Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company

Overview
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 by Charles B. Hatfield, Sr. in Cortland, New York. Variously calling the car the Buggyabout and Unique, it was a high wheeler with an air-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke engine, friction transmission, and chain drive. It offered solid tires on large wheels (38 in {96.5 cm} front, 40 in {102 cm} back). By early 1907, the company had moved to Miamisburg to begin production.[1]

For 1907, the four-place Model B had a 12 hp (8 kW) twin on a 74 in (1880 mm) wheelbase at $600, the Model C a 14 hp four[2] and a 101 in (2565 mm) wheelbase at $750, while in 1908, the B grew to a 78 in (1981 mm) wheelbase at $650, seating just two.[1] In comparison, the Yale tourer sold for $1000, $700 for the Ford Model S $700, the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout $650,[3] Western's Gale Model A was US$500,[4] a Brush Runabout $485,[5] the Black from $375,[6] and the Success was $250.[3]

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.[7]

The Hatfields moved to Elmira to manufacture trucks in conjunction with David H. McConnell, G. C. Brown, Alexander D. Henderson (businessman), and G. W. Blanchard. The company was listed as: "Hatfield Auto Truck Company of Elmira, N.Y.; capital $1,500,000; incorporators D. H. McConnell, A. D. Henderson, and Arthur S. Hoyt".[8] Charles, Jr., would later design the O-We-Go cyclecar.[1]

Notes

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kimes (1989), p. 652.
  2. ↑ Kimes (1989), p. 761.
  3. 1 2 Clymer (1950), p. 32.
  4. ↑ Clymer (1950), p. 51.
  5. ↑ Clymer (1950), p. 104.
  6. ↑ Clymer (1950), p. 61.
  7. ↑ Kimes (1989), pp. 652, 761.
  8. ↑ "Operations & Maintenance magazine, Vol. 7". Chilton Class Journal Company. 1912.

Bibliography

  • Clymer, Floyd (1950). Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925. Bonanza Books. 
  • Kimes, Beverly Rae (1989). The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805–1942. Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-111-0. 

See also

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