Oldsmobile Curved Dash
 1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash runabout |
|
| Manufacturer | Oldsmobile |
|---|---|
| Production | 1901-1907 about 19000 built |
| Class | Entry-level car |
| Body style | runabout |
| Engine | 95 cu in (1,560 cc) horizontal one-cylinder[1] |
| Transmission | planetary 2-speed |
The gasoline powered Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as being the first mass-produced automobile, meaning that it was built on an assembly line using interchangeable parts. It was introduced by the Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1907. 425[citation needed] examples were produced the first year, 2,500 in 1902, with over 19,000 built in all.[2]
It was a runabout model, could seat two passengers, and sold for US$650. While competitive, due to high volume, and below the Ford US$850 "Doctor's Car",[3] Western in 1905 produced the Gale Model A roadster at US$500, the Black went as low as $375,[4] and the Success hit the amazingly low US$250.[5]
The flat-mounted water-cooled single-cylinder engine, situated at the center of the car, produced 5 hp (3.7 kW),[1] 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 (390 kg) and used Concord springs. It had a top speed of 20 mph (32 km/h).
The car’s success was partially by accident - in 1901 a fire destroyed a number of other models before they were approved for production, leaving the Curved Dash the only one intact.[6]
Contents |
[edit] Gallery
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oldsmobile Curved Dash |
-
Oldsmobile Model R Curved Dash Runabout 1903
-
Oldsmobile Model R Curved Dash Runabout 1903
-
Oldsmobile Model 6C Curved Dash Runabout 1904
-
Oldsmobile Model 6C Curved Dash Runabout 1904
-
Oldsmobile Model 6C Curved Dash Runabout 1904
-
Oldsmobile Model B Curved Dash Runabout 1905
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Rogliatti, Gianni (1973). Cyril Posthumus. ed. Period Cars. Feltham, Middlesex, UK: Hamlyn. pp. 270–271. ISBN 0600334015.
- ^ Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)
- ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.37.
- ^ Clymer, p.61.
- ^ Clymer, p.32.
- ^ "detnews.com | Michigan History". Apps.detnews.com. 2000-03-08. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=28. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
[edit] Sources
- Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.
- Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)
- Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. London: Grange-Universal, 1985.
[edit] External links
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oldsmobile Curved Dash |
- Oldsmobile Club of America
- 1905 Oldsmobile Image (Suffolk County(NY) Historical Society Museum)
- From Coast To Coast In An Old Old Olds, by Gardner Soule large 1951 article on a 1904 Olds making a coast to coast trip with detailed photo of subject
|
||||||||||||||
