Franklin Car Logo

The Franklin Automobile Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in the United States between 1902 and 1934 in Syracuse, New York. Herbert H. Franklin, the founder, began his career in the metal die casting business (in fact, he invented the term) before establishing his automobile enterprise.

Franklin founded the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company in 1893. The company specialized in machine die-casting and made small parts such as gears and bearing caps. It was the first company in the world in that enterprise.

In 1901, Franklin teamed up with engineer John Wilkinson (1868–1951) to develop an air-cooled engine and in 1902, the Franklin car was introduced. Because he was the primary investor, Franklin assumed control of the company, and named the auto manufacturing division the Franklin Automobile Company. As president, he managed the company finances and business administration. Wilkinson was named as chief engineer and granted control of the engineering and manufacturing operation.

Throughout its history, Franklin was a luxury car and competed with other upscale automobiles of the day. As such, it fell victim to the Great Depression along with many luxury car manufacturers. The company sold about 150,000 cars over the course of more than 30 years in existence.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_(automobile)