Moline Automobile Company facts for kids
 |
|
| Automobile Manufacturing | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Genre | Roadsters, touring cars |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Defunct | 1924 |
| Headquarters | , |
|
Area served
|
United States |
| Products | Automobiles Automotive parts |
The Moline Automobile Company (1904 – 1924) was an American brass era automobile manufacturer in East Moline, Illinois known for the Moline and Moline-Knight.
Contents
History
W.H. Vandervoort and Orlando J. Root organized the Root & Vandervoort Engineering Company in 1899 to manufacture stationary and portable gas engines. In 1904 they organized the Moline Automobile Company to manufacture medium-sized cars. Moline built one of the earliest long stroke four-cylinder gas engines for cars. The automobiles were advertised as Dreadnought Molines with the slogan "The Car of Unfailing Service".
In 1914 W. H. Vandervoort became the President of the Society of Automobile Engineers succeeding Henry M. Leland.
Root & Vandervoort Engineering Company expanded their plant for war production during World War I. R&V was unable to recoup these funds from the U. S. Government, and faltered during the Depression of 1920–1921. R&V closed in 1924.
Models
Moline-Knight
The Moline-Knight produced from 1911 to 1919 used a Knight engine.
In 1911, the Moline 35 was a two-seat roadster with a 4×6-inch (114×152-mm) gasoline engine and self starter, still a rarity then. It came complete with folding top, windshield, and Prest-O-Lite acetylene tank (for the headlights), all for US$1700.
The 35 was joined in Moline's 1911 lineup by a four and a five-passenger tourer and a four-passenger "toy tonneau", "all with self-starting", the ads bragged.
Features found in a Moline-Knight included sleeve valves and a quiet engine. Some drawbacks were its large oil consumption and its carburetor's sensitivity to altitude.
In 1920 The Moline-Knight was continued as the R&V Knight and manufactured until 1924.
See also
In Spanish: Moline Automobile Company para niños
