VETERAN CAR GUIDE
Rambler Thomas B Jeffery and R Philip Gormully , made bicycles in Chicago in the 1890s . They also had a factory in Coventry , England . After the death of Gormully in 1900 , Jeffery and his son bought a large factory in Kenosha , Wisconsin . They produced the Model C with a singlecylinder engine under the seat and single chain drive , and automatic advance and retard . In 1902 , 1500 sold at $ 750 each . The single-cylinder continued until 1905 with increased engine size and extended wheelbase , and twin-cylinder cars were available in 1904 , when 3342 were produced .
Raynaud Based in Flayosc in the Southern Var region of France , roughly 40 miles inland from St Tropez , between Marseille and Cannes , Claude Raynaud ran an electric engineering business . The Raynaud may well be the only car of its kind because it is believed that Mr Raynaud ’ s vehicle was intended for his own personal use . It is not known whether Raynaud ’ s plan would have been to further expand his collection or in turn expand it into a business venture . The surviving vehicle , dated to 1896 , has a twin cylinder , horizontal engine of 3800cc .
Renault Louis Renault set up a small workshop behind his family home in Billancourt , Paris , where he produced his first vehicle , the Type A , in 1899 . Its wheelbase was one metre , and it featured a tubular frame and a De Dion Bouton engine . It was an advanced design with front-mounted engine , wheel steering , and his own transmission design of final drive by shaft to a bevel gear on the back axle ( with no chain or belt drive ). The three-speed gearbox had direct drive on top . In 1902 he started to use engines of Renault design . Improvements were continuous , helped by the company ’ s regular testing of its products on the race circuits of France . Marcel Renault won the 1902 Paris to Vienna in the four-cylinder car . Six cars were prepared for the 1903 Paris to Madrid . Marcel was killed and the race stopped at Bordeaux , and Louis did not race again . Production was given a boost in 1902 when Paul Viet , the De Dion Bouton designer , arrived to work on the twin cylinder and then the four-cylinder engines . By the end of 1904 , 2650cc twin cylinder and 4942cc four-cylinder engines were available , providing significant competitive advantage .
Reo The Reo Motor Car Company was founded by Ransom Eli Olds following his departure from the Olds Motor Works , for which he had designed the Curved Dash Oldsmobile , generally regarded as the world ’ s first
1904 Rover .
mass-produced car . The first Reo was being tested in October 1904 . It was larger and more expensive than the Curved Dash , having a 16hp twin-cylinder engine , although the planetary transmission and single chain drive were familiar features . Shortly afterwards , a cheaper , single cylinder runabout was launched that remained in production until 1910 .
Rochet During 1895 , Edouard Rossel had begun to assemble cars in small quantities in Lille , from components supplied by Panhard et Levassor and Peugeot , but none survives . In 1898 he sold the rights to his car to the Compagnie Générale des Cycles , a bicycle manufacturer based on the Champs Élysées in Paris , who made versions of Rossel ’ s cars and tricycles under the name of Rochet . The first Rochet cars had a conventional front-engined twin cylinder configuration with four speed gearboxes and double side chain drive to the rear wheels . By 1900 the company was offering a 12hp car and unusually in 1902 , reversing the trends of most motor manufacturers , the company marketed a small rear-engined car which was equipped with a 4.5hp single cylinder Aster engine driving a cone clutch through a Bozier gearbox .
Rover Rover was a well-established cycle and motorcycle manufacturing business located in Coventry . Towards the end of 1903 it was decided to produce a motor car and a Daimler designer , Edmund Lewis , was hired . The first motor vehicle had a conventional 1327cc 8hp single cylinder vertical engine with an unusual aluminium backbone frame that incorporated a three-speed gearbox at the front . It was launched in December 1904 before a more conventional 6hp model appeared the following year .
58 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run