OKEY

Perry Okey (1896-1907)

Okey Automobile Co. (1907)

Columbus, Ohio

This is an Okey nameplate (1907)     mjs
Size: 102mm wide 38mm high

Perry Okey had his own machine shop at age 16 and he built his first car, a tricycle, in 1896 with a single-cylinder water-cooled engine, which he also designed. He later designed an air-cooled engine for his car.

In 1900 Perry Okey became a one-man auto company. He built a chain-driven 14 hp single-cylinder, water-cooled runabout.  He sold this car in 1901 and another in 1902. By 1904 Okey was building two-cylinder cars and four were built and sold by the end of 1905. The car and its superb performance were reported in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal in 1906 following a demonstration ride with Okey. As a result, