Scripps-Booth

Scripps-Booth was a United States automobile company based in Detroit, Michigan, which produced motor vehicles from 1913 through 1923.

Scripps-Booth
Industryautomotive
Fateacquired by General Motors
FoundedDetroit, Michigan, USA (1913 (1913))
FounderJames Scripps Booth
Defunct1923 (1923)
Headquarters
Detroit, Michigan
,
United States
Productsautomobiles
ParentGeneral Motors 
1916 Scripps-Booth Model C

History
A new Scripps-Booth engine described in the journal Horseless Age, 1916.

The company was founded by artist and engineer James Scripps Booth (of the Scripps publishing family), who also built the Bi-Autogo.[1] Scripps-Booth company produced vehicles intended for the luxury market. In 1916 they consolidated with the Sterling Motor Company to become the Scripps-Booth Corporation.[2] By this time Scripps-Booth had been purchased by Chevrolet whose founder William C. Durant was also the founding president of Sterling Motor Company.[3] General Motors discontinued the brand name in 1923.

Vehicles

The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America accepts the following Scripps-Booth models:[4]

  • Model C Roadster, 1915–17
  • Model G Roadster, 1917–19
  • Model D 4 Passenger Roadster, 1916–17
  • Model H 4 Passenger, 4 Door Touring, 1918

For 1914, Scripps-Booth offered a three-passenger torpedo roadster, powered by a 103in3 (1702 cc) (2⅞×4-inch, 3½×102 mm)[5] 18 hp (13 kW) water-cooled four-cylinder[6] of valve-in-head design[6] with Zenith carburetor and Atwater-Kent automatic spark advance.[6] It featured a 110 in (2794 mm) wheelbase and 30×3½-inch (76×8.8-cm)[6] Houk detachable wire wheels, with three speeds and (still a rarity then) shaft drive.[6] With complete electrical equipment, from Bijur[6] starter to ignition (on a separate switch from starter) to headlights to Klaxet electric horn (with a button in the steering hub, rather than a bulb)[6] to pushbutton door locks,[6] it sold for US$775,[6] compared to US$700 for the Ford Model S (new in 1909), US$650 for the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout,[7] Ford's Model T at $550, Western's Gale Model A at US$500,[8] the Black starting as low as $375,[9] and the Success at an amazingly low US$250.[7]

The 1916-17 Model D was powered by an overhead valve V8 engine[10] designed by Alanson Brush.[11]

Before marrying the main character in John O'Hara's 1934 novel Appointment in Samarra, a youthful Caroline Walker drives a Scripps-Booth Model C Roadster. The car's unusual seating arrangement, in which "the driver sat a foot or so forward of the other seat, which made kissing an awkward act," is especially noted.[12]

See also

Notes
  1. Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.115.
  2. New York Times, August 9, 1916
  3. Chevrolet U.S. and Canadian Production Figures 1912-1931, Kaufmann/Hayward 2002
  4. 1914-22 Scripps-Booth
  5. Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.149.
  6. Clymer, p.149.
  7. Clymer, p.32.
  8. Clymer, p.51.
  9. Clymer, p.61.
  10. Cars by Lou Phillips
  11. Hemmings Muscle Machines April, 2004
  12. O'Hara, John (1994) [1934], Appointment in Samarra, New York, NY: Modern Library, p. 119, ISBN 0-679-60110-4

References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.