Phelps Motor Vehicle

Phelps Motor Vehicle Company
	Sketch of the 1904 Phelps shown at the 4th New York Automobile Show
	1903 Phelps advertisement in The Automobile magazine
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1903; 121 years ago
Founder	Elliott C. Lee, Lucius J. Phelps
Defunct	1905; 119 years ago
Fate	reorganized
Successor	Shawmut Motor Company
Headquarters	Stoneham, Massachusetts, United States
Products	Automobiles
Production output	Unknown (1903-1905)

Phelps Motor Vehicle Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Stoneham, Massachusetts, between 1903 and 1905. In 1906 it was succeeded by the Shamut Motor Company.^[1]^[2]

History

Background

Lucius J. Phelps was an inventor and an electrical and mechanical engineer who first came to prominence in 1886 for his Induction Telegraph patent that was developed for trains to receive live telegraph messages while moving.^[3]^[4] In the late 1890's he became interested in steam powered vehicles and in 1901 marketed the Phelps Tractor. The steam tractor was designed to be controlled by horse rains so that a coachman could operate it. As Phelps Motor Company, Phelps then began developing a gasoline engine.^[5]

Phelps Motor Car

In 1903 Phelps Motor Company became Phelps Motor Vehicle Company with Elliott C. Lee as president and L. J. Phelps as general manager.^[6] The 1903 Phelps was a touring car model, equipped with a tonneau. It could seat 4 passengers and sold for $2,000, equivalent to $67,822 in 2023. L. J. Phelps designed the vertically mounted water-cooled straight-3 engine, situated at the front of the car, producing 15 hp (11 kW; 15 PS). A 3-speed transmission was fitted. The car was unusual in that it did not have a parameter frame but a backbone frame that enclosed the drive shaft, and this weight savings made for a 1,500 lb (680 kg) touring car. In 1904 the engine was enlarged to 20-hp and the price was $2,500, equivalent to $84,778 in 2023.^[1]^[2]

Motorsports

Phelps demonstrated his car in several endurance runs and hill climbs including a 1903 record 1 hour and 46 minute climb up Mount Washington.^[7]^[8] He returned in 1904 for the first Climb to the Clouds and cut his time to 42 minutes, placing second in his class.^[9]^[10] The Phelps motor car won a double victory in the1903 Eagle Rock, N.J. Hill Climb.^[8]

Fate

L. J. Phelps designed a 4-cylinder engine but in September 1905 decided to retire to his Forty Oaks Ranch in Paradise, California.^[11] The company and manufacturing plant were succeeded by the Shawmut Motor Company headed by E. C. Lee in 1906.^[1]^[2] Lucius Phelps continued to patent automotive and other devices until his death at the age of 75 in 1925.^[12]

Models

1903 Phelps 15-hp Tonneau Touring car from The Automobile magazine
1904 Phelps 25-hp Touring Car from brochure

References

^ ^a ^b ^c 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
^ Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review. 1886.
^ The Electrician. James Gray. 1886.
^ Horseless Age: The Automobile Trade Magazine. Horseless age Company. 1899.
^ The Motor World. Motor World Publishing Company. 1902.
^ The Automobile Magazine. United States Industrial Publishing Company. 1903.
^ ^a ^b The Automobile. Class Journal Company. 1903.
^ The Horseless Age. Horseless Age Company. 1904.
^ Motor. Hearst Corporation. 1903.
^ The Pacific. J.W. Douglas. 1908.
^ "New York Times July 16, 1925". The New York Times. July 16, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-12.

[:0-1] 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.

[:1-2] Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.

[3] Telegraphic Journal and Electrical Review. 1886.

[4] The Electrician. James Gray. 1886.

[5] Horseless Age: The Automobile Trade Magazine. Horseless age Company. 1899.

[6] The Motor World. Motor World Publishing Company. 1902.

[7] The Automobile Magazine. United States Industrial Publishing Company. 1903.

[:2-8] The Automobile. Class Journal Company. 1903.

[9] The Horseless Age. Horseless Age Company. 1904.

[10] Motor. Hearst Corporation. 1903.

[11] The Pacific. J.W. Douglas. 1908.

[12] "New York Times July 16, 1925". The New York Times. July 16, 1925. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-12.

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