The
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 things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...
Reliance automobile was manufactured by the Reliance Automobile Manufacturing Company in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
from 1904 to 1907.
History
The Reliance was a
two-cylinder, 3.2 liter
water-cooled
Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant
Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and n ...
engine car with selective
transmission
Transmission may refer to:
Medicine, science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual transmission
** ...
and
shaft-drive. It was designed by E. O. Abbott and W. K. Ackerman, both formerly with
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
.The body style was a side-entrance
tonneau
A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo.
A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...
and the company wanted to advertise they were the first in the United States to introduce it, and pre-dated production to 1903 instead of 1904.
Peerless
Peerless may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Peerless Motor Company, an American automobile manufacturer.
* Peerless Brewing Company, in Birkenhead, UK
* Peerless Group, an insurance and financial services company in India
* Peerless Reco ...
and
Orlo both introduced a side-entrance body in 1904.
The Reliance had a King of Belgium tonneau body style for 1905 and was priced at $1,250, . The company was under-capitalized and was reorganized in 1904 as Reliance Motor Car Company, with Fred O. Paige taking charge shortly after. A commercial
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
was added in 1906 and from February 1907 only trucks were manufactured.
Reliance sold the passenger car production and it would later become the Cresent automobile. Reliance was purchased in 1909 by
General Motors and the Reliance truck evolved into the first
GMC truck. Fred Paige departed to build his
Paige automobile
Paige was a Detroit, United States-based automobile company, selling luxury cars between 1908 and 1927.
History
Paige first began producing automobiles in 1908. The company's first car was a two-seat model powered by a 2.2-liter three-cylinder, ...
.
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File:1904 Reliance ad Horseless Age.jpg, 1904 Reliance Model Two Touring car advertisement in the Horseless Age magazine
File:1906 Reliance ad Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1906 Reliance automobile and truck advertisement in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal
References
{{Reflist
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit
Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1904
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1909
Veteran vehicles
Brass Era vehicles
1900s cars
Cars introduced in 1904