Selden Motor Vehicle Company

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was an American automobile manufacturer. The company was founded in 1906 in Rochester, New York. The company produced from 1907 to 1912 passenger cars and 1913-1930 trucks.

History

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was founded by a patent attorney and inventor George Baldwin Selden, the first owner of a U.S. patent for the production of passenger cars (cars ) with a petrol engine. He was the owner of the Selden patent, a patent application for an internal combustion engine to drive four-wheeled vehicles, and was considered controversial in the early days of automobile production as one of the inventors for automobiles in the United States.

To protect this patent ( and the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ( ALAM ) (the "Company of the licensed motor vehicle manufacturers ") was established, the several major vehicle manufacturers such as Cadillac, Winton, Packard, Locomobile, Knox and Peerless, but not among other Ford belonged., the Electric vehicle Company of William Collins Whitney, the Selden had sold the patent in 1899, tried to control all manufacturers of petrol cars ( with success until just prior to patent expiration 1912).

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was officially founded in 1906 after the takeover of the company Buffalo Gasoline Motor Company. The advertising slogan: "Father of all patents " was very helpful for the young company. The first Selden vehicles were delivered in June, 1907. The cars had four-cylinder in-line engines, costing about $ 2,500. The value of a well-preserved Selden cars is around $ 25,000 today.

Production

In 1908 Selden cars could be completed in a quantity of only 850 cars. In 1909, the production rose to 1216 in 1910 there were 1417 and 1911 Selden could increase production to 1628 vehicles. 1911 Seldon received the news that his patent could not be enforced. After a fire in the factory in the summer of this year the company in the autumn of his new developer, Frederick Law, who had built the Columbia Gas Car to Electric Motor Company was restructured. 1912 were 1211 in 1913 still 873 cars could be built. In the last year of production, 1914, 229 cars were built.

Selden had produced his car types as Touring, Runabout, roadsters and sedans with 30 or 40 hp four-cylinder engine. In 1913 Selden founded the company Selden Truck Sales Corporation for trucks. The company produced until 1930, when it was taken over by the Bethlehem Truck Company.