Page "Franklin (automobile)" Paragraph 14

Before he met Herbert Franklin, Wilkinson designed and built two prototype vehicles.

In the summer of 1898 he tinkered with a one-cylinder air-cooled, gasoline engine and by January 1, 1900, he demonstrated his first automobile.

His designs caught the attention of a group of New York businessmen, however, they couldn't decide whether to put Wilkinson's car into production.