National Motor Vehicle Company

The National Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles in Indianapolis, Indiana between 1900 and 1924. Its president, Arthur C. Newby, was one of the investors who created the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.^[1]

The company first concentrated on electric vehicles, making their first one, a runabout with tiller steering called the Style A, in 1900. They moved into internal combustion engined cars in 1903 with two- and four-cylinder models, both using engines made for them by Rutenber.

The 1904 National Tonneau was a tonneau model. It sold for US$2000. The single electric motor was situated at the rear of the car, producing 9 hp (6.7 kW). A 4-speed herring bone transmission was fitted. The armored wood-framed car could reach 15 mph (24 km/h).

National Six 1907.

1910 National 40 Indianapolis at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009.

For 1905, the two-cylinder model was dropped and a six-cylinder car with a circular radiator took its place. The last electric cars were made in 1906, and in 1907, National starting building its own engines.

Peak production for National was reached in 1915 with over 1800 cars made. The company changed its name in 1916 to the National Motor and Vehicle company, and in 1922 became, along with Dixie Flyer and Jackson, part of the Associated Motor Industries group. However, sales dropped in the early 1920s and the company closed in 1924.

Sporting success

In 1912, Joe Dawson won the Indianapolis 500 in a National.

Notes

Sources

• Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)
• Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.

See also

• List of automobile manufacturers
• List of defunct automobile manufacturers

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