Car-Nation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Car-Nation (also known as Carnation) was a brand of automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913-1914.

The Car-Nation roadster was an 1,100 lb (500 kg) cyclecar costing $495. The vehicle had a four-cylinder Herreshoff "25" engine and a 3 speed transmission.

Car-Nation also manufactured a larger four-seat Tourer model with a base price of $520. They also advertised a fore-and-aft tandem; it's not known if more than a few protoypes were produced. Two roadsters and five touring cars are known to survive.

In 1912, former Pope-Toledo manager Forest Keeton moved his Keeton Towncar Works into a factory in Wyandotte, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Superior, and formed the Keeton Motor Company. He began construction of his first “French-like” car, the big Renault-influenced, air-cooled Keeton. It sold well enough to allow Keeton in 1913 to launch a second line of continental-influenced, low priced cars under a new name: Car-Nation. All that activity apparently attracted the attention of oil magnate Charles Schaeffer, and shortly after the introduction of the new car, the short-lived Car-Nation Motorette Co. and the existing Keeton Motor Co. unified under his ownership, reincorporating as the American Voiturette Company in Detroit.

Slow acceptance of the Car-Nation's nonstandard 48-inch (1,200 mm) gauge and reported problems with the Herreshoff engines in the Car-Nation sent the company into receivership in 1914. At a public auction in February of 1915, Forest Keeton appears to have bought the assets of the company, including 60 Keetons and 350 Car-Nations, along with machine tools and countless thousands of parts. But while he did supply repairs, he never again built a car.

[edit] Specifications (1913 Car-Nation roadster)

ENGINE
Type
Herreshoff cast-iron L-head straight-four, integral valves, cast-en-bloc

Displacement
134 cubic inches (2,200 cc)

Bore x stroke
3.375 inches (85.7 mm) x 3.75 inches (95 mm)

Horsepower
18 (25 A.L.A.M.)

Main bearings
2 nickel babbitt

Fuel system
Gravity, Zenith updraft carburetor, alloy intake manifold

Ignition system
6-volt, Splitdorf fixed-spark magneto

Lubrication system
Splash; plunger pump (note: Car-Nation advertised pressure lubrication, but it does not appear on any of the known cars)

Exhaust system
Single, iron

TRANSMISSION
Type
Three-speed Detroit Gear & Machine sliding gear, cone clutch (note: early cars appear to have used an alloy clutch plate. Prone to cracking, later versions have a cast-iron clutch plate)

DIFFERENTIAL
Type
Weston-Mott semi-floating

STEERING
Type
Adjustable worm gear

BRAKES
Type
Rod-actuated manual

Front
None

Rear
1¼ x 10-inch (250 mm) internal expanding emergency; external contracting service on transmission shaft

CHASSIS & BODY
Construction
Full-frame riveted 1/8-inch channel steel, 1x3 ash sills, composite body

Body style
One door, two-passenger roadster

Layout
Front engine, rear-wheel drive

SUSPENSION
Front
Quarter-elliptic leaf springs

Rear
Quarter-elliptic leaf springs

WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels
Detachable Detroit Stanweld wire

Front/rear
30 x 3 inches

WEIGHTS & MEASURES
Wheelbase
105 inches (2,700 mm)

Overall length
141 inches (3,600 mm)

Overall width
57 inches (1,400 mm)

Overall height
64 inches (1,600 mm); 73 inches (1,900 mm) with top

Front track
48 inches (1,200 mm)

Rear track
48 inches (1,200 mm)

Shipping weight
1,180 pounds (540 kg)

CAPACITIES
Crankcase
3 quarts

Cooling system
8 quarts

Fuel tank
10 US gal (38 L/8 imp gal)

Transmission
8 pints

Rear axle
4 pints

CALCULATED DATA
bhp per c.i.d.
7.44

Weight per bhp
65.55 pounds (29.73 kg)

Weight per c.i.d.
8.81 pounds (4.00 kg)

PERFORMANCE
Top speed
50 mph (80 km/h)

Fuel mileage
25 mpg (US) (9.4 L/100 km/30 mpg imp)

PRODUCTION
Car-Nation, total est.
2,000

[edit] References

• Georgano, G.N. (1968). The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to present. 

[edit] External links

• ConceptCars.com, photos of a 1913 Car-Nation roadster
• photos of 1913 Car-Nation Tourer with description in French