departed in 1906 after an argument with his father-in-law and became a dealer for Chalmers in Cleveland. From 1906 to 1910 Pungs-Finch cataloged 22-hp and 40-hp models, again selling for $2,000 and $2,500 respectively. The 50-hp model was offered again in 1908 but by now the company concentrated their efforts on marine gas engines and boat building. The 1906 model Finch Limited, probably the only one built, was discovered in a factory and restored by automobile historian Henry Austin Clark Jr. in the 1950s. It is the only know extant Pungs-Finch.

File:1904 Pungs-Finch ad in Motor World Magazine.jpg, 1904 Pungs-Finch advertisement in Motor World Magazine File:1906 Pungs-Finch Ad Annual Horse Show Catalogue.jpg, 1906 Pungs-Finch advertisement File:1907 Pungs-Finch - Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1907 Pungs-Finch advertisement - Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct companies based in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1904 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1910 Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Cars introduced in 1904

History

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See Also

References