VETERAN CAR GUIDE
Northern Northern was founded in Detroit, Michigan USA by two ex-employees of the Olds Company – Charles Brady King and Jonathan Dixon Maxwell. Maxwell designed the first Northern, a single-cylinder Runabout similar to a Curved Dash Olds, but without the curved dash. About 300 were sold in 1903, and then Maxwell left to work with Benjamin Briscoe.
Oldsmobile The Curved Dash Oldsmobile came about after Ransom Eli Olds had experimented with gas, electric and steam buggies at the end of the 19th century. It was developed in 1900, the factory caught fire in March 1901 and all the various models were destroyed, save for one Runabout. This was the only model to resume production when the factory was rebuilt. There are three basic Curved Dash models: the Model R 5 HP which was produced until 1904, the Model 6C 7 HP which appeared during 1904 and the less often seen Model B 7 HP which succeeded the 6C and was made until 1907. These models evolved as suppliers were changed. They were made variously in Lansing or Detroit, Michigan and assembled in other countries.
Orient The Waltham manufacturing company was founded in the 1890s with Charles Metz as chief designer. Cycles, motor bikes and some motor buggies were produced. In 1903, with the company under new management, the Orient Motor Buckboard was produced. It was a very lightweight machine with little suspension and
1895 Peugeot only a single speed. Body work consisted of just a twin seat bolted to a wooden chassis with Hickory perches with cross strips of Ash bolted on to form a platform. Front springs were single leaf quarter elliptic, there were no rear springs, and the vehicle was started by pulling a leather strap. In late 1903, a new model had full elliptic front springs, rear coil springs, a twospeed transmission, and crank starting. It apparently remained in production until 1907. More conventional cars were also produced from 1905.
Panhard et Levassor René Panhard met Emile Levassor as a student, and by 1872 they were working together. The factory in Paris produced a batch of four identical cars in 1891, 15 in 1892, 37 in 1893 and 41 in 1894. This made Panhard et Levassor the world’ s first marque of car in continuous production. Following Levassor’ s early death in 1897, Arthur Constantin Krebs joined the company as technical director and set about developing a new range of vehicles with balanced four-cylinder engines, raked steering columns, front-mounted radiators, improved carburettors, and a coil and battery ignition system. In 1899 Panhard introduced the A1 / A2 models fitted with Phénix engines of 4hp( 1,201cc) or 6hp( 1,648 cc). Initially these cars had larger rear wheels but by 1901 equal-sized wheels were available. In 1902 the new Centaure engine of the same size was introduced and designated the Model A( still with the two sizes of engine). In 1903, the Centaure S-series, with 10hp, 15hp, 18hp, 24hp, and 35hp output options, was offered with Eisemann magneto ignition and T-head construction with mechanical inlet valves.
Peerless Located in Cleveland, Ohio, the company launched the Peerless Motorette in 1901 with a choice of 2.75hp or 3.5hp De Dion Bouton engines. It was ill-suited to the rough American roads, leading to the design of a 12 / 16hp vertical twin-cylinder-powered car the following year. More power was available for 1903, when three four-cylinder options were available with power outputs of 24hp, 35hp and 60hp( known respectively as Types 8, 7 and 12). 1903 cars had channel-section steel frames dropped in the centre to give a lower centre of gravity.
Peugeot Armand Peugeot, a successful cycle manufacturer, started experimenting with prototype motor cars in the late 1880s. Following contact with Gottlieb Daimler and Émile Levassor, he agreed to make cars with a Daimler concept engine made by Panhard et Levassor under licence. Throughout 1891 new versions were tested: each had rear-mounted V-twin engines and chain
60 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run