Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-01-12

/ about 300 automobile manuIactur-
ers actually engaged In building
| l. complete vehicles in the United
| States and about 1000 manufacturers
| who in addition to their other Dusl-
| ness, make component parts and ac-
! cessories for automobiles. A great
many of the latter have found it un-
profitable to cater to the automobile
| trade, however, because the require
| ments change with lightning rapidlty,
| the shapes of parts are intricate ana
| the orders received are rarely OF sufii-
| cient magnitude to warrant special
] efforts.
| Summing up everything, the total
| OUTPUT of automobiles for the first
eight months of 1902 may be placed
, at about 10000 and their value at some
| what more than S20,000,000. This
| takes no cognizance of the automobiles
which have been imported from Eu-
! rope.
Beginning with the East and count
| ing only manufacturers who have
reached or exceeded ten automobiles,
we find in the State of Massachusetts
eleven builders of steam vehicles with
an output Of TO machines sold at
S717,500. One of these builders makes
only heavy steam trucks, worth about
$4,000 apiece, but has not yet built
very many.
In the same State, in which the
steam automobile was originated so far
as the most common American type is
| concerned, there are eight manufac-
turers of gasolene vehicles whose out
put was 705 machines, sold at about
| S747, 800. More than one-half of this
number were made by one firm, which
made its debut at the first Madison
Square Garden show in 1900.
Massachusetts, has never been favor
able to electromobiles, and the few
makers who built electric carriages in
previous years have apparently given
1t up. A few may have been built
here and there to order, but none for
| the market.
| Connecticut occupies a peculiar posi-
tion. One highly capitalized concern,
with manufacturing facilities which
should be sufficient for turning out
1900 automobiles per annum at least,
had no model corresponding to the pop
ular demand at the beginning of the
year.
1t sold its leftover stock at reduced
| prices, and made up, of new vehicles,
probably not more than one hundred.
Of these some fifteen or twenty were
gasolene vehicles and the rest electric
carriages.
Another large concern, capable of
producing 1000 or 5000 steam vehicles.
also found itself on the wrong side of
the market, and limited its output to
somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000
machines, while devoting much of its
energy to the designing of new models.
| Two much smaller concerns rested on
thei roars and produced practically
nothing.
In the district adjacent to New York
City, including parts of New Jersey.
only seven manufacturers have made
gasolene vehicles. One OF these seven
firms has failed. The production
amounts to about 405 automobiles and
their selling value to $6S0,000.
Here also it is a new firm which has
done most OF the business, turning out
about 800 gasolene phaetons at a mod
crate price. Heavy delivery wagons
| (gasolene motors) foot uD a value of
about 100000 at an average Of $1,000
each
In the same district electric trucks
and delivery wagons have been pro-
luced by one firm, aggregating $300,0O0
in value and 200 in number, and an
other firm has made from twenty-five
to thirty electric delivery wagons of
lighter type, valued at $4,000. Still
another firm has made about 100 elec-
trio vehicles, some of them delivery
wagons, but mostly runabouts, sold
at S150,000
A dozen large trucks operated on the
system OF combining a gasolene motor
with electric transmission of the power
and an auxiliary storage battery, COM
plete the roundup of actual manufac-
ture of electric automobiles in New
York City and its vicinity. but a great
deal of experimenting is going on
which Is likely to lead to results in
1908.
Three steam vehicle manufacturers
have turned out in excess of HOO
pleasure carriages, many of them OF
large size and some Of them intended
for stage lines. Their value comes
comparatively high, reaching total
Of $1,322 600.
Other parts of New York State, es-
pecially Buffalo, Rochester and Syra-
cuse, are represented in the industry
as follows: Six makers have produced
90 gas vehicles worth S213, 100; five
others have made 2S0 steam pleasure
vehicles selling for S277 800. and few
electric runabouts, probably not more
than fifteen in all. have been produced
by two OF these firms, who give some
attention to all forms of power.
Until recently the State Of Pennsyl-
vania had one manufacturer of steam
carriages whose output reached 100
vehicles. This firm went under, but
successor has taken over the plant.