Sampson (automobile)

The Sampson was an early automobile manufactured by the Alden Sampson Manufacturing Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1904. It was based on the 1903 Moyea automobile for which the Alden Sampson Company had built the chassis. The Sampson was built again in 1911 by United States Motors, Alden Sampson Division, in Detroit, Michigan.

A 1912 Sampson Advertisement – Five passenger touring car – The Syracuse Journal, October 1, 1911

The 1904 Sampson had a 4-cylinder 18 hp engine with a 4-speed sliding-gear transmission with two chains to drive the rear wheels. It boasted a "transaxle". The 1911 Sampson, called the Sampson 35, had a 4-cylinder 35 hp engine. This model was a four-door, five-seater that was advertised as having 17 coats of paint. It actually had only 3 doors; the fourth was just an outline, and blocked by the gear shift and brake. Aluminum was used for the transaxle and crankcase. The car was sold for $1,250.00.

It was manufactured in Detroit, on Oakland Blvd, in a brand new city-block-long factory. There are only three survivors known to exist, and maybe a fourth in Australia. Five were registered in 1919 in the Australian state of Queensland.