Details
1912 CARTERCAR MODEL R ROADSTER
Car No. 34517
Red and black with black leather interior.
Engine: four cylinder, 40hp; Transmission: friction drive; Suspension: semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear; Brakes: two wheel drum. Right hand drive.
Byron J. Carter had been experimenting with horseless carriages since before the turn of the century, in his native Jackson, Michigan. He felt that the number of drive speeds should be left up to the driver not his cars transmission. In 1907 the Cartercar Company was born. The Cartercar was extremely well received by the press and aggressively promoted as the car of "A thousand speeds ... no clutch to slip ... no gears to strip ... no universal joints to break ... no shaft drive to twist ... no bevel gears to wear and howl ... no noise to annoy.". After 4,000 miles the paper fibre rims could be replaced for about three to five dollars. Initially all Cartercars were two cylinder engines, by 1910 all were powered by four cylinder units.
In 1909 the Cartercar Company became one of almost thirty firms bought up by Billy Durant, head of General Motors. Following a power struggle at GM the new board ordered the Cartercar plant closed on May 22nd, 1915. Durant had bought the Cartercar for its friction drive, and of all the friction drive cars built in the U.S., Cartercar was the most famous, the most successful, and the longest lived.
This 1912, four cylinder Cartercar was purchased by the present owner from the Estate of Dean Spenser, a Seattle car collector, who restored this vehicle. The brightwork on this attractive roadster is finished in nickel plate, and it is fitted with the optional Stewart speedometer. This car is eligible for all Horseless Carriage and Veteran Motor Car Club of America events.
WITHOUT RESERVE.
Car No. 34517
Red and black with black leather interior.
Engine: four cylinder, 40hp; Transmission: friction drive; Suspension: semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear; Brakes: two wheel drum. Right hand drive.
Byron J. Carter had been experimenting with horseless carriages since before the turn of the century, in his native Jackson, Michigan. He felt that the number of drive speeds should be left up to the driver not his cars transmission. In 1907 the Cartercar Company was born. The Cartercar was extremely well received by the press and aggressively promoted as the car of "A thousand speeds ... no clutch to slip ... no gears to strip ... no universal joints to break ... no shaft drive to twist ... no bevel gears to wear and howl ... no noise to annoy.". After 4,000 miles the paper fibre rims could be replaced for about three to five dollars. Initially all Cartercars were two cylinder engines, by 1910 all were powered by four cylinder units.
In 1909 the Cartercar Company became one of almost thirty firms bought up by Billy Durant, head of General Motors. Following a power struggle at GM the new board ordered the Cartercar plant closed on May 22nd, 1915. Durant had bought the Cartercar for its friction drive, and of all the friction drive cars built in the U.S., Cartercar was the most famous, the most successful, and the longest lived.
This 1912, four cylinder Cartercar was purchased by the present owner from the Estate of Dean Spenser, a Seattle car collector, who restored this vehicle. The brightwork on this attractive roadster is finished in nickel plate, and it is fitted with the optional Stewart speedometer. This car is eligible for all Horseless Carriage and Veteran Motor Car Club of America events.
WITHOUT RESERVE.