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Oldsmobile Curved Dash

 
Wikipedia: Oldsmobile Curved Dash
Oldsmobile Runabout
1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash runabout
1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash runabout
Manufacturer Oldsmobile
Production 1901-1907
about 19000 built
Class Entry-level car
Body style(s) runabout
Engine(s) horizontal one-cylinder
Transmission(s) planetary
In My Merry Oldsmobile songbook featuring an Oldsmobile Curved Dash automobile

The Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as the first high-volume mass-produced gasoline automobile. It was introduced by the Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1907. 425[citation needed] examples were produced the first year, 2500 in 1902, with over 19000 built in all.[1]

It was a runabout model, could seat two passengers, and sold for US $650 ($16,000 in 2007). While competitive, due to high volume, and below the Ford US $850 ($20,100 in 2007) "Doctor's Car",[2] Western in 1905 produced the Gale Model A, an open roadster, for sale at US $500 ($12,300 in 2007), the Black went as low as $375 ($9,230 in 2007),[3] and the Success hit the amazingly low US $250 ($6,150 in 2007).[4]

The flat-mounted water-cooled single-cylinder engine, situated at the center of the car, produced 4 hp (3 kW), relying on a brass gravity-feed carburetor. The transmission was a semi-automatic design with two forward speeds and one reverse. The low speed forward and reverse gear system are a planetary type (epicyclic). The car weighed 850 lb (386 kg) and used Concord springs.

The car’s success was accidental. A fire destroyed a number of other models before they were approved for production, leaving the Curved Dash the only one intact.[5]

Contents

Gallery

Notes

  1. ^ Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)
  2. ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.37.
  3. ^ Clymer, p.61.
  4. ^ Clymer, p.32.
  5. ^ "detnews.com | Michigan History". Apps.detnews.com. 2000-03-08. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=28. Retrieved on 2009-06-27. 

Sources

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

External links


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