Original Founding and Bankruptcy
Originally founded during the Brass Era in 1893 as the Waltham Manufacturing Company of Waltham Massachusetts by C. H. Metz, H. L. Thompson, E. G. Howe, and F. L. Howe. The company would produce bicycles and later automobiles under both the Metz and Orient Brands. Under the Metz brand, they would produce a number of cars of varying performance, many of them Roadsters. The company would eventually fail in 1922.
1978 Revival
Frustrated with bland cars of the malaise era, and number of investors and enthusiasts sought to revive the old New England car company with the goal of keeping it small and independent of the Big3 of Detroit. With the original plant still under the ownership of Raytheon, the new Waltham Motor Works would setup a new HQ in the town and begin building two plants further away along route 2.
The First Two Cars
The first car would be a city economy car known as the “Minute” for east coast urban driving. The second would be a high performance machine known as the “Roadster” but not actually a roadster in the historical sense. Both cars would go on to be mainstays of the Metz lineup.
The Metz Minute
The Minute would at first be criticized for it’s older body style, but in the next few years would be regarded as one of the best American hatches in over a decade, making it the only american hatch to competently compete with the growing popularity of japanese hatches. The Minute would start with a small 44 horsepower 3 cylinder but would later be equipped with the Metz “Enduro 4”, a 1.1liter, 58 horsepower, 4 cylinder boxer, equipped with a 4 valve overhead cam and electronic fuel injection. The Minute TurboSport would be equiped with the larger Metz “Power 4” at 2.1 liters and with turbocharged aspiration, giving it 193 horsepower.
The Metz Roadster
Inspired by the original 1913 Model 22 which had won the Glidden Tour, the new Roadster was designed from the onset as a powerful, maneuverable, supercar. While avoiding the wedge shape that many others would adopt for their sports cars, the Roadster had an odd blend of 1960s muscle and a forward thinking look into what future cars would be. The engine used by the Roadster would be a specially designed 3.3Liter 6 cylinder Boxer simply known as the “Metz Boxer 6”. However, the engine would not be as simple as it’s name. Sporting a 24 Valve Dual Overhead Cam, Aluminum Head, EFI, and Turbocharged Aspiration, the Boxer6 maxed out a 407horsepower @ 6400RPM, the motor would power two generations of Roadsters.
The Metz Sortie
Probably the most ordinary of the Metz lineup, the Sortie was designed to be a reliable and affordable family mover.
The Metz Taconic & Taconic Journier
Preparing to launch the Orient Brand, Waltham Motor Works needed to build an experienced team to create the high end luxury vehicles that Orient would later be known for. To build that experience, Metz hired, poached and assembled a number of luxury designers to build them a high-end, yet affordable luxury sedan that would later become the basis for the future Orient Runabout Relaunch. The car had to be solid, comfortable, and easy to drive. The resulting machine would be the Taconic, a competent premium family car. However, the team was not satisfied with building a machine so ordinary, and the Journier would be released a year later, featuring a 4x4 powertrain, and a naturally aspirated version of the Metz Power4 used in the Minute Turbosport. The Journier would grow especially popular in Northern New England, Upstate New York, and rural Pennsylvania.
Here are the .car files for the First Generation lineup of Metz Automobiles.
Featuring all the cars in the post above.
Mediafire Link, until I have attachment permissions.
The next four generations will be arriving soon!
