The Saginaw

cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...

was built by the Valley Boat & Engine Company of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...

in 1914.

History

The Saginaw cyclecar, originally to be called the Faultless, was a two-seater with a friction transmission and

belt drive A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating shafts mechanically, most often parallel. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to transmit power efficiently or to track relative movement. Belts are looped over pull ...

. The engine was a V-twin-cylinder manufactured by Valley Boat & Engine Company. Its distinguishing feature was that the

headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...

s were inset into the front mud guards similar to a

Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive Luxury vehicle, luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manuf ...

. The flowing fenders were built into the body. The price was $395 () which included top, curtains, Stewart-Warner speedometer, tools, tire repair kit and electric horn. Valley Boat & Engine Company discontinued the Saginaw late in 1914 after an estimated 35 had been built.

External links

Saginaw Cyclecar at the Castle Museum

References

* {{cite book , author = G.N. Georgano , author-link = G.N. Georgano , title = The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to Present, url = https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop00geor, url-access = registration, year = 1968, publisher = New York, Dutton Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Cyclecars Brass Era vehicles 1910s cars Cars introduced in 1914