Plass


The Plass was an American automobile manufactured only in 1897 by Reuben H Plass.

Background

Reuben Hopkins Plass was born in Hudson, New York about 1840. His father was John T Plass. At the beginning of the Civil War on 26 April 1861 he was a Lieutenant in Company A of the 7th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. After serving for a few months, on 3 June, he returned to work for his father during the war making cannon and gun blocks. He claimed to have built his first car in the 1860s. He held patents from 1869 for a velocipede and 1874 for a gas governor. After the war, Plass and his father manufacturered bandsaws. Between 1893 and 1895 Plass unsuccessfully sought appointment as a Consul-General to Cuba.
In 1897 Plass invented a luminous lifeline for night use in sea rescues. By January 1899 Plass was bankrupt. In June he was present at the forming of the Automobile Club of America.
Plass fell ill in 1904 and died from this illness on August 27, 1907 in Kings County, New York aged 67 years old. His wife, Isabella Caroline James, survived him.

Vehicle and designs

The Plass was a rear-engined phaeton with an L-shaped tiller designed to be steered by either hand or foot.
The same year Plass designed and patented a self-propelled sleigh with centre wheels and runners at the front and rear, an idea reasonably similar to the concept of modern snowmobiles. Whether he made one is unknown.
In 1899 he patented a single seat dog-cart design with a mid engine,