The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-07-19
WASP AUTO CARS
WILL BE BUILT
IN BENNINGTON
New Corporation Soon to Start
Manufacturing
Int
FIRST CARS OCTOBER l
Cooperation Organized by Karl H.
Martin Promises Big Addition
to Bennington Industries
FIRST CARS OCTOBER

Preliminary work for the launch
ing OF Bennington's latest new in
dustry, the Martin-Wasp corpora
tien, which is to build the Wasp au-
tcmohIles, is we'll under way.
The company was granted its char
ter on June 8 and the personnel of
the executive staff is made up of
Benningtonians, Karl Fl. Martin,
president; Luther r. Graves, End,
treasurer and director of sales.
The capital stock of the company
is one hundred thousand dollars and
the subscribers are residents of Ben
nington, North Bennington, New
York and Chicago
Mr. Martin, who is the originator
of the new industry, came to Ben
nington recently from Chicago where
he has been a leader in the coach
building industry. He has had IL
years experience in that city and in
New York with high class chassis of
both foreign and domestic make and
the layout of the proposed car, which
is symbol OF advanced automobile
CHS ilACtll Ills PidAtiACs SiOW6 titG DtuE-
fit derived from this experience.
1t is of interest to note that he Is
a grandson of Lafayette and Mary
Jane Hamlen and a nephew of the
late Mortimer J. Hamlen, all former
residents of Bennington. He is also
the youngest motor car corporation
president in America He has made
his home in bennington where the
plant and principal offices of the com
pany are located.
The Wasp cars will be made from
designs by Mr.. Martin. The entire
car, both chassis and coach work will
be fabricated in Remington. The
cars will be built to sell at from
$4,000 to $4,000 according to coach
work and the machines will, thus en-
Ter the higher priced field-cars
built to a standard. In design the
cars will follow the most advanced
European ideas. The motor is
fourcylinder of 4&x51a inch dimen-
sion, SO horse power N. A. C. c. rat
ing. 1t will therefore be the. most
powerful road or sport type chassis
built in America.
The gear box will be four speed
forward type, unit assembled. Wire
wheel equipment standard and of 1872
inch wheel base. The coachwork will
be unusually attractive and the new
design will be a distinctive feature.
Four passenger models will be first
brought out.
Owners and agents from various
parts of the country have expressed
the.ff keen interest in Bennington's
new addition to the automobile indus
try. With the purpose of the corpor-
alton to give as much work as pos
Sible to local firms the advent of the
new factory should make valuable
addition to the industrial and bust
ness life of the community
The chassis will be fabricated at
the plant of the Estate of Olin Scott
and 1t is hoped that the first cars will
be completed by October /. Much
depends, however, upon the transpor-
tation of materials from the west
America has total motor car
registration of over 100000 cars and
the yearly automobile business is in
excess of a billion dollars, business
surpassed only by agriculture and
transportation. Production in the
United States this year calls for al
most two million cars and some of
these cars, it is assuredly expected,
will be built in Bennington.