Car-Nation

The Car-Nation (also known as Carnation) was a brand of automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the American Voiturette Company from 1913-1914.

The Car-Nation roadster was an convert|1100|lb|abbr=on cyclecar costing $495. The vehicle had a four-cylinder Herreshoff "25" engine and a 3 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 protoypes were produced. Two roadsters and five touring cars are known to survive.

In 1912, former Pope-Toledo manager Forest Keeton moved his Keeton Towncar Works into a factory in Wyandotte, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Superior, 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 convert|48|in|mm|sing=on 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 of 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

Bore x stroke

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 convert|10|in|mm|sing=on 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

Overall length

Overall width

Overall height
convert|64|in|mm; convert|73|in|mm with top

Front track

Rear track

Shipping weight

CAPACITIES
Crankcase
3 quarts

Cooling system
8 quarts

Fuel tank

Transmission
8 pints

Rear axle
4 pints

CALCULATED DATA
bhp per c.i.d.
7.44

Weight per bhp

Weight per c.i.d.

PERFORMANCE
Top speed

Fuel mileage

PRODUCTION
Car-Nation, total est.
2,000

References

*

External links

* [http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9492/Car-Nation_Roadster/default.aspx ConceptCars.com] , photos of a 1913 Car-Nation roadster
* [http://www.trombinoscar.com/veterans/carnation1301.html photos of 1913 Car-Nation Tourer with description in French]