The Marathon was an automobile built by the
Marathon Motor Works company in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, United States.
[Margaret Binnicker,]
Marathon Motor Works
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''.
History
First built in 1908 by the Southern Motor Works in
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...
, it was called the Southern. In 1910, Southern Motor Works built additional premises named the Marathon Motor Works in Nashville to produce the Marathon automobile.
The Marathon motor, a
four-cylinder
The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized.
Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categoriz ...
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
in unit with a
transmission
Transmission or transmit may refer to:
Science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual tra ...
, was designed by William H. Collier of Southern Motor Works. By 1913, the ''Marathon'' was available in three different chassis sizes and at least 10 different body styles. The three chassis sizes were:
* Runner: 25
horse power
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are th ...
, 104 inch
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 ...
* Winner: 35 horse power, 116 inch wheelbase
* Champion: 45 horse power, 123 inch wheelbase
In 1914 Marathon prices were mid-range from $975 to $1,470,()
The Marathon was popular with the public, and by 1912 was producing 200 cars monthly.
H. H. Brooks, General Sales Manager, arranged for an
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
automaker to take over sales of the Marathon in 1913 while the company was having financial difficulties. In 1914 after Marathon went into receivership,
Herff-Brooks purchased the Marathon machinery and moved it to
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...
. The ''Marathon'' was continued as the Herff-Brooks for two seasons.
Only nine examples of the car are known to still exist, five of which are in Nashville.
Gallery
File:Ad for Marathon automobile.png, alt=, 1910 Marathon Advertisement
File:Marathon Automobile Ad - Motor Age 1911.jpg, alt=, 1911 Marathon Advertisement
File:Marathon automobile.jpg, alt=, 1912 Marathon Model K-20
File:Marathon, 1914 - DPLA - be17197c631a11293656dedc39ca4208 (page 1).jpg, alt=, 1914 Marathon Brochure Cover
See also
*
Marathon Motor Works
*
Marathon Music Works
*
Herff-Brooks Corporation
References
External links
{{Commons category, Marathon vehicles
Marathon Motor Works MuseumMarathon Automobiles on ConceptCarzMarathon Motors on Pinterest
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
1910s cars
Brass Era vehicles
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Tennessee
Cars introduced in 1908
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1908
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1914