Locomobile Company of America facts for kids
The Locomobile Company of America was a car company started in 1899. It was founded by John B. Walker and his partner Amzi L. Barber. They first bought the idea for a steam car from the Stanley brothers. This car was named the Locomobile. Later, in 1904, the company started making cars that ran on gasoline. Locomobile built cars until 1929.
Contents
The First Locomobiles: Steam Cars
The story of Locomobile began with two brothers, Francis E. Stanley and Freelan O. Stanley. They had invented a special steam car. In 1899, they bought a bicycle factory in Watertown, Massachusetts. Here, they started building their unique cars.
John B. Walker, who owned a magazine called Cosmopolitan, wanted to buy into their car business. He first offered to buy half of their company. The Stanley brothers said no to his offer.
A few weeks later, Walker returned with a new offer. He wanted to buy the entire car company. The brothers thought about it carefully. They set a very high price of $250,000 USD, thinking no one would pay that much. But Walker did!
The Stanley brothers agreed to sell. They even stayed on to help run the factory. Walker's business partner was Amzi L. Barber. Together, they named their new car company Locomobile.
Challenges and Changes
After only a few months, Walker and Barber had a disagreement. They decided to split the company. Walker took his share and started a new company in Tarrytown, New York. He called his car 'the Mobile'. It was basically a Stanley Steamer with his own logo.
However, Walker's cars did not sell well. He closed his company in 1902. Barber kept the Locomobile name. His company sold 5,200 cars by 1902.
The Locomobile steam cars had some challenges. They were a bit tricky to drive. Sometimes, they even caught fire! They could only travel about 20 miles before needing more water. Also, you had to warm them up for about 30 minutes before driving.
By 1904, sales of the steam cars dropped a lot. Only about 200 cars were sold that year. Locomobile decided to sell the patents and the design for their steam car back to the Stanley brothers. By 1904, Locomobile had completely switched to making cars that ran on gasoline.
Building Luxury Gasoline Cars
Around the time Locomobile started making gasoline cars, Amzi L. Barber left the company. His son-in-law, J.J. Albright, became the new company president. A talented Inventor named Andrew Riker joined as the main designer. He was in charge of creating the new gasoline engines.
The 1904 Locomobile touring car could carry five passengers. It had a special Inline-four engine that was water-cooled. This engine produced about 16 horsepower. At that time, this car cost $4,500, which was a lot of money!
In 1905, Locomobile started entering their cars in Auto racing. This helped them show how good their cars were. In 1908, they achieved a big win. A Locomobile car won the famous Vanderbilt Cup race. Winning a race made a car company's reputation much better.
Locomobile proudly advertised their cars as “Easily the Best Built Car in America.” They kept working to make their cars even better. In 1922, another company called the Durant Motor Company bought Locomobile. But the cars still kept the Locomobile name. They continued to be known for making high performance luxury cars.
Sadly, in 1929, the company faced hard times. The Great Depression hit the economy very badly. Because of this, Locomobile had to close its doors for good.
Gallery
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"Old number 16" the Locomobile that won the Vanderbuilt Cup in 1908 -
A 1907 Locomobile Type E touring car -
A 1912 Model 48 Torpedo -
A 1914 Model 48 "Gentleman's Speedster" -
1920 ad for Locomobile automobile, "America's Finest and Most Expensive Motor Car" -
A 1920s era Locomobile touring car
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Images for kids
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1900 Locomobile steam car
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Model circa 1900
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Sectional view showing parts and details, circa 1900
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Locomobile seven-passenger touring car from a 1920 magazine advertisement
