The Piggins was a

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

American

luxury automobile A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...

manufactured in 1908 and 1909 in Racine, Wisconsin by the Piggins Brothers.

History

Charles R. Piggins and his brother Frederick H. Piggins were machinists who built an experimental steam car in 1883, an electric car in 1897 and their first gasoline car in 1902. From 1902, the Piggins Brothers machine shop at 1113 Sixth Street was producing gasoline automobile engines, in addition to two-stroke marine engines. The Piggins brothers claimed they had designed a gasoline motor that was smokeless and so noiseless that it could not be heard at a distance of six feet. In 1908 they entered automobile production with the biggest and most expensive car yet produced in Racine. The Piggins was a T-head

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 ...

offered in two models for 1909, a 50- hp and a 36-hp. The 50-hp model was on a 135-inch

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 ...

and fitted with a 7-passenger

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 ...

body priced at $4,700, . The 36-hp touring car on a 117-inch wheelbase was priced at $3,500, . A few more cars may have been built into 1910, but total automobile production is not recorded. Early in 1912 the Piggins Motor Truck Company was formed and a truck called "The Practical Piggins” was produced until 1916. Piggins was merged into Reliance Motor Truck Co., which was continued in manufacture in Racine and Appleton into the 1920's.

External link

History of Piggins Brothers Engine Works

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Luxury vehicles Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Cars introduced in 1908 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1908 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1912