Last episode we established that Charles Metz was a mechanical genius who was driven to solve problems by creating better solutions. We witnessed his growth through manufacturing, selling, and racing bicycles, and after that, motorcycles. Waltham National Bank entrusted him with saving Waltham Manufacturing in 1908. What follows below is what he did with that opportunity.
Charles E. Metz, inventor and manufacturer c. 1914 family photo courtesy AA magazine
The Plan Car
Charles Metz had inherited a stack of car parts at Waltham Manufacturing and faced a weak but recovering economy. Faced with this challenge, Metz devised a winning scheme: the first installment plan for a car ever! This was a financing method born during the age when a customer customarily paid 100% on the barrel to get anything: groceries, a car, a house, whatever. So, Metz’ pay-as-you-go installment scheme? Absolute genius!
The genius lay in how he did it…
Metz gathered the parts that he thought were necessary to form sub-assemblies of a complete car, grouped them in order of what a person would assemble first, then second, and so on. From this, Metz created 14 sets of packaged parts, starting with the frame and tools by which to construct the car. The next boxed shipment contained the axles and springs, followed by a box with the hood and radiator. Then the body parts, then on and on, with the engine shipped in the 12th container.
He then appropriately named his car the Metz Plan.
Metz Plan. Initial models were all roadsters. Factory catalog photo
Ever put a car together? Well, Metz had figured out the assembly process, and at $25 a box, he also had figured out how to sell a low-cost car to his chosen clientele at an affordable price PLUS refill his company’s coffers.
This was post-Industrial Revolution New England, populated by skilled workers looking for a bargain in hard times and ready to make use of sweat equity. Maybe they couldn’t afford to buy a whole car for $500, but they could probably buy a piece, put it together, and then save up for the next one. And so, the Metz Plan sold handsomely!
The automobile journal ad pretty much speaks for itself. A packet of information was mailed to prospective customers upon request.
Priced at $350 in all, demand was so great that Metz soon raised the price to $27 per box. Despite the price hike, Metz was able to ship enough stock to make 500 cars before shifting to factory-assembled sales by the end of 1909. Folks who had bought early had obtained a bargain, and in the process Metz had refunded and reclaimed his former company. And made a profit as well.
By late 1909 Metz Plans were being assembled at the factory. Those who stepped in early and bought by the box got a great deal!
The Metz Plan was simple and light, principles that Charles Metz had learned while in the bicycle and motorcycle trade, which he then applied to his automobiles. The Metz Plan rolled on a 81-inch wheelbase, spanned a 48-inch track (that could be increased to 56 inches by reversing the wheels), and weighed a mere 450 pounds.
Note the fan-like flywheel behind the two-cylinder engine. Below the steering wheel can be seen the friction drive plate, which drove the driven wheel seen at its edge. A lever to the right of the driver moved the driven wheel in (for slow) or out (for fast).
Metz Plan two-cylinder, twelve horsepower, air-cooled. The flywheel also served as an air circulator for the cylinders (fan blades attached)
Life’s a breeze with a Metz Plan! Factory catalog illustration
The two-cylinder engine and friction drive system were both simple and light. Metz sold 2500 completed cars in 1910, and then 3000 in 1911 for a total estimated production of 6000 units, after which the Plan was retired for a new design.
Dalliance with Aircraft
Metz was a lateral thinker, and so inevitably aircraft came under his purview. After all, many of them had wheels as well as props. In 1911 he had set up an aerodrome for Waltham and invited aviators to a meet in June of that year. When an aviator flying a Bleriot blew a head gasket, Metz offered the services of his company and had the unit fixed. This inspired Charles to consider the manufacture of Bleriot-style aeroplanes, and he did actually produce one. But that was the sum total. Happily, Metz soon refocused his energies on producing his next car, the Metz 22.
The Metz 22
One of Metz’ successful strategies at the Metz Company (renamed Metz Co. after he took over Waltham Manufacturing) was to offer only one chassis at a time, and then from that build separate models on that platform. This method, also used by Ford, was economical and strategic, yet was subsequently abandoned by the auto industry after the retirement of both of these aforementioned models.
Ironic, then, that this idea has resurfaced in 21st century car design among the big manufacturers. Reasons? Practical use of resources. Scalability. Saves money. Funny how what goes around then comes around…
The Metz 22 was another elegant vehicle. Based on a 96-inch wheelbase and using an enbloc-cast four cylinder engine that produced 22 horsepower, Metz wisely emulated Ford’s Model S engine. This would come in handy later if one needed to swap engine parts from one source to the other.
Unlike the planetary drive system of the Ford, Metz continued with his friction drive system, which consisted of a rotating friction plate that doubled as the engine’s flywheel. Perpendicular to the friction plate was a “driven” wheel that was pressed against the friction plate, which then connected its rotating power to the rear wheels via chain drive.
