E. A. Nelson Automobile Company, from 1917 to 1920 known as E. A. Nelson Motor Car Company, was an

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 ...

manufacturer company, based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It operated from 1917 to 1921.Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr.: ''Standard Catalog of American Cars. 1805–1942.'' vol. 3. Iola: Krause Publications, 1996, p. 1038–1039. 10ISBN 0-87341-428-4.

History

Emil A. Nelson was an engineer who worked for

Packard Packard (formerly the Packard Motor Car Company) was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana, in 1958. One ...

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

, and

Hupmobile Hupmobile was a line of automobiles built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908. History Founding In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastin ...

. In 1917, he designed his own car and opened E. A. Nelson Motor Car Company, based in

. The company began manufacturing Nelson 29 HP cars in 1917, with a production capacity of ten vehicles per day. The car was designed along the European style and was equipped with 2.4 liter

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 ...

aero-type engine with overhead cams, and 29

horsepower 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 t ...

(21.33 kW). Its

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

had 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 ...

of 264 cm (104 in), though some sources also list 289 cm (113.78 in). The car was manufactured in three versions:

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 ...

, roadster, and sedan. In 1919, the touring car version was sold at the price of 1,500

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

, which is an . In 1920, the company introduced the Nelson Model D, with the same specifications as its predecessor.George Nicholas Georgano (editor): ''The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile''. vol. 2: ''G–O''. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, p. 1109. ISBN 1-57958-293-1. Beginning the production just before the United States had entered the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and the post-war depression, had caused the E. A. Nelson Automobile Company to have financial issues. In 1919, the planned cooperation with the Gray Company, a Detroit-based engine manufacturer, was unsuccessful. In March 1920, the company filed for bankruptcy for the first time. In September 1920, the company went through restructurization, and its name was changed to ''E.A. Nelson Automobile Company''. In 1921, the Nelson Model E car was introduced. It had similar specifications to its predecessor, with the only difference being its engine having 30 horsepower (22.37 kW). It was offered in two versions: touring car, and roadster. A year later, in September 1921, the company had again filed for bankruptcy again and was permanently closed. In total, from 1917 to 1921, the company manufactured 1028 cars. One car had been preserved to the present day.

Gallery

1917_Nelson_car.png, 1917 Nelson 29 HP Nelson_1920_car1.png, 1920 Nelson Model D Sedan Nelson_brochure_pic.jpg, 1920 Nelson Model D Roadster

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Vintage vehicles 1910s cars 1920s cars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1917 1917 establishments in Michigan 1921 disestablishments in Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1921 Cars introduced in 1917 American companies established in 1917 American companies disestablished in 1921 Touring cars Roadsters Sedans Car brands Cars discontinued in 1921