1899 Winton Motor Carriage Phaeton

Alexander Winton was an immigrant from Scotland who, upon arriving in America, opened the Winton Bicycle Company. He had also worked on a steamship as an engineer.

The close of the 1800s was a boom for the bicycle business and Alexander prospered during this time. Using his mechanical abilities, he quickly began improving upon the designs and introducing new features ultimately leading to several patents. His bicycles were lightweight and durable and very popular in the racing scene.

Upon the invention of the combustion engine, Alexander, like many of his peers, turned his attention to the creation of automobiles. He tried to mount an engine on a bike which turned out to be a failure. A four-wheeled design proved to be more stable and practical; after two years of development, Alexander had created a one-cylinder, eight-horsepower gasoline-powered vehicle. This success inspired Winton to create the Winton Motor Carriage Company, which went into business in 1897.

Many people did not buy into the idea of gasoline-powered vehicles; they enjoyed the traditional horse-and-carriage mode of transportation. To inspire sales and generate publicity, Winton drove one of his creations from Cleveland to New York City. A mechanic accompanied him during this journey which took nearly 80 hours to complete. In 1897, the roads were very underdeveloped and some could be described as trails rather than actual roads. Despite this, Alexander was able to do the impossible but unfortunately, it did not create the excitement that he had been planning for. His mistake was that he had not done enough to publicize the event. Two years later, he recreated his journey, but this time he took along a reporter who wrote about the trip. The 700-mile journey took over 47 hours to complete and 21 gallons of fuel.

The publicity from the second journey greatly increased sales. During 1898 Winton sold 22 cars; the following year he sold over 100.

This 1899 Winton Phaeton Motor Carriage had a factory price of $1000. It is powered by a 117.8 cubic-inch engine that produces 6 horsepower. In 1997 the vehicle was driven, as part of a reenactment of Alexander Winton's journey, from Cleveland to New York City. The nearly 100-year-old vehicle was able to complete 500 miles of the journey.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2006