By using a control lever, the operator could position the driven disk toward the center of the friction wheel for “low” gear, and then move it out toward the outside of the wheel for “high” gear, which gave it infinitely variable forward gearing! And, by maneuvering the driven disk to the opposite side of the engine’s output shaft, the driven disk’s direction was now reversed, which meant that one now had an infinite amount of reverse gearing. Just think of it: 60 mph in reverse! Yowsa!
1912 Metz 22 Roadster
The friction disk system was simple and helped the car weigh in under 1000 lbs. In 1913, Metz expanded its model line beyond its only offering up to then, the venerable Roadster. Retailing at $495, it provided stiff competition to the Model T, which was then selling at $525. However, Ford had not yet fully developed his rolling assembly line, and when he did, Ford Motor was able to tumble its retail price, thus force most of its competitors out of the low cost market by 1915.
Glidden Trophy as it is displayed in AAA headquarters. Note that it is missing Charles Glidden’s 1902 Napier, originally perched on top of the globe.
In 1913, Metz again fielded a team of cars to compete in the Glidden Reliability Trials. Reliability was a big issue at this time and a means of getting one’s “street cred”, so to speak. Metz was able to grab the trophy after obtaining a perfect score in grueling conditions that knocked out most of its heavier, clunkier competitors.
1915 Metz 22 Fore Door Roadster, with 1913 Glidden Trophy behind it. Factory catalog image
Metz had sold 3300 cars in 1913, a handsome amount for a small independent. And, after the Glidden victory, Metz’ reputation as a smart buy grew, as it sold almost 4700 cars in 1914. Metz would finish producing Model 22s in 1915, with a total run of 17,950 units. The Metz 22 would be the Metz Company’s high-water achievement.
The Metz 25
Despite the steady sales of the Metz 22, by 1915 its relatively primitive appearance and technological level demanded a new and improved model. The Metz 25 was the answer to that call.
The four cylinder engine was improved to develop more power, the wheelbase was increased a full foot to 108 inches, and a Tourer was now offered along with the Roadster, all priced at $600. In addition to these two models, three types of light trucks using the Metz 25 platform were also produced.
1915 Metz 25 Roadster. Factory catalog image
War preparations ended the Metz 25 series in 1917 at 11,600 produced. The War Department requested use of Waltham Manufacturing facilities for the duration of the conflict overseas and promised payment for any costs incurred plus a 10% royalty. True for most any government, the U.S then set up a series of postwar bureaucratic roadblocks that prevented the Metz Company from ever recovering any of the $130,000 owed to it.
The Master Six
Despite this unexpected cash shortfall, the Metz Company soldiered on to produce its first six cylinder car, the Master Six in 1919. In an effort to update its cars, the Master Six featured a six cylinder engine and a shaft drive, but it also was produced under a very restricted budget. Hence it was assembled from largely outsourced components, including its 45 hp Rutenber (or Lycoming) engine.
1920-21 Metz Master Six. catalog image courtesy AACA library
Complaints about quality, problems with indebtedness and cash flow from poor sales, and the burden of selling during a post-war depression all hampered the success of the Metz Master Six, limiting its production to just under 7000 units, not enough to keep afloat. In 1922 Waltham National Bank stepped in (once again) and reclaimed the firm, this time ousting Charles Metz from the company. It re-opened as Waltham Manufacturing and briefly produced the Waltham Six.
The reasons for Metz’s demise were several:
1. New England’s stature as an industrial hub had been eclipsed by Detroit and other cities with better access to railroads and waterways for raw materials and product distribution.
2. The company’s production methods were disorganized and inefficient.
3. Metz over-expanded his facilities and consistently overestimated production.
4. Metz, like Henry Ford, stubbornly held to outmoded ideas and technologies beyond their utility.
5. Metz was a creative genius but a dullard at business.
After leaving the Metz Company, Charles Metz would go on to create new proposals and try out new schemes, one of which was a front wheel drive car in the 1920s, years ahead of anyone else. Ever inventive, Metz was still planning out his next best ideas shortly before his death in 1937.
Despite the demise of his former automobile company, Charles Metz had lived the life of an early twentieth century industrialist and entrepreneur, having trail-blazed lasting inroads with bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. He made them all, and he also created ways to make low-cost transportation affordable and available. His legacy deserves a better fate than its present obscurity.
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In our next episode, which is part three of the Metz story, we’ll take a look at the 1914 Metz 22 Speedster, a special car whose claim to fame follows from a promotional stunt in 1914.
For now, let’s leave it at this: the young man in the photo is overlooking a canyon whose floor is 5528 feet below him…
1914 Metz 22 Speedster and a very daring young man… Yes, that is the horizon beyond him, and a 5500-foot drop below the cliff’s edge!
Check out the next episode - you won’t want to miss this story!