- Car-Nation
The Car-Nation (also known as Carnation) was a brand of
automobile manufactured inDetroit, Michigan , by the American Voiturette Company from 1913-1914.The Car-Nation roadster was an convert|1100|lb|abbr=on
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 convert|48|in|mm|sing=on 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.
Specifications (1913 Car-Nation roadster)
ENGINE
Type
Herreshoff cast-iron L-head straight-four, integral valves, cast-en-blocDisplacement
Bore x stroke
Horsepower
18 (25 A.L.A.M.)Main bearings
2 nickel babbittFuel system
Gravity, Zenith updraft carburetor, alloy intake manifoldIgnition system
6-volt, Splitdorf fixed-spark magnetoLubrication system
Splash; plunger pump (note: Car-Nation advertised pressure lubrication, but it does not appear on any of the known cars)Exhaust system
Single, ironTRANSMISSION
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-floatingSTEERING
Type
Adjustable worm gearBRAKES
Type
Rod-actuated manualFront
NoneRear
1¼ x convert|10|in|mm|sing=on internal expanding emergency; external contracting service on transmission shaftCHASSIS & BODY
Construction
Full-frame riveted 1/8-inch channel steel, 1x3 ash sills, composite bodyBody style
One door, two-passenger roadsterLayout
Front engine, rear-wheel driveSUSPENSION
Front
Quarter-elliptic leaf springsRear
Quarter-elliptic leaf springs WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels
Detachable Detroit Stanweld wireFront/rear
30 x 3 inchesWEIGHTS & MEASURES
WheelbaseOverall length
Overall width
Overall height
convert|64|in|mm; convert|73|in|mm with topFront track
Rear track
Shipping weight
CAPACITIES
Crankcase
3 quartsCooling system
8 quartsFuel tank
Transmission
8 pintsRear axle
4 pintsCALCULATED DATA
bhp per c.i.d.
7.44Weight per bhp
Weight per c.i.d.
PERFORMANCE
Top speedFuel mileage
PRODUCTION
Car-Nation, total est.
2,000References
*
External links
* [http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9492/Car-Nation_Roadster/default.aspx ConceptCars.com] , photos of a 1913 Car-Nation roadster
* [http://www.trombinoscar.com/veterans/carnation1301.html photos of 1913 Car-Nation Tourer with description in French]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.