The Caloric Motorcycle Company of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

was founded in 1898 as a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

company. It later moved into auto production in 1903.

History

The Caloric Motorcycle company was founded in 1898 by Charles Dickinson, L.F. Douglass, and Henry B. Babson at 107 Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois. Their program statement of building gas, electric, and

steam car A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE), whereas the gasoline and diesel engines that eventually became standard are internal combustion engines (ICE). ECEs have a low ...

s was never fulfilled. It was not until 1903 that their first car was produced. To start the engine, a

blow torch A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning tool used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually in metalworking, but occasionally for foods like crème brûlée. Description Early blowtorches u ...

had to be used to heat the cylinder head until it was red hot. In 1904, the company merged with Auto Motor Cycle Company and announced no more car production.

Models

References

{{Reflist Car manufacturers of the United States Motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Veteran vehicles Defunct motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Brass Era vehicles 1890s cars 1900s cars