The Saginaw

cyclecar A cyclecar was a microcar, type of small, lightweight and inexpensive Automobile, 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 ...

was built by the Valley Boat & Engine Company of

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County, Michigan, Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, Michi ...

in 1914.

History

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

friction transmission Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

and

belt drive A belt is a loop of flexible material used to link two or more rotating Drive shaft, shafts mechanically, most often parallel. Belts may be used as a source of motion, to Transmission (mechanics), transmit power efficiently or to track relative m ...

. 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 f ...

s were inset into the front mud guards similar to a

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

. 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