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(funeral car introduced in 1925)
The first Commerce was a 1/2-ton panel delivery powered by a 4-cylinder
L-head engine of 16.9 hp with right-hand steering and single chain final
drive. For 1913 steering was changed to left-hand, and the engine was a
4-cylinder Northway, in 1914, 800 of these delivery trucks, also made in
open express and canopy form, were made with the first three years'
production. Capacity went up to 3/4-ton in 1914 and a 1-tonner was added for
1917. This had the same engine as the smaller model, but final drive was by
internal gears in place of the 3/4-tonner's bevel drive. By 1922 Continental
engines were used, in trucks from 3/4 to 2 1/2 tons, and a 10-passenger
charabanc which was an elongated touring car with a fixed top. Claimed to be
'the wonder of motordom' it cost $2350 and could travel at 40 mph easily.
Force-feed lubrication and worm drive came on all the 1924 models, and for
1925 four bus chassis from 18 to 28 passengers joined the range, together
with a powermatic special lumber truck, dump truck, oil truck and funeral
car.
For 1926 Commerce trucks underwent major changes in specifications and
styling. 6-cylinder engines, still Continentals, were featured, with 3-speed
transmission in place of 4, and semi-floating spiral bevel rear axle. Early
in 1927 Relay Motors of Wabash, Indiana bought Commerce and moved truck
manufacture into the plant of Service Motors which it had also bought, and
later into the plant of another purchase, Garford Truck Co of Lima, Ohio.
Under Relay management Commerce trucks were re-engineered again, returning
to worm drive. They were now basically the same as the new Relay trucks in
eight models from 1 to 4 tons, using 6-cylinder Buda engines, 4-wheel
hydraulic brakes and the same sheet metal. Commerce, Garford and Service
trucks were now identical except for the nameplates. Of the four makes in
the Relay group Commerce fared the worst, with only 65 trucks registered
for 1928, and a microscopic 16 for 1929. At the bottom of the Depression
Relay was forced into receivership, resulting in the suspension of Commerce
and Service production, though they continued Relay and Garford for a little
longer.
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