Locomobile Company of America
Imported into the UK by Gaston, Williams and Wigmore.
The Locomobile Company of America was a company that produced automobiles in the United States of America from 1899 to 1929 under the brand name Locomobile.
The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899. The company began by producing steam cars.
Over four thousand were built between 1899 and 1902 alone. Most had simple twin-cylinder engines (3x4", 76.2 x 102mm; 57ci, 927cc) and a wire wrapped 500 psi flash boiler burning naphtha.
Typical of the product was the 1904 Runabout, which seated two passengers and sold for US$850. The two-cylinder steam engine was situated amidships of the wood-framed car.
Locomobile started experimenting with gasoline internal combustion engines in 1902, starting with a four-cylinder steel-chassis model designed by A. J. Riker. This encouraged the firm to drop steam vehicles the following year, selling the Stanley brothers back their rights for US$20,000.
The 1904 internal combustion Locomobile Touring Car had a tonneau, space for five passengers, and sold for US$4,500. The front-mounted vertical water-cooled straight-4 produced 16 hp (11.9 kW). A 3-speed sliding transmission was fitted, as on the Système Panhard cars it competed with. The angle steel-framed car weighed 2200 lb (998 kg).
In 1922 Locomobile was acquired by Durant Motors, which continued using the Locomobile brand name for their top-of-the-line autos until 1929.
See Locomobile Company of Great Britain