The Bates was an automobile manufactured in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...
, by the Bates Automobile Company from 1903 to 1905. The Bates was the brainchild of M.F. Bates, who was vice-president of the company.
History
Bates Automobile was organized on May 27, 1903, by M.F. Bates, an ex-P. F. Olds & Son company (founded by
Ransom E. Olds) draftsman and developer.
[''Ingham County Biographical Sketches: M.F. Bates''](_blank)
US Gen; xcerpt from "Past and Present of the City of Lansing and Ingham County, Michigan;" by Albert E. Cowles; published by The Michigan Historical Publishing Association, Lansing, Michigan; 1905; Pp. 249–250]; accessed January 2014. Bates automobile manufacturing was started up in an old Armory building in Lansing, on south Capitol Street.
[Google Books: Industrial Lansing](_blank)
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Production
The company started out producing brass-era single-cylinder runabouts; and later produced a few two-seater and four-seater cars with four-cylinders. The four-seater touring cars produced cost US$2,000. In all, a total of about 25 cars were produced. The early cars had two-cylinder
The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.
Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...
16 hp engines, while in 1905, a three-cylinder, 18 hp engine was used.
Marketing and details
The company's slogan was "Buy a Bates and Keep Your Dates."
Notes
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
Vehicles built in Lansing, Michigan
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan
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