Syracuse Auto Industry
The Franklin Automobile Company, based in Syracuse, New York, manufactured automobiles between 1906 and 1934. Controlled by Herbert H Franklin it had very few other significant shareholders. Franklin bought its vehicles from their manufacturer, H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company which was only moderately profitable and frequently missed dividends on common stock. The two major characteristics of their automobiles were their air-cooled engines and in the early years their lightness and responsiveness when compared with other luxury cars.
In addition to the Franklin Automobile Company, there were several other motorized vehicle manufacturers in the Syracuse area during the early 1900s. These included, Brennan Motor Manufacturing Company, Century Motor Vehicle Company manufacturers of a steam powered model, H. A. Moyer Automobile Company who were originally carriage builders and later moved to manufacturers of "high-grade pleasure cars," Chase Motor Truck Company who were pioneers in the two-cycle, air-cooled commercial vehicle field, Palmer-Moore Company and the Sanford-Herbert Motor Truck Company who manufactured two lines of commercial vehicles. |
