The Coats Steamer was an American steam

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

promotion by George A. Coats.

Models

A corporation was formed and perhaps two prototypes were assembled. Five incrementally different designs were described. The first was by a "Norwegian engineer" and used two three-cylinder radial engines on the rear axle, one powering each wheel. The second was by James Yeikichi Sakuyama, for years an engine designer at Indianapolis, with a V-3 engine, gearbox and cast grid steam generator. It was quickly changed to a fire tube steam generator and inline-3 cylinder engine flat in the chassis. The fourth design took that Sakuyama chassis and engine and replaced the steam system in late 1923 with Charles A. French's patent design. The French-Coats was technically the most superior, probably the most likely to have been functional, and the car used in photographs. The fifth design was simply the chassis of Purdue professor Allen C. Staley, shown as a high grade Coats steam car at three shows.

Business Plan

The car price remained the same at $1085 throughout the promotion, and dealerships and distributorships were sold to finance the development and sales effort. Eventually Coats obtained the confidence of Y. F. Stewart who had manufacturing facilities. A pickle factory in

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,028 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan ...

was obtained and a defunct coachbuilder's factory in Columbus, Ohio was purchased. The Cumberland tire company was shown in advertisements as a third factory, as they were to be the tire supplier.

Outcomes

All was gone by mid 1924 when the Columbus plant was sold. Coats went on to many enthusiastic promotions including road building equipment in 1924 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and inadvertently became one of the creators of the syndicate which quickly became CBS. He stayed in radio promotion in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and was buried in the family cemetery in Indiana.

References

External links

* Steam cars Cars introduced in 1921 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Defunct companies based in Ohio Manufacturing companies established in 1921 1921 establishments in Ohio 1924 disestablishments in Ohio Bowling Green, Ohio {{vintage-auto-stub