Alter (automobile)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Alter Motor Company, of Plymouth, Michigan, produced over 1,000 automobiles between 1914 and 1916.
The company was organized on January 26, 1914, by Guy Hamilton, F.M. Woodward, and other local residents. Construction of the factory started in the spring of 1914. Soon after, they started production of the Alter designed by Clarence Alter of Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
At its peak, the factory employed 100 people, and produced 25 vehicles a day. January 1917, the company went into receivership, and closed. The factory building still stands (as of December 2005) on Farmer St in downtown Plymouth, across from the Cultural Center.
The 1914 model was a five passenger touring car. A roadster was later introduced. The 1916 Alter model was described as "the classy look and finish of the higher priced cars", by the Plymouth Mail (local newspaper) on March 3, 1916. The 1916 model had a 27 horsepower 4-cylinder engine, 12 gallon fuel tank under the cowl, with a wheelbase of 108 inches. The 1916 Alter sold for $685.
Only one Alter model is still known to exist, a 1915 model Alter. In 1959, Mr. & Mrs Dale Blair from Sandusky, Ohio, drove to Plymouth to see the factory where the vehicle was built. He later displayed the vehicle in the Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. Clarence Moore, a charter member of the Plymouth Historical Society evertualy bought the car. It is now on display at the Plymouth Historical Museum.
[edit] External information & Pictures
- Plymouth Historical Society (various pictures available)
[edit] Books
- Hudson, Sam (1975) "The story of Plymouth Michigan - A Midwest Microcosm"
