Columbia was an American brand of

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 produced by a group of companies in the United States. They included the Pope Manufacturing Company of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, the Electric Vehicle Company, and an entity of brief existence in 1899, the Columbia Automobile Company. In 1908, the company was renamed the Columbia Motor Car Company and in 1910 was acquired by United States Motor Company. A different Columbia Motors existed from 1917 to 1924.

Electric models

The 1904 'Columbia Brougham' was 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 . Twin

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

s were situated at the rear of the car. Similar 'Columbia' coupes, 'Columbia Hansom' cabs, or hansoms, were also produced for the same price. They could achieve . A 'Columbia Victoria Phaeton' was priced at , but was based on the same design. The 'Columbia Surrey' and 'Columbia Victoria' were more traditional horseless carriages. Both used the same power system as the larger cars, with twin electric motors, but cost much less at and , respectively. At the bottom end of the range was the 'Columbia Runabout' car. Priced at just , it used a single electric motor, with an

Exide Exide was originally a brand name for batteries produced by The Electric Storage Battery Company and later became Exide Holdings, Inc. doing business as Exide Technologies, an American lead–acid battery, lead-acid batteries manufacturing com ...

battery and Concord springs. Columbia's basic runabout was typical of the time, resembling a horseless carriage, and was steered via a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

. It cost , more than the contemporary Curved Dash Oldsmobile. The , single

bench seat A bench seat is a full width continuous pad forming the front seat of automobiles. The second row of seating in most sedans is usually a bench. The third row of most SUVs and minivans, which may be forward-facing or rear-facing, is also a benc ...

vehicle had a wheelbase of , and rode on wooden spoked wheels, with leather fenders. The drivetrain had clear evolutionary roots in Pope's bicycle business, driving the rear axle via a

chain drive Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles. ...

(typical of automobiles of the era), producing virtually the only operating noise. Between the motor and the chain drive was a transmission with three forward and two reverse speeds. Twenty batteries manufactured by Exide Batteries, also associated with Electric Vehicle Company, were placed above both axles in order to balance the weight.

Brake A brake is a machine, mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for Acceleration, slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of ...

s on both rear wheels featured a bell, which rang when the vehicle reached a full stop. Top speed was about . Besides the runabout, Columbia manufactured about 20 other models including

taxis A taxis (; : taxes ) is the motility, movement of an organism in response to a Stimulus (physiology), stimulus such as light or the presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioural responses. A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often ...

, police cars, and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es. The vehicles were most popular in cities, where relatively smooth roads made the electric motor, with its smoothness and silence, appear superior over the gasoline engine. It helped in urban areas that electrical supply for recharging was easily found within the runabout's range. Nevertheless, in 1903, a Columbia was driven from Boston to New York City in 23 hours. In keeping with this urban orientation, the Columbia was positioned as a high-end vehicle (even at a time when automobiles were very expensive), with its showroom across the street from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Internal combustion engine models

The ''Columbia Touring Car'' was an entirely different car. A

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 ...

model, it used a

, seating six passengers, and resembled the touring models offered by many other companies at the time. Priced at to , it used a vertically mounted

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 ( ...

, situated at the front of the car, producing . A four-speed sliding transmission was fitted. The car weighed . One design innovation was the "false frame" supporting the engine. A Knight sleeve valve powered model was added to the range in 1912 and 1913. * Columbia Mark XLIII * Columbia Mark XLIV * Columbia Mark XLV * Columbia Mark XLVI * Columbia Mark XLVII * Columbia Mark 48-4 * Columbia Mark 85 * Columbia Mark 48-5

References

* * * David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles'',

External links

Columbia Automobile Company page
*the actress Julia Marlowe and her dog in one of the company'
electric cars
{{Automotive industry Veteran vehicles Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century Cars powered by Knight engines Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899 American companies established in 1899 Car brands Highwheeler 1890s cars 1900s cars 1910s cars

Electric models

Internal combustion engine models

See also

References

External links