Rider-Lewis (automobile company)

Rider-Lewis was a brass era automobile built first in Muncie and then Anderson, Indiana from 1908 to 1911.[1]

Rider Lewis Motor Car Company
Company typeAutomobile manufacturer
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1908; 116 years ago (1908)
FounderRalph Lewis, George D. Rider
Defunct1911; 113 years ago (1911)
SuccessorFactory: Nyberg Automobile
HeadquartersAnderson, Indiana,
United States
Key people
Ralph Lewis, George D. Rider
ProductsAutomobiles
Production output
250 approx. (1909-1911)

History

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Ralph Lewis of Boston, designed an overhead valve, overhead cam six-cylinder engine of 40/45-hp. George D. Rider financed manufacturing and the Rider-Lewis Motor Car Company was established. Rider-Lewis introduced the automobile at the Indianapolis Motor Show in March 1908 priced at $2,500 (equivalent to $84,778 in 2023). Production began in Muncie in a converted factory, though in 1909 the company moved to a newly built factory in Anderson, Indiana.[1]

For 1910 the "Excellent Six" was joined by a four-cylinder Model Four automobile selling for $1,050, equivalent to $34,335 in 2023 . In September 1910 the company was in receivership, though production continued. In October the Rider-Lewis property in Anderson was attached by court order when creditors thought Rider-Lewis was preparing to move out of state. A few more Model Fours were built into early 1911, but by March the Rider-Lewis plant was sold to Nyberg Motor Works.[2][1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
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