The Cartercar was the best-known friction-drive automobile in the early years of the U.S. car industry. Here’s how it worked.

In the earlly years of the American auto industry, Cartercar was not the only automaker to use a friction transmission, or “gearless” as it was known at the time. Others included Orient, Lambert, and Metz. (In fact, Carter and Lambert were awarded their similar patents on the same day: March 31,1904). But Cartercar was the most popular friction-drive car of its time, and the best-known today.

Cartercar’s founder, Byron J. Carter of Jackson, Michigan, was yet another pioneer of the auto industry. He built his first car in 1897, developed a steam automobile in 1899 that was seriously considered for production by Studebaker, and in 1902 he co-founded the Jackson Automobile Company., where he was vice-president. In 1905, he left to develop his friction-drive patent and, with backing from Detroit investors, he formed the Cartercar Company with a factory in Pontiac, Michigan.

The Cartercar transmission (above) is so simple it needs only brief explanation. A large-diameter, milled-aluminum drive wheel was paired at 90 degrees to a friction-faced driven wheel. A linkage and lever allowed the operator to place the driven wheel near the center of the drive wheel for maximum torque multiplication, then move it outward to increase road speed. Or the driven wheel could be moved to the opposite side of the drive wheel’s hub to achieve the same result in reverse. An enclosed chain then transmitted the power to the differential and rear axle.

Claims for the dead-simple arrangement included “no clutch to slip,” “no gears to strip,” and the ability to climb a 50-percent grade. On the apparent strengths of these attributes, Cartercar was acquired by William C. Durant for General Motors in 1909. The original two-cylinder engine was replaced by a four-cylinder unit in 1910, while the running gear and bodywork received regular updates until 1915, when GM discontinued the make and turned the factory over to its Oakland division.

1915 Cartercar Model 9 Touring 

The name of Byron J. Carter is a familiar one in auto history today, but that may well be a case of mistaken identity. In his 1957 biography of Charles F. Kettering, Professional Amateur, T.A. Boyd wrote that the development of the Cadillac electric starter was motivated by a 1910 accident on Belle Isle in which Carter was injured attempting to hand-crank an automobile. Two Cadillac engineers who happened to be nearby came to his aid, but the injuries were ultimately fatal. The story has been repeated (and embellished, as writers do) by a generation of automotive writers, including McG.

However, the oft-told 1910 story is most probably wrong. Byron Carter (below) died of pneumonia in April of 1908, with no mention in the obituaries of any automotive injuries. Meanwhile, The Sun of Detroit reported on April 28, 1907 that H.O. Carter was severely injured on Belle Isle in a cranking incident, shattering his jaw. (He later recovered.) Howard O. Carter was the principal officer of the Carter Motor Car Corporation, producer of the Carter Two-Engine Car we featured here.

(Dozens of Cartercars still exist. The website Cartercar.org was an invalable source in preparing this story.)