Elmore Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of veteran and

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiator (engine cooling), radiators. It is generally considered to ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s and bicycles (1893–97), headquartered at 504 Amanda Street, Clyde, Ohio, from 1893 until 1912. The company took its name from a small parcel of land in Clyde with the name Elmore associated with it where a stave mill was established originally, then evolved into bicycle production. The village of Elmore, Ohio is located to the east. Founded by Harmon Von Vechten Becker and his two sons, James and Burton, the Elmore used a

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...

design, in straight twin or single-cylinder versions. They later produced a

straight-3 A straight-three engine (also called an inline-triple or inline-three) is a three-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. Less common than straight-four engine, straight-three engines have nonethel ...

followed by a

straight-4 A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout ( ...

beginning in 1906 until production ended in 1912. The company advertising slogan was "The Car That Has No Valves", referring to the two-stroke engine.

History

The first car was offered in 1900 with two body styles seating either two or four passengers with a single cylinder engine producing 6 hp with a 62" wheelbase. The roadster was listed for

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

750 ($ in dollars ) By 1904 the Model 9 was the ''Elmore

Convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

Runabout''. Equipped with a

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car, truck, or boat open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. When applied to trucks it refers to their ''bed'' (American English) or ''tray'' (British English). Origin of term A tonneau was orig ...

, it could seat four passengers and sold for just

850 ($ in dollars ), making it one of the least-expensive vehicles on the market. The flat-mounted single-cylinder engine, situated at the center of the car, produced 6.5 hp (4.8 kW). A 2-speed transmission was fitted. The car weighed 1050 lb (476 kg). The ''Elmore Runabout'' was next in line. It could seat two passengers and sold for

800 ($ in dollars ). The vertically mounted

Straight-twin engine A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, inline-2, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder Reciprocating engine, piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. Straight-twin engines are p ...

, also situated at the center of the car, produced 8 hp (6 kW). A 3-speed transmission was fitted. The angle iron-framed car weighed 1400 lb (635 kg). The top model was the ''Elmore Tonneau''. It could seat four passengers and sold for US$1400 ($ in dollars ). The flat-mounted straight-twin was situated at the front of the car, produced 12 hp (8.9 kW). A 3-speed transmission was fitted. The angle iron-framed car weighed 1500 lb (680 kg). One 1908 Elmore is on display at the Crawford Museum in Cleveland Ohio.

General Motors

In 1908, Elmore's three-cylinder two-stroke caught the attention of William C. Durant, founder of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. He purchased the company the following year for US$500,000 ($ in dollars ), with Elmore becoming one of General Motors' divisions. After Durant was forced out of General Motors in 1910, the Elmore marque was soon cut, along with several other underperforming brands, to help General Motors achieve financial stability. The factory location was then bought from GM and the Clydesdale Motor Truck Company was in operation from 1917 to 1939. The Clydesdale Factory was then the site of Clyde Porcelain Steel Company until the factory burned down November 11, 1945. The factory was rebuilt and the

Bendix Corporation Bendix Corporation is an American manufacturing and engineering company founded in 1924 and subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse since 2002. During various times in its existence, Bendix made automotive brake shoes and systems, vacuum tubes, aircraft ...

operated a factory at this location which made front load washing machines under the Bendix Home Appliances until the business was sold to Avco Manufacturing Corporation in 1951, and combining Bendix Appliances with Crosley Appliances. In 1956, Avco sold Bendix Home Appliances to

Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchase ...

. The current location is now

Whirlpool Corporation Whirlpool Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of home appliances headquartered in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, United States. In 2023, the Fortune 500 company had an annual revenue ...

where

Maytag The Maytag Corporation is an American Home appliance, home and commercial appliance company. The company has been owned by Whirlpool Corporation since April 2006. History The Maytag Washing Machine Company was founded in 1893 by businessm ...

, Whirlpool, and Amana washing machines are manufactured and is the largest factory in America that manufactures washing machines.

Models

For specifications on various Elmore Manufacturing Company models: * Elmore Model 10 * Elmore Model 11 * Elmore Model 14 * Elmore Model 15 * Elmore Model 16 * Elmore Model 18 * Elmore Model 40 * Elmore Model 30 * Elmore Model 33 * Elmore Model 36 * Elmore Model 44 * Elmore Model Landaulet * Elmore Model Roadster * Elmore Model Taxicab * Elmore Model 46

Bibliography

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmore (Automobile) Brass Era vehicles Veteran vehicles General Motors marques Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States 1890s cars 1900s cars 1910s cars Defunct manufacturing companies based in Ohio Ottawa County, Ohio Sandusky County, Ohio Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1893 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1912 1893 establishments in Ohio 1912 disestablishments in Ohio Clyde, Ohio

History

General Motors

Models

See also

Bibliography

References