Bethlehem Motor Truck Corporation

The Bethlehem Motors Corporation was a manufacturer of tractors, automobiles and trucks in Allentown, Pennsylvania, between 1917 and 1926.[1]

Share of the Bethlehem Motors Corp., issued 29. October 1920

Tractor manufacturing

In 1918 and 1919, the Corporation built the Model 18-36 tractor, which weighed three tons, and was powered by a Beaver 4-cylinder engine with two forward speeds.[1] Standard equipment included a Stromberg carburettor, Bosch magneto and Fedders radiator.[1] The tractor was not a success, probably due to the poor financial position of the company, the crowded tractor market in the United States, and the 1920 agricultural depression.[1]

Automobile manufacturing

In 1920, the Bethlehem Motors Corporation built the 'Ideal' automobile, which was to be sold only outside the United States.[2] The Ideal was a four-seater sedan with a 40 hp engine built by Bethlehem, Timken axles, and was priced at $3,000.[2] The company went into receivership later that year, and all plans to further produce and sell the car were discontinued.[2] New management disposed of the unsold cars for approximately $1,000 each in 1921.[2]

Truck manufacturing
1917 ad for the trucks.
1920 ad for the trucks.

Truck manufacture began in 1917, with ​1 1⁄4-ton trucks powered by Golden, Belknap and Swartz engines, and a ​2 1⁄4-ton vehicle using a North American engine.[1] The smaller models cost $1,245; the larger models $1,775. Speeds were between 12 and 18 mph, depending on the engine governor used.[1] Production in 1919 was approximately 3,500.[3] By 1920, all Bethlehem trucks came with electric starter and lights, with the company motto at this time being "Trucks bought today without electric lights will be out of date tomorrow".[1] Despite these new features, business decreased, with the company going into receivership.[3] The last Bethlehem trucks, and the last vehicles of any type manufactured by the Bethlehem Motors Corporation were assembled in 1926.[1] The factory was bought by Hahn and Company in 1927.[3]

References
  1. Vossler, Bill (1999). Cars, Trucks, and Buses Made By Tractor Companies. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. p. 10. ISBN 0873416724.
  2. Kimes, Beverly Rae (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942. Iola, IA: Krause Publications. p. 762. ISBN 0873414284.
  3. Mroz, Albert (11 January 2010). American Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles of World War I: Illustrated Histories of 225 Manufacturers. McFarland. pp. 28–. ISBN 978-0-7864-5725-0..
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