The Alpena Flyer was an American

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 ...

manufactured between 1910 and 1914 in

Alpena, Michigan Alpena ( ') is the only city and the county seat of Alpena County, Michigan, United States. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census, making it the third most populated city in the Northern Michigan region, after Traverse City and Cadillac ...

by the Alpena Motor Car Company. Approximately 480 cars in 13 models were produced, costing around $1,500, and only one remaining car is known to exist today. The car was intended to be light and inexpensive, and to make Alpena into an "Automobile City".

Models

The Alpena Flyer was produced as a standard

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

for 4 or 5 passengers; a four-door, 5 passenger touring car; and a roadster. Prices for the 1911 Alpena Flyer standard touring car was $1450; the four-door, 5 passenger car was $1600; and the roadster was $1450. The Alpena Flyer was designed for speed, using unit engine/

gearbox A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...

construction with three-point suspension. Specifications of the 1911 model included a four-cylinder engine made by Northway or Rutenber. It had almost 40 horsepower, disc clutch, water cooling, a Splitdorf

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

, Schebler

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...

, sliding gear transmission with three speeds and reverse, a

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

, wheels and 24 inch x -inch tires, and torque tube drive. It weighed and was offered only in dark royal blue. The 1912 Alpena Flyer had 7 models, which included a 40-horsepower engine, 120" wheelbase, 36x4 tires, electric lights, self-start, 3 oil lamps, 2 gas headlamps, and removable rims. 1912 Model J - Alpena "thirty" 4 door touring 1912 Model F - Alpena "forty" four-door touring car 1912 Model G - Alpena "forty" Gentlemen's Speedster

History

In 1911 the Alpena Flyer was advertised as "The Greatest, Biggest and Most Sensational Actual Values In The Automobile World For $1450.00." Alpena Motor Car ran into legal and financial problems shortly after the Flyer was first built. In 1912, the company was sued for patent infringement over its suspension design. The patent holder, Emile Huber, brought suit against the company, and the car manufacturer was fined $400,000 for the offense. A cash shortage followed and the company was insolvent by 1914. Of the several hundred cars built by Alpena Motor Car, just one example survives, on display in Alpena at the Besser Museum. This example is a 1911 Standard Touring Alpena Flyer. Production figures are unclear, but the company likely did not make more than 1,000 cars. Some estimate that it only produced a few hundred units.

References

External links

* Burgess-Wise, David. ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''.
This One Car Is All That's Left of an Early 20th Century Michigan Automaker
Steve Lehto, May 9, 2017.
Alpena Flyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alpena Flyer (Automobile) Brass Era vehicles

Models

History

See also

References

External links