Hoffman (Cleveland automobile)
Encyclopedia
The Hoffman Automobile and Manufacturing Company was founded in 1900 by French
immigrant Louis Hoffman and based in Cleveland, Ohio
. The first cars went on sale in 1902. The original versions ran on steam
, but the business eventually accepted the internal combustion engine
. Hoffman departed the company in 1903.
It was later renamed the Royal Motor Company.
. One of 100 Hoffmans made that year, it sported a single-cylinder gasoline engine and sold for $925 in 1903.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
immigrant Louis Hoffman and based in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. The first cars went on sale in 1902. The original versions ran on steam
Steam car
A steam car is a light car powered by a steam engine.Steam locomotives, steam engines capable of propelling themselves along either road or rails, developed around one hundred years earlier than internal combustion engine cars although their weight restricted them to agricultural and heavy haulage...
, but the business eventually accepted the internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
. Hoffman departed the company in 1903.
It was later renamed the Royal Motor Company.
Surviving examples
An open-top 1903 Hoffman is on display at the Crawford Auto-Aviation MuseumCrawford Auto-Aviation Museum
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum, is a museum in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Part of the Western Reserve Historical Society, it was founded by industrialist, Frederick C. Crawford, of TRW and opened in 1965...
. One of 100 Hoffmans made that year, it sported a single-cylinder gasoline engine and sold for $925 in 1903.