Franklin automobile makes stop in Portland
A Franklin automobile on a non-stop trip from Vancouver, B.C., to Tia Juana, Mexico, makes a pause in Portland, May 1920. The trip was the brainchild of C.E. Rolston, a Franklin auto dealer in Vancouver, B.C. Joining Rolston on the trip were A. R. Kelly, A. McLean and Carl Bingham. The trip would end prematurely when the car went over a 100-foot bank on the Wolf Creek section of the Pacific Highway and flipped over three times, as reported in The Oregonian on May 29, 1920. All four men survived.
A Franklin dealer in Portland also had a unique promotion going at this time. The Braly Auto Company, in front of which the above vehicle is parked, was offering a milage demonstration. A Franklin demonstrator vehicle was equipped by the Braly Auto Company with a glass container designed to hold one pint of gasoline. Each person interested would be taken on a ride in the Franklin to show how far the car would go on the pint of gas. They could watch the level of gas in the glass container go down as it was consumed.
Lawrence E. Therkelson, sales manager at the company, said they were "rarin' to go to show how much milage the car will make on the pint." According to Therkelson, the Franklin averaged about four miles on the pint of gasoline.
-- From an article in The Oregonian on June 13, 1920
$35.95
$44.95