Dragon Automobile Company

Dragon Automobile Company
Dragon Automobile Company
Former type Automobile Manufacturing
Industry Automotive
Genre Touring cars
Founded 1906
Defunct 1908
Headquarters Detroit, Michigan and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Area served United States
Products Vehicles
Automotive parts
1907 Dragon Touring Car

The Dragon Automobile Company manufactured automobiles from 1906 to 1908, first in Detroit, Michigan, and then in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] It was followed, briefly, by the Dragon Motor Company.

Contents

Beginnings in Detroit

They hired an excellent engineer to design its automobile: Leo Melanowski, who had apprenticed with the Otto Gas Engine Company in Vienna, worked for Panhard-Levassor and Clement-Bayard in France and Waltham in the United States and had been manufacturing foreman for Winton. Dragon also enlisted the services of famed racing driver Joe Tracy as an engineering consultant and test driver.

The result was a fine four-cylinder motorcar that featured sliding gear transmission and shaft drive, and price tags in the $2,000 range, which were quite reasonable considering the specification. The matter Dragon skimped upon, it would appear, was quality control in production. Melanowski left early on to design the Aerocar from Detroit, and Joe Tracy didn't hang around long either. The company had been incorporated in Maine in the summer of 1906 with Harold P. Knowlton as president, Albert E. Knowlton as treasurer.

Production began in Detroit in late fall, and the first models were ready for the New York Automobile Show at Grand Central Palace that December.

The move to Philadelphia

Meanwhile the plant of the J. G. Brill and Company in Philadelphia had been secured, and operations were moved there. Soon thereafter two attachments were served by the Sheriff of New York County on the cars and property of the Dragon Automobile Company.

These resulted from two complaints. The first was from C.W. Ward, the Dragon agent for Newark (New Jersey), who stated that three cars had been delivered to him that "were not up to the standard guaranteed, and it was found impossible to get the company to put them in proper repair." Ward wanted his advance deposit back. The other complainant was W.S. Daniels of Boston, a former Dragon employee, who demanded back salary and commissions amounting to $1,700. Nor was this all. It was further reported that the Dragon Automobile Company had borrowed $136,000 from a Philadelphia bank, using as security 200 Dragon touring cars that had been placed in storage in Philadelphia, to be removed therefrom only under the bank's direction and with a percentage of their sale price to be applied as part payment for the loan.

By this time screaming creditors included the Herschell-Spillman engine manufacturers and the coil-and-sparkplug-producing C.F. Splitdorf company. By December 1907 the Dragon Automobile Company had given up, its president John Kane Mills declaring personal bankruptcy three months later. By that time the firm had been succeeded by the Dragon Motor Company organized by J.E. Calhoun with a grand capitalization of a million dollars and the idea of entering the taxicab market.

In March 1908 Calhoun, already in trouble, agreed to receivership although he denied insolvency. Among his problems was the five months back rent that had been owed the J.B. Brill Company by Dragon Automobile Company, the payment for which Brill was now demanding of Dragon Motor Company. By late March Calhoun decided to give up, too. Seventy touring car chassis remained to be completed when the Dragon plant and its assets were sold at public auction in early April 1908. Gorson Auto Exchange of Philadelphia bought everything, and presumably finished building the last 50 Dragons.

Models

Model(year) Engine HP Wheelbase
1906-1907 4-cylinder[2] 24/26 104"
1908 Roadster 4-cylinder 35 96"
1908 Touring 4-cylinder 24/26 104"[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dragon Automobile Company Brochure (Dragon Touring Car) - 1906. Original Historic Brochure from the Dragon Automobile Company, circa 1906. Accessed March 2010.
  2. ^ Kimes, Beverly (1996). standard catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4. 
  3. ^ Kimes, Beverly (1996). standard catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Auburn Automobile Company — Auburn 8 90 Boattail Speedster 1929, die Urform Auburn 8 90 Boattail Speedster 1929, die Urform …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dragon (disambiguation) — A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits. Dragon may also refer to: Contents 1 Literature 2 Music 3 …   Wikipedia

  • List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers — Below is a list of defunct United States automobile manufacturers from the 1800s to the present.A *ABC (1906 1910) *ABC (1922) *Abbott Detroit (1909 1916; Abbott 1917 1918) [Abbotts were built in Cleveland. Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early… …   Wikipedia

  • Panther Automobile — Die Panther Automobile Company war ein US amerikanischer Automobilhersteller, der 1962 und 1963 in Bedford Hills (New York) ansässig war. Das einzige Modell war ein zweitüriger Roadster mit GFK Karosserie, die in ihrer Form sehr an den britischen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elizalde (automobile) — The Elizalde was a Spanish automobile manufacturer from 1914 until 1928.Automobile manufacturerArturo Elizalde Rouvier opened a garage in Barcelona in 1909, and used it to manufacture automobile parts. He and his brother in law, Rafael Biada… …   Wikipedia

  • SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile — is a joint venture between General Motors and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) of China and Wuling Automobile Co., Ltd. Based at the Liuzhou, Guangxi small van factory, it is the manufacturer of vehicles sold in China under the… …   Wikipedia

  • Nakajima Aircraft Company — The Nakajima Aircraft Company (Japanese:中島飛行機株式会社/Nakajima Hikōki Kabushiki Gaisha) was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer throughout World War II. Contents 1 History 2 After World War II 3 Products …   Wikipedia

  • China Flying Dragon Aviation — IATA ICAO CFA Callsign FEILONG Founded 1981 Hubs Harbin Taiping International Airport …   Wikipedia

  • Peerless Motor Company — Peerless Modell 56 Tourenwagen (1917) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sopwith Aviation Company — Thomas Sopwith en 1910. Sopwith Aviation Company était un constructeur aéronautique britannique qui conçut et fabriqua des avions principalement pour le Royal Flying Corps, le Royal Naval Air Service pendant la Première Guerre mondiale et plus… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”