Century Motor Vehicle Company

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Century Motor Vehicle Company belonged to the noisy, optimistic first wave of American motoring. Based in Syracuse, New York, the company operated from 1899 to 1903, building automobiles when “what powers it?” was still a perfectly reasonable question. Its output included electric and steam vehicles, with William Van Wagoner serving as engineer and manager.

Century’s early light steamer used a two-cylinder vertical engine and bevel-gear final drive rather than the more usual single chain. The company also developed electric runabouts and pursued its engineering work seriously enough to receive a 1901 U.S. patent for an automobile running gear assigned to Century Motor Vehicle Company. Not bad for an era when every road trip was also a mechanical confidence exercise.

In 1903, Century put its attention behind the gasoline-powered Century Tourist: a tiller-steered, two-passenger car advertised as a 7-horsepower light touring car for $750, f.o.b. Syracuse. The pivot came fast, but the company entered receivership in July 1903 and its independent run ended that year. No later corporate successor or acquisition is documented in the sources reviewed.

Our Century Motor Vehicle Company collection celebrates Syracuse steam, sparks, and gasoline ambition—the brief-lived machine maker that tried all three before the automobile business decided it was done playing nice.