The Sampson and Alden Sampson was a brass era automobile manufactured by the Alden Sampson Manufacturing Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1904. The Sampson was built again in 1911 by United States Motors, Alden Sampson Division, in Detroit, Michigan.

History

The 1904 Alden Sampson also called the Sampson in some contemporary articles, had a

4-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 ...

16 hp engine with a 4-speed sliding-gear transmission with two chains to drive the rear wheels. It boasted a transaxle. It was based on the 1903 Moyea automobile for which the Alden Sampson Manufacturing Company had built the chassis. The Alden Sampson was introduced as a touring car, luxury priced at $3,750, . The chassis only could be purchased for $3,250 for owners to add their own choice of coachwork. Alden Sampson purchased the bankrupt Crest Manufacturing to secure an A.L.A.M. license to manufacture motor cars. In 1905 Alden Sampson decided to build trucks instead of cars. File:1904 Alden Sampson Advertisement in The Automobile.jpg, 1904 Alden Sampson advertisement in The Automobile magazine File:1904 Alden Sampson Model 3A in Automobile Review.jpg, 1904 Alden Sampson from an article in the Automobile Review Sampson trucks became widely known. In 1909 Alden Sampson II died and his widow sold the company for a reported $200,000 () to the United States Motor Company in 1911. A new factory was constructed in 1911 in Detroit, Michigan and U S Motors decided to add cars to the Sampson truck production. The 1911 Sampson, called the Sampson 35, had a 4-cylinder 35 hp engine. This model was a four-door, five-seat touring car that was advertised as having 17 coats of paint. It actually had only 3 doors; the fourth was just an outline, and blocked by the gear shift and brake. Aluminum was used for the transaxle and crankcase. The car was sold for $1,250, . The Sampson was manufactured in Detroit on Oakland Blvd, in a brand new city-block-long factory. There are only three survivors known to exist, and maybe a fourth in Australia. Five were registered in 1919 in the Australian state of Queensland. In 1912, the United States Motor Company collapsed into bankruptcy and Sampson production ended. File:1911 Sampson 35 from Alden Sampson catalog.jpg, 1911 Sampson 35 from Alden Sampson catalog File:1912 Sampson 35 from Sampson Catalog.jpg, 1912 Sampson 35 from Alden Sampson catalog

References

External links

Roaring Twenties Car Questions
{{Commons category, Sampson vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Missouri Cars introduced in 1904 Cars introduced in 1911 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1904 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1912 Luxury vehicles