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The Car-Nation (also known as Carnation) was a brand of automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913 to 1914.
The Car-Nation roadster was an 1,100 lb (500 kg) cyclecar costing $495. The vehicle had a four-cylinder Herreshoff "25" engine and a three-speed transmission.
Car-Nation also manufactured a larger four-seat Tourer model with a base price of $520. They also advertised a fore-and-aft tandem; it's not known if more than a few prototypes were produced. Two roadsters and five touring cars are known to survive.
In 1912, former Pope-Toledo manager Forrest Keeton moved his Keeton Towncar Works into a factory in Wyandotte, Michigan, a city south of Detroit on the shore of the Detroit River, and formed the Keeton Motor Company. He began construction of his first “French-like” car, the big Renault-influenced, air-cooled Keeton. It sold well enough to allow Keeton in 1913 to launch a second line of continental-influenced, low priced cars under a new name: Car-Nation. All that activity apparently attracted the attention of oil magnate Charles Schaeffer, and shortly after the introduction of the new car, the short-lived Car-Nation Motorette Co. and the existing Keeton Motor Co. unified under his ownership, reincorporating as the American Voiturette Company in Detroit.
Slow acceptance of the Car-Nation's nonstandard 48-inch (1,200 mm) gauge and reported problems with the Herreshoff engines in the Car-Nation sent the company into receivership in 1914. At a public auction in February 1915, Forest Keeton appears to have bought the assets of the company, including 60 Keetons and 350 Car-Nations, along with machine tools and countless thousands of parts. But while he did supply repairs, he never again built a car.
Specifications (1913 Car-Nation roadster)
ENGINE
Type
Herreshoff cast-iron L-head straight-four, integral valves, cast-en-bloc
Displacement
134 cubic inches (2,200 cc)
Bore × stroke
3.375 inches (85.7 mm) x 3.75 inches (95 mm)
Horsepower
18 (25 A.L.A.M.)
Main bearings
2 nickel babbitt
Fuel system
Gravity, Zenith updraft carburetor, alloy intake manifold
Ignition system
6-volt, Splitdorf fixed-spark magneto
Lubrication system
Splash; plunger pump (note: Car-Nation advertised pressure lubrication, but it does not appear on any of the known cars)
Exhaust system
Single, iron
TRANSMISSION
Type
Three-speed Detroit Gear & Machine sliding gear, cone clutch (note: early cars appear to have used an alloy clutch plate. Prone to cracking, later versions have a cast-iron clutch plate)
DIFFERENTIAL
Type
Weston-Mott semi-floating
STEERING
Type
Adjustable worm gear
BRAKES
Type
Rod-actuated manual
Front
None
Rear
1¼ x 10-inch (250 mm) internal expanding emergency; external contracting service on transmission shaft
CHASSIS & BODY
Construction
Full-frame riveted 1/8-inch channel steel, 1x3 ash sills, composite body
Body style
One door, two-passenger roadster
Layout
Front engine, rear-wheel drive
SUSPENSION
Front
Quarter-elliptic leaf springs
Rear
Quarter-elliptic leaf springs
WHEELS & TIRES
Wheels
Detachable Detroit Stanweld wire
Front/rear
30 x 3 inches
WEIGHTS & MEASURES
Wheelbase
105 inches (2,700 mm)
Overall length
141 inches (3,600 mm)
Overall width
57 inches (1,400 mm)
Overall height
64 inches (1,600 mm); 73 inches (1,900 mm) with top
Front track
48 inches (1,200 mm)
Rear track
48 inches (1,200 mm)
Shipping weight
1,180 pounds (540 kg)
CAPACITIES
Crankcase
3 quarts
Cooling system
8 quarts
Fuel tank
10 US gal (38 L; 8 imp gal)
Transmission
8 pints
Rear axle
4 pints
CALCULATED DATA
bhp per c.i.d.
7.44
Weight per bhp
65.55 pounds (29.73 kg)
Weight per c.i.d.
8.81 pounds (4.00 kg)
PERFORMANCE
Top speed
50 mph (80 km/h)
Fuel mileage
25 mpg‑US (9.4 L/100 km; 30 mpg‑imp)
PRODUCTION
Car-Nation, total est.
2,000