2006 SAG - Lancia Beta Torpedo 1520 HP 1909 -02

SGV was a Brass Era American automobile manufacturer that made luxury automobiles using

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

components, from 1911 to 1916.

History

Origin

The Acme Motor Car Company sold its site and plant to J H Sternbergh for $72,100 in May 1911. Sternbergh in turn sold the Acme Motor Car Company and leased it plant to a New York consortium. The company's name was changed to SGV. SGV Company was named for Herbert M. Sternbergh, Robert E. Graham and Fred Van Tine, the owners of the company and formerly with Acme. Fred Van Tine was the shop manager and designer of the car. Herbert Sternbergh died in March 1913. Acme had been making SGV models since 1910. This was a high-quality product, based on the Lancia Beta with a relatively small , 25- hp

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 categoriz ...

engine with

pressure lubrication Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

and a hot water jacket over the

inlet manifold In automotive engineering, an inlet manifold or intake manifold (in American English) is the part of an engine that supplies the fuel/ air mixture to the cylinders. The word ''manifold'' comes from the Old English word ''manigfeald'' (from th ...

. Shaft-drive and a low frame that was up-swept over the rear axle were featured and the dash was made with Circassian walnut.

SGV Company

Newspapers of the time described the SGV as lightweight and mechanically efficient. The Lancia engine was used with a four speed transmission. The steering radius was noted being small, making the car maneuverable in city traffic. With the sale to SGV in 1911, the new company produced eight models including a

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pro ...

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 ...

, torpedo, toy

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 ...

, and roadster models. They were priced from $2,500 to $3,500 (), and achieved 15 to 20 mpg. In December 1912 a 35-hp car, the model D, was introduced. A Coupe-Landaulet model was priced at $4,000, . Custom coachwork from Quinby and

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...

were available that could increase the price up to $12,000. The SGV was a high-class small car in the same class as the

Brewster Brewster may refer to: People * Brewster (surname) *Brewster Kahle (born 1960), American computer technologist *Brewster H. Shaw (born 1945), American astronaut Places * Brewster Park (Enniskillen), Northern Ireland *Brewster (crater), The Moon ...

. SGV was sold in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

by Hol-Tan and Gotham Motor Car Company. In

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

the E. Stewart Automobile Company sold a large amount of SGV's. S.G.V. decided to try the Vulcan ( Cutler-Hammer) four-speed electric gearshift, mounted in the steering wheel spoke and push button actuated. This resulted in one of the industry’s very early recalls (a 40 car shipment of SGV cars) and created bad publicity for the company that already had shaky finances.

Demise

In the summer of 1915, the entire S.G.V. plant went on the auction block. Press reported the inventory included "thirty-two complete chassis of the latest model 1915, 100 assorted up-to-date Quinby and Fleetwood bodies, a large quantity of radiators, etc." R. J. Metzler bought the factory and said he planned to continue the S.G.V. in manufacture. Metzler partnered with industrialists John A. Bell and T. M. Pepperday, who in 1916, sold the plant and moved production from Reading to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. Only one SGV was built in Newark before Metzler joined with a consortium of several other businessmen who went on to produce the Phianna based on the SGV.

Motor Racing

An SGV was entered in the 1911 Vanderbilt cup race but did not compete. They also competed in the October San Francisco to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and back endurance run with C Matthews driving.

File:1911 Acme SGV advertisement Motor Age.jpg, 1911 SGV Touring car, Acme Motor Car Company in Motor Age magazine File:1913 SGV Advertisement Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1913 SGV Touring Car advertisement - Automobile Trade Journal File:1914 SGV Motor Age advertisement.jpg, 1914 SGV with Vulcan electric transmission advertisement in Motor Age

External links

SGV and Phianna at Coachbuilt.com

1912 SGV at ConceptCarz

1912 SGV at Bonhams Auction

One of two SGV's at Boyertown Museum

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Pennsylvania Motor vehicle manufacturers based in New Jersey Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1911 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1916 Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Luxury vehicles Brass Era vehicles 1910s cars Cars introduced in 1911