USA Daimler
Encyclopedia
USA Daimler, Daimler Manufacturing Company, was a boutique American
automaker
company, from 1905 to 1907, with its offices in Long Island City. Previously, from 1888 to 1905 this company and its predecessor, Daimler Motor Company, sold Daimler motors for yachts and launches and a very few goods vehicles. It most probably built and sold just one car.
visited New York as a member of a male voice choir he chanced to meet William Steinway
and as a result Steinway founded Daimler Motor Company in Long Island
New York. opening on September 29, 1888. It was to sell Cannstatt
made engines and, from 1891, engines made under license by the National Machine Company of Hartford, Connecticut
. USA-Daimler started making their own automobile and stationary engines in 1895 followed a decade later under new ownership by perhaps one complete automobile.
Steinway confidently explained to the press: "The fuel, petroleum, costs about one cent per hp and hour, making the automobile considerably less expensive than horse power. We already had a horseless vehicle here in 1893 but it was too lightly built for the rough cobblestone streets we have in this country”.
In the same month H. L. Bowden, Boston based owner of a steam yacht, established a speed record of 110 mph (175 km/h) average over a mile with flying start, in a car with a double Mercedes 60 hp engine at Daytona Beach, Florida
.
The brand stood out in the automobile market with Mercedes advertising stating: "If you want the best, of course you want a foreign car... Mercedes is the car for speed, power and noiseless running. It is the acme of reliability.”
Total sales of complete cars in the total life of this business probably remain this one car.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
automaker
Automaker
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
company, from 1905 to 1907, with its offices in Long Island City. Previously, from 1888 to 1905 this company and its predecessor, Daimler Motor Company, sold Daimler motors for yachts and launches and a very few goods vehicles. It most probably built and sold just one car.
History
When Gottlieb DaimlerGottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...
visited New York as a member of a male voice choir he chanced to meet William Steinway
William Steinway
William Steinway, also Wilhelm Steinway, born Wilhelm Steinweg , son of Steinway & Sons founder Henry E. Steinway, was a businessman and civic leader who was influential in the development of Astoria, New York....
and as a result Steinway founded Daimler Motor Company in Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
New York. opening on September 29, 1888. It was to sell Cannstatt
Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft was a German engine and later automobile manufacturer, in operation from 1890 until 1926. Founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, it was based first in Cannstatt...
made engines and, from 1891, engines made under license by the National Machine Company of Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. USA-Daimler started making their own automobile and stationary engines in 1895 followed a decade later under new ownership by perhaps one complete automobile.
Steinway confidently explained to the press: "The fuel, petroleum, costs about one cent per hp and hour, making the automobile considerably less expensive than horse power. We already had a horseless vehicle here in 1893 but it was too lightly built for the rough cobblestone streets we have in this country”.
Change of ownership
Following Steinway's early death in 1896, his heirs weren't convinced by the project and sold all their shares to the General Electric Company in 1898. The factory was renamed Daimler Manufacturing Company and produced some light trucks and perhaps between 1905 and 1907 some cars identical with some Cannstatt models.Marketing
In January 1905 the locally constructed American-Mercedes, based on the European Mercedes 40-45 hp was shown at New York's National Automobile Show. The car featured a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h) a 4 cylinder engine of 6.8 liters displacement and four speed transmission.In the same month H. L. Bowden, Boston based owner of a steam yacht, established a speed record of 110 mph (175 km/h) average over a mile with flying start, in a car with a double Mercedes 60 hp engine at Daytona Beach, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
The brand stood out in the automobile market with Mercedes advertising stating: "If you want the best, of course you want a foreign car... Mercedes is the car for speed, power and noiseless running. It is the acme of reliability.”
Sales
The first unit was sold in 1906, painted red, but success was short lived as in 1907 a fire destroyed eight completed Mercedes, plus 40 others under construction and the factory closed.Total sales of complete cars in the total life of this business probably remain this one car.