Piano Trivia

[FREDIEBOY@aol.com]

In 1888 William Steinway, grandfather of retired Steinway & Sons chairman
Henry Z Steinway, secured the rights to build Daimler Benz automobiles and
internal combustion engines in the U.S.
Drawn by word of Gottlieb Daimler's success with a "horseless carriage,"
William Steinway ventured to Stuttgart in 1888 to meet with the inventor. An
avid technology buff abd the driving force behind the ascendancy of the
Steinway piano, William Steinway was impressed by Daimler's spindly little
runabout and became convinced that autos would be a major social force.
Before leaving for New York he persuaded Daimler to grant him American patent
rights to Daimler engines and vehicles. Upon returning home, he incorporated
the Daimler Motor Company.
Steinway's first projects to involve Daimler patents were concerned with
boats and streetcars powered by Daimler engines. Built in a factory in
hartford, Connecticut, these small gasoline engines had between one and four
horsepower. William Steinway died in 1896, but the piano company maintained
its commitment to the auto business. In 1905 a new factory was erected in
Long Island City to build an exact American eqivalent of the prestigious
50-horsepower Mercedes that was acclaimed throughout Europe. In 1906 the
first car rolled off the assembly line. Available only in red, and
boasting"all necessary tools for repair, one tail light, two oil sidelights,
and a horn," the car sold for $7,500. Only a small number of cars were
produced. Fire gutted the Long Is;land City Factory in 1907, and the
enterprise soon waned and ceased operations. Only two "Steinway-Mercedes" are
still with us.......Veddy Interesting.
Fredieboy