Industry Automotive Area served United States | Defunct 1907 Founded 1898 | |
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Former type Automobile Manufacturing Products Vehicles
Automotive parts Headquarters Peoria, Illinois, United States Founders John French, George Preston Dorris | ||
St. Louis Motor Carriage Company was a manufacturer of automobiles at 1211–13 North Vandeventer Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, founded by George Preston Dorris (later credited with developing and patenting the float-carburetor) and John French in 1898, with French taking charge of marketing and Dorris heading engineering and production. St. Louis Motor Carriage was the first of many St. Louis automakers and produced automobiles from 1899 to 1907.
History
In 1900, John French drove the St. Louis on the first automobile trip between St. Louis and Chicago. In 1901 he was one of only three drivers to finish in a New York-to-Buffalo race.
The St. Louis Motor Carriage Company moved to Peoria, Illinois, in 1905, and Dorris started his own car company, the Dorris Motor Car Co., in the former St. Louis Motor Carriage plant in 1906 that would stay in business until 1926.
The 1904 St. Louis line included runabout and touring car models. Both could be equipped with a tonneau, with seating for up to five passengers. The runabout sold for US$1200 and used a 9 hp (6.7 kW) engine. The touring car was priced at US$1500. It used a flat-mounted, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine, situated amidships of the car, producing 10 hp (7.5 kW). A two-speed transmission was fitted, and the angle iron-framed car weighed 1650 lb (748 kg).