Robinson & Price

Robinson & Price was a British automobile manufacturer associated with Liverpool, Lancashire. The company operated during the early development of the British motor industry, a period when numerous small manufacturers experimented with lightweight cars, compact engines, and relatively simple mechanical layouts. Its documented production history began in 1905 and ended in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The company’s early range consisted of two small cars. In 1905 and 1906 it manufactured a 6½ hp model powered by a single-cylinder engine and a larger 10/12 hp model using a two-cylinder engine. These cars were positioned within the emerging light-car and small-car market, where manufacturers attempted to provide relatively accessible alternatives to larger and more expensive automobiles. Robinson & Price appears to have operated on a modest scale: contemporary assessments and later reference works describe sales success as limited, with only small numbers of vehicles built. After an apparent gap in documented model production, the company introduced another single-cylinder automobile in 1913. Designated the 6/8 hp, this model represented a return to a compact format and was the final known vehicle associated with the marque. Production ceased at the beginning of the First World War in 1914. The termination reflects both the company’s limited manufacturing scale and the wider disruption caused by wartime mobilization, although the available reference material does not establish whether the business formally dissolved, changed activities, or simply stopped automobile production. Robinson & Price is therefore best understood as a minor or specialist participant in Britain’s pre-war automobile industry rather than as a surviving mass-market marque. Its historical importance lies primarily in documenting the breadth of early British car manufacturing and the variety of small firms that entered the market before consolidation. No continuing ownership, successor brand, modern product line, publicly traded status, or current operating business is identified in the available material.

Robinson & Price belonged to the large field of small British automobile manufacturers that emerged during the formative years of motoring. Based in Liverpool, Lancashire, the company manufactured cars from 1905 until 1914. Unlike the better-known British marques that later developed extensive dealer networks and long-running model families, Robinson & Price appears to have remained a low-volume producer, with only limited numbers of vehicles built. The company’s first documented models were produced in 1905 and 1906. One was a 6½ hp car with a single-cylinder engine, representing the lightweight and mechanically uncomplicated end of the market. The other was a 10/12 hp car equipped with a two-cylinder engine, offering a larger engine format within the company’s compact range. The available historical accounts characterize the commercial response as unsuccessful or limited, and the small production totals indicate that the company did not achieve substantial market penetration. Robinson & Price later introduced the 6/8 hp in 1913. This was another single-cylinder model and appears to have been the company’s final known automobile. Its introduction came only shortly before the First World War, which began in 1914. Automobile manufacturing across Britain was affected by wartime requirements, industrial disruption, and the diversion of manufacturing capacity. Robinson & Price ended production at the beginning of the war, bringing its short automotive history to a close. The surviving record does not provide reliable information about the company’s founders, directors, manufacturing premises beyond Liverpool, production totals, financial performance, distribution arrangements, or any successor organization. It also does not establish whether the company continued in another line of business after automobile production ended. Consequently, Robinson & Price is principally remembered through catalogues and histories of early British cars as a small, now-defunct manufacturer whose vehicles illustrate the diversity of the pre-war British motor industry.

• 1914

  Automobile production ends

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  Production stops at the start of the First World War, ending Robinson & Price’s known vehicle-manufacturing activity.

• 1913

  6/8 hp model introduced

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  The company introduces the 6/8 hp, a new single-cylinder automobile and its final known model.

• 1906

  Early model production continues

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  The 6½ hp and 10/12 hp models remain part of the company’s documented early production, although only small numbers are reported to have been built.

• 1905

  Automobile production begins

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  Robinson & Price begins manufacturing automobiles in Liverpool, Lancashire, entering the early British motor industry.

• 1905

  6½ hp model introduced

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  The company produces a compact 6½ hp automobile powered by a single-cylinder engine.

• 1905

  10/12 hp model introduced

  [1]Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org

  Robinson & Price adds a 10/12 hp automobile using a two-cylinder engine.

A small-scale British light-car manufacturer serving the early twentieth-century market for compact, relatively simple automobiles.

• Single-cylinder light car · 1905

  6½ hp

  The 6½ hp was one of Robinson & Price’s first documented automobiles and was produced in 1905 and 1906. It used a single-cylinder engine and belonged to the compact, low-power end of the early British automobile market. The model reflected the company’s focus on relatively simple small cars rather than large touring vehicles. Available references do not provide detailed information about body styles, chassis construction, dimensions, or production totals.

• Two-cylinder automobile · 1905

  10/12 hp

  The 10/12 hp was the larger of Robinson & Price’s two early documented models. Its two-cylinder engine placed it above the company’s 6½ hp single-cylinder car in nominal power and suggests an effort to address buyers seeking a somewhat more capable compact automobile. It was manufactured during 1905 and 1906. The historical record indicates that the model achieved limited commercial success and was built only in small numbers.

• Single-cylinder light car · 1913

  6/8 hp

  Introduced in 1913, the 6/8 hp was Robinson & Price’s final known automobile. It returned to the company’s compact single-cylinder format and was introduced shortly before the First World War. Production ended at the beginning of the war in 1914, so the model had only a brief documented manufacturing life. No reliable reference information is available on its body variants, technical specifications beyond engine type and rating, or total output.

1. 1Robinson & Priceen.wikipedia.org