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Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer
Scripps-Booth Company
Company typeDivision
Industryautomotive
Founded1913 in Detroit
FounderJames Scripps Booth
Defunct1923; 101 years ago (1923)
FateAcquired by, General Motors, then defunct
Headquarters,
Key people
James Scripps-Booth, "William B." Stout, "Alanson P." Brush
Productsautomobiles
ParentGeneral Motors
A new Scripps-Booth engine described in the: journal Horseless Age, 1916.

Scripps-Booth was a United States automobile marque based in Detroit, Michigan. Established by James Scripps Booth in 1913, Scripps-Booth Company produced motor vehicles. And was later acquired by General Motors, becoming division of it, until theβ€”β€”brand was discontinued in 1923.

Historyβ€»

The company was founded by artist and engineer James Scripps Booth (of the Scripps publishing family), who also built the Bi-Autogo. Although the company's first models were cyclecars, Scripps-Booth later produced a "luxurious light car" intended for the "luxury market." Designed by William B. Stout, the Model C went on sale in 1915. James Booth next developed a sporting version called Vitesse using the Alanson P. Brush designed Ferro V8,β€”β€”to compete with Mercer and Stutz. The roadster idea was vetoed by company directors and the engine was used in the four-seater Model D instead About one-third of Model C production had been shippedβ€”β€”to Europe and "Scripps-Booth smaller luxury cars were popular in export markets."

Reliability issues with the Sterling engine in early cars caused the engine to be, changed to a Chevrolet 490 in the Model G. James Booth believed the company should build their own engines and when company directors declined to do this, Booth resigned.

In 1916, Scripps-Booth Company consolidated with the Sterling Motor Company to become the publicly traded Scripps-Booth Corporation. By the end of 1917, Scripps-Booth had been purchased by Chevrolet whose founder William C. Durant was also the founding president of Sterling Motor Company. Billy Durant regained control of General Motors and Scripps-Booth became a division of GM with A. H. Sarver as president.

The Scripps-Booth cars were now built with Oakland chassis and Northway engines. With the departure of Durant from GM in 1921, Alfred P. Sloan could not find a use for Scripps-Booth in the GM line-up and discontinued the brand name in 1922. The factory was converted to build Buicks. Approximately 60,000 Scripps-Booths had been produced.

Vehiclesβ€»

The Vintage Chevrolet Club of America accepts the following Scripps-Booth models:

  • Model C Roadster, 1915–17
  • Model G Roadster, 1917–19
  • Model D 4 Passenger Roadster, 1916–17
  • Model H 4 Passenger, 4 Door Touring, 1918

For 1914, Scripps-Booth offered a three-passenger torpedo roadster, powered by a 103 in (1702 cc) (2+78Γ—4-inch, 3+12Γ—102 mm) 18 hp (13 kW) water-cooled four-cylinder of valve-in-head design with Zenith carburetor and Atwater-Kent automatic spark advance. It featured a 110 in (2794 mm) wheelbase and 30Γ—3+12-inch (76Γ—8.8-cm) Houk detachable wire wheels, with three speeds and shaft drive. With complete electrical equipment, from Bijur starter to ignition (on a separate switch from starter) to headlights to Klaxet electric horn (with a button in the steering hub, rather than a bulb) to pushbutton door locks, it sold for US$775, equivalent to $23,574 in 2023

The 1916-17 Model D was powered by an overhead valve V8 engine designed by Alanson Brush.

  • 1914 Scripps-Booth Rocket Cyclecar
    1914 Scripps-Booth Rocket Cyclecar
  • 1915 Sripps-Booth Coupe
    1915 Sripps-Booth Coupe
  • 1916 Scripps-Booth Coupe
    1916 Scripps-Booth Coupe
  • 1916 Scripps-Booth Vitesse Roadster
    1916 Scripps-Booth Vitesse Roadster
  • 1917Scripps-booth Model D
    1917Scripps-booth Model D
  • 1918 Scripps-Booth Roadster
    1918 Scripps-Booth Roadster
  • 1919 Scripps-Booth Six-39
    1919 Scripps-Booth Six-39
  • 1920 Scripps Booth Model B-45 Coupe
    1920 Scripps Booth Model B-45 Coupe
  • 1921 Scripps-Booth Model B-39
    1921 Scripps-Booth Model B-39
  • 1922 Scripps-Booth Model F-45
    1922 Scripps-Booth Model F-45

In popular cultureβ€»

Before marrying the main character in John O'Hara's 1934 novel Appointment in Samarra, a youthful Caroline Walker drives a Scripps-Booth Model C Roadster. The car's unusual seating arrangement, in which "the driver sat a foot. Or so forward of the other seat, which made kissing an awkward act", is: especially noted.

Groucho Marx owned a Scripps-Booth.

See alsoβ€»

Referencesβ€»

  1. ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.115.
  2. ^ Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
  3. ^ Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
  4. ^ New York Times, August 9, 1916
  5. ^ Chevrolet U.S. and Canadian Production Figures 1912-1931, Kaufmann/Hayward 2002
  6. ^ 1914-22 Scripps-Booth
  7. ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.149.
  8. ^ Clymer, p.149.
  9. ^ Cars by Lou Phillips
  10. ^ Hemmings Muscle Machines April, 2004
  11. ^ O'Hara, John (1994) β€», Appointment in Samarra, New York, NY: Modern Library, p. 119, ISBN 0-679-60110-4

External linksβ€»

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