Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company

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Manufacturer Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company
Production 1907-8

Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company was a pioneer brass era American automobile company, built in Miamisburg, Ohio, in 1907 and 1908.[1]

The company was incorporated in 1906[2] by Charles B. Hatfield, Sr. and Jr., in Cortland, New York.[3] Variously calling the car the Buggyabout and Unique,[4] it was a highwheeler with an aircooled two-cylinder four cycle engine, friction transmission, and chain drive.[5] It offered solid tires on large wheels (38 in {96.5 cm} front, 40 in {102 cm} back).[6] By spring 1907, the company had moved to Miamisburg to begin production.[7]

For 1907, the four-place Model B had a 12 hp (8 kW) twin on a 74 in (1880 mm) wheelbase at US$600, the Model C a 14 hp four[8] and a 101 in (2565 mm) wheelbase at US$750, while in 1908, the B grew to a 78 in (1981 mm) wheelbase at US$650, seating just two.[9] In comparison, the Yale tourer sold for US$1000, $700 for the Ford Model S $700, the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout US$650,[10] Western's Gale Model A was US$500,[11] a Brush Runabout US$485,[12] the Black could be as low as $375,[13] and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250.[14]

Hatfield bodies and chassis were provided by Kauffman Buggy Company, located across town, and as receivership loomed in spring 1908, Hatfield merged with Kauffman to form Advance Motor Vehicle Company in June.[15]

The Hatfields would move to Elmira to manufacture trucks (in conjunction with D. H. McConnell, G. C. Brown, and G. W. Blanchard), while Charles, Jr., would later design the O-We-Go cyclecar.[16]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Kimes, Beverly Rae. The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942 (Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1989), p.652.
  2. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  3. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  4. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  5. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  6. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  7. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  8. ^ Kimes, p.761.
  9. ^ Kimes, p.652.
  10. ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.32.
  11. ^ Clymer, p.51.
  12. ^ Clymer, p.104.
  13. ^ Clymer, p.61.
  14. ^ Clymer, p.32.
  15. ^ Kimes, p.652 & 761.
  16. ^ Kimes, p.652.

[edit] Sources

  • Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.
  • Kimes, Beverly Rae. The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1989. ISBN0-87341-111-0.

[edit] See also