Cartercar 5591115 191617118 2008-02-15T10:24:04Z Typ932 3709252 Script assisted. Units/dates/other/[[WP:CARS]] Conventions The '''Cartercar''' was an American [[automobile]] manufactured from 1906 to 1916 in Detroit Michigan. A fairly successful maker of [[friction-drive]] cars, the company began with a flat-twin [[engine]]; this was used alongside vertical fours in the 1909 range of cars. The company merged with the makers of the [[Pontiac]] [[High Wheeler]] in 1908, becoming part of [[General Motors]] in 1909. Two models, both pair-cast fours, appeared in 1912; the Model R was 4160 cc, while the Model S was 5437 cc. Each had a single chain drive. Tragedy struck when Byron Carter, the company head, was killed while trying to start a stalled car; the crank kicked back and hit him in the jaw, causing [[gangrene]] which ultimately proved fatal. With Carter's death, the company folded. Carter was a personal friend of [[Cadillac]] founder [[Henry Leland]], and his unfortunate death prompted development of the Self-Starter (introduced in 1912), the first successful motor vehicle electric starting system, eliminating the dangerous crank. Because its friction-drive transmission allowed selection of any ratio rather than having fixed gear positions, the Cartercar was advertised as "The Car of a Thousand Speeds." ==References== *[[David Burgess Wise]], ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''. *[http://www.cartercar.net/ Website for Cartercar enthusiasts] [[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States]] [[Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan]] {{Brass-auto-stub}} {{Vintage-auto-stub}}