Columbia (automobile brand)

This article is about the automobile brand from 1899 to 1910. For the automobile manufacturer from 1916 to 1924, see Columbia Motors.

Columbia

Industry	Automobile
Founded	1899
Defunct	1910 (marque continued by purchaser)
Fate	Sold
Headquarters	Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Products	Vehicles

Columbia was an American brand of automobiles produced by a group of companies in the United States. They included the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, the Electric Vehicle Company, and an entity of brief existence in 1899, the Columbia Automobile Company.

In 1908, the company was renamed the Columbia Motor Car Company and in 1910 was acquired by United States Motor Company. A different Columbia Motors existed from 1917 to 1924.

Electric models

Columbia Victoria, this one seats the chauffeur high up behind passengers, although more typically victoria carriages mounted the driver's box in the front.

A Columbia omnibus

The 1904 'Columbia Brougham' was equipped with a tonneau. It could seat four passengers and sold for US$3,500. Twin electric motors were situated at the rear of the car. Similar 'Columbia' coupes, 'Columbia Hansom' cabs, or hansoms, were also produced for the same price. They could achieve 13 mph (21 km/h). A 'Columbia Victoria Phaeton' was priced at US$3,000, but was based on the same design.

1903 Columbia Electric Runabout, the best-seller car in the U.S. in 1900 and the first to exceed 1000 sales.

1901 Columbia Victoria Phaeton,
owned by Queen Victoria, for her daughter-in-law to drive where she wished

1900 Columbia electric 3¾HP rear-entrance tonneau

The 'Columbia Surrey' and 'Columbia Victoria' were more traditional horseless carriages. Both used the same power system as the larger cars, with twin electric motors, but cost much less at US$1,500 and US$1,600, respectively.

At the bottom end of the range was the 'Columbia Runabout' car. Priced at just US$750, it used a single electric motor, with an Exide battery and Concord springs.

Columbia's basic runabout was typical of the time, resembling a horseless carriage, and was steered via a tiller. It cost US$850, US$200 more than the contemporary Curved Dash Oldsmobile. The 1,200-pound (540 kg), single bench seat vehicle had a wheelbase of 64 inches (1,600 mm), and rode on 30-inch (760 mm) wooden spoked wheels, with leather fenders. The drivetrain had clear evolutionary roots in Pope's bicycle business, driving the rear axle via a chain drive (typical of automobiles of the era), producing virtually the only operating noise. Between the motor and the chain drive was a transmission with three forward and two reverse speeds. Twenty batteries manufactured by Exide Batteries, also associated with Electric Vehicle Company, were placed above both axles in order to balance the weight. Brakes on both rear wheels featured a bell, which rang when the vehicle reached a full stop. Top speed was about 15 mph (24 km/h).

Besides the runabout, Columbia manufactured about 20 other models including taxis, police cars, and buses. The vehicles were most popular in cities, where relatively smooth roads made the electric motor, with its smoothness and silence, appear superior over the gasoline engine. It helped in urban areas that electrical supply for recharging was easily found within the runabout's 40-mile (64 km) range. Nevertheless, in 1903, a Columbia was driven 250 miles (400 km) from Boston to New York City in 23 hours. In keeping with this urban orientation, the Columbia was positioned as a high-end vehicle (even at a time when automobiles were very expensive), with its showroom across the street from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Internal combustion engined models

1904 Columbia gasoline 2-cylinder 12/14HP rear-entrance tonneau

Columbia Automobile advertisement from 1901 showing rear-entrance tonneau body

The Columbia Touring Car was an entirely different car. A touring car model, it used a tonneau, seating six passengers, and resembled the touring models offered by many other companies at the time. Priced at US$4,500 to US$5,000, it used a vertically mounted straight-4, situated at the front of the car, producing 24 hp (18 kW). A four-speed sliding transmission was fitted. The car weighed 3,000 lb (1,400 kg). One design innovation was the "false frame" supporting the engine.

A Knight sleeve valve powered model was added to the range in 1912 and 1913.

Overview of production figures

Year	Production
1898	73
1899	387
1900	1.393
1901	1.427
1902	1.583
1903	1.727
1904	1.937
1905	1.213
1906	1.816
1907	2.210
1908	2.715
1909	2.817
1910	2.923
1911	2.236
1912	1.817
1913	937
Sum	27.211

See also

• Brass Era car
• History of the electric vehicle
• United States Motor Company
• List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers

References

• Brooks Brierley (November 6, 2006). "1903 Columbia Mark LX Electric Runabout". Autoweek Magazine. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
• "Electric Carriages". Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly: 373. January 1904.
• David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles, ISBN 0-7858-1106-0

External links

• Columbia Automobile Company page
• the actress Julia Marlowe and her dog in one of the company's electric cars