 
First Regularly Produced Car and AdAlexander Winton
founded the Winton Motor Carriage Company, the first American company to sell a
regularly produced automobile and the first to produce a truck. Winton emigrated from Scotland
to New York in 1878, and then settled in Cleveland, OH in 1882. He is said
to have placed the first automobile
ad, which appeared in Scientific American magazine.
 Winton's
first cars were built and assembled by hand. They were beautiful, with a
leather roof and gas lamps. Winton promotional brochures
explained that the car had "just enough polished brass… to enliven the general
effect."
The Goodrich Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio
made the rubber tires for Winton cars.
On March 24, 1898,
Robert Allison of Port Carbon, PA became the first person to buy an
American-built automobile. He reportedly was inspired to buy one after being
influenced by Winton's ad in Scientific American magazine.
By the end of 1889,
Winton sold 21 automobiles, and by the end of 1890 more than a hundred more.
That total made Winton the largest manufacturer of gas-powered automobiles in
the U.S. at the time.
In 1903
Horatio Nelson Jackson drove a new
Winton cross-country. It was the first successful automobile drive across
the United States. His young bulldog, Bud, accompanied him on the trip.
Winton stayed open for
business until 1924, when the onslaught of automobile manufactures provided too
much competition.
Did
You Know?
-
Winton was the first to
incorporate a steering wheel in his design, instead of a tiller
-
Winton developed the
first storage battery that proved practical.
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Winton was the first
to put the engine in the front of the car, instead of underneath the frame.
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Winton built the
first car carrier in America to help deliver his product.
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The Winton's tank
held 11-12 gallons of gas. According to the Winton brochure, this was
"sufficient to run the car about 175 miles over ordinary roads."
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