Waltham

Although initially building a prototype electric runabout as early as 1898 (which did not go into production), the Waltham Manufacturing Company in Waltham, Massachusetts did not produce its first production car until 1902. Prior to this, only tricycles and motor cycles bore the Waltham name.

The Orient Buckboard was a very simple car, comprising a twin bench seat mounted on a wooden platform with tiller steering, and was powered by a 4hp De Dion engine with a single speed gearbox. The unsprung body weighed 350lb.

Later versions included a four-seater, and from 1905 a steering wheel was to replace the tiller, along with protection for the driver's feet. Later that year the Waltham Orient appeared, featuring an air-cooled 4-cylinder 16hp or 18/20hp engine conventionally mounted at the front of the car, along with frictional transmission and a drive shaft.

In 1908 the Waltham Manufacturing Company was taken over by the Metz Company under Charles H Metz. The Metz name was applied to all existing Waltham models from then on, starting with the new Metz Plan of 1909, an air-cooled 2-cylinder roadster with twin chain drive. An unusual aspect of this car was that it was sold as a kitset, with owners purchasing fourteen individual parts packages for assembly at home.

The Waltham name was to return, however, if only briefly in 1922, when the Metz Master Six was renamed as the Waltham Rutenburg. At the same time the Metz Company became Waltham Motor Manufacturers.