Knox Automobile Company
IndustryAutomotive industry
Founded1900 (1900)
Defunct1915 (1915), 1924 (1924)
FateBankruptcy
SuccessorKnox Motor Company
HeadquartersSpringfield, Massachusetts, United States
Key people
Harry A. Knox, Elihu H. Cutler
ProductsAutomobiles
Production output
10,835

The Knox Automobile Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, between 1900 and 1914. Knox also built trucks and farm tractors until 1924. They are notable for building the very first modern fire engine in 1905, and the first American vehicle with hydraulic brakes, in 1915.[1]

History

Harry Austin Knox built three experimental gasoline cars at Overman Wheel Company between 1895 and 1898. He left Overman when they decided to build a steam car. Knox joined with his former employer, Elihu H. Cutler of the Elektron Company to form the Knox Automobile Company in Springfield Massachusetts in 1900.[2] The Waltham Watch Company factory was purchased and Knox built 15 cars in their first year.[3]

The Knox Model A was a three-wheel runabout with a 5-hp one-cylinder air-cooled engine. In 1902 a four-wheel runabout and a 8-hp two-cylinder engine joined the model line-up. Early cars were called Knoxmobile with the Waterless Knox being used from 1903. A slogan used was "The Car That Never Drinks".[3] In some models, passengers rode up front over the front axle while the driver and another passenger sat in the back over the engine.[4]

The "Old Porcupine" engine

The flat-mounted single-cylinder engine was air-cooled. Rather than flanges to improve the efficiency of cooling, 1,750 threaded 3⁄16 inch (4.8 mm) diameter rods were screwed into the cylinder casing as projecting studs, which led to the engine sometimes being referred to as "Old Porcupine". A 2-speed planetary transmission was fitted.[5][6] This engine was situated at the center of the car and produced 8 hp (6.0 kW). It was also called a "hedgehog". The one-cylinder engine was used until 1905. In 1902 a two-cylinder version was added that was used up to 1907.[3]

Growth

Knox pricing for the one-cylinder and two-cylinder models went for a low price in 1900 of $750, (equivalent to $26,382 in 2022) to medium-priced by 1904. A 1904 Knox Tuxedo Touring model, equipped with a straight-twin engine producing 16 hp (12 kW), was priced at $2,200, equivalent to $71,655 in 2022.[3]

In late 1904 Harry Knox left the company over a disagreement on policy with Elihu Cutler. Harry Knox set-up a new business across town to build the Atlas air-cooled car.[3]

In 1906 Knox Automobile Company introduced the Model G, a 40-hp air-cooled four-cylinder engine on a 112-inch wheelbase. With a limousine body priced at $5,000 (equivalent to $162,852 in 2022), Knox had entered the luxury car market. The two-cylinder models were phased out in 1907 and all Knox's became mid-priced to high-priced cars.[2] Knox progressively improved their models, moving the engine from under the seat to up front under a bonnet and going from chain-driven to shaft-drive.[3][2]

In 1908 a water-cooled four-cylinder engine was introduced and customers could choose air-cooled or pay $100 more for water-cooled models.[2] A six-cylinder engine became available in 1910 and all Knox's became water-cooled. Only luxury-priced Knox's were offered after 1910.[2]

#32 Knox (USA) driven by Fred Belcher in the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup race
1911 Knox Model R Raceabout

Racing

The Knox was raced by William Bourque in the 1909 AAA Championship Car race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1910 a Knox was driven by Fred Belcher in the Vanderbilt Cup race.[7]

Fate

By 1912 Knox sales were slipping and a receiver was called in. The last Knox automobiles were built in 1914 and Knox was declared bankrupt in 1915. Knox reorganized as the Knox Motors Corporation and continued to build tractors and trucks until 1924.[3][2]

Afterwards Harry Knox moved on to design tanks for the US Army Ordnance Department; his T1 Light Tank wasn't adopted, but his Vertical volute spring suspension and his track design were used on almost all American tanks of the WWII, and he designed its replacement HVSS, which served until 1980s in some countries, as well.

Knox tractor-trailer, Salt Lake City, 1915. Note chain drive, common in this era.

Models[3]

Model Year Cylinders Horsepower Wheelbase
A 1900–1902 1 5 bhp (3.7 kW)
Two Cylinder 1902 2 8 bhp (6.0 kW)
B 1902 1 8 bhp (6.0 kW) 69 in (1,800 mm)
C 1903 1 8 bhp (6.0 kW) 72 in (1,800 mm)
Two Cylinder 1904 2 18 bhp (13 kW) 84 in (2,100 mm)
One Cylinder 1904 1 10 bhp (7.5 kW) 72 in (1,800 mm)
E 1905 1 10 bhp (7.5 kW) 72 in (1,800 mm)
F-3 1905–1906 2 16 bhp (12 kW) 87 in (2,200 mm)
F-1 1905–1906 2 16 bhp (12 kW) 81 in (2,100 mm)
F 1905–1906 2 16 bhp (12 kW) 90 in (2,300 mm)
F-4 1906–1907 2 16 bhp (12 kW) 81 in (2,100 mm)
G 1906–1908 4 40 bhp (30 kW) 112 in (2,800 mm)
H 1907–1909 4 30 bhp (22 kW) 102 in (2,600 mm)
L 1908 4 30 bhp (22 kW) 102 in (2,600 mm)
O 1909 4 38 bhp (28 kW) 102–114 in (2,600–2,900 mm)
M 1909–1910 4 48 bhp (36 kW) 127 in (3,200 mm)
S 1910–1912 6 60 bhp (45 kW) 134 in (3,400 mm)
R 1910–1912 4 40 bhp (30 kW) 117–122 in (3,000–3,100 mm)
R-45 1912 4 40 bhp (30 kW) 126 in (3,200 mm)
66 1913 6 60 bhp (45 kW) 134 in (3,400 mm)
46 1913–1914 6 46 bhp (34 kW) 130–134 in (3,300–3,400 mm)
45 1913–1914 4 40 bhp (30 kW) 126 in (3,200 mm)
44 1913–1914 4 40 bhp (30 kW) 117–122 in (3,000–3,100 mm)

Production[3]

Year Automobiles
1900 15
1901 100
1902 250
1903 500
1904 553
1905 572
1906 753
1907 1,000
1908 1,215
1909 1,317
1910 1,412
1911 1,215
1912 877
1913 673
1914 383
Total 10,835

References

  1. ↑ "Motor Age". 1915.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
  4. ↑ 100 Years of the American Auto Millennium Edition, page 24, Copyright 1999 Publications International, Ltd.
  5. ↑ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.170-1.
  6. ↑ David LaChance (January 2007) "Old Porcupine – Knox", Hemmings Classic Car.
  7. ↑ "History of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway".

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Knox vehicles.


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