Friday, January 10, 2020
Another Kansas car
Unlike the Great Smith, this one may have been a speculation that never produced anything. Still, it was an interesting car made in an unusual place.
The Great Smith was made in Topeka, which had some Detroit-style advantages thanks to the Santa Fe. Plenty of machine shops and foundries and industrial workers. Hiawatha is in the NE corner of the state but not close to St Joe or Atchison.
The Average Man's Runabout. Later marketers realized that Everyman's car is a used car, and also figured out that nobody wants to be Average. But both assumptions were forgivable in 1905.
About the same size as a Jeep or Nash Metropolitan, and VERY light at 700 pounds. Two-cylinder two-stroke aircooled transverse engine, with CVT and chain drive. It would have been easy to drive if it existed, and the price would have been comparatively easy at $500. (The Great Smith was a more realistic $2500.)
The Average Man's Runabout. Later marketers realized that Everyman's car is a used car, and also figured out that nobody wants to be Average. But both assumptions were forgivable in 1905.
About the same size as a Jeep or Nash Metropolitan, and VERY light at 700 pounds. Two-cylinder two-stroke aircooled transverse engine, with CVT and chain drive. It would have been easy to drive if it existed, and the price would have been comparatively easy at $500. (The Great Smith was a more realistic $2500.)Labels: 1901
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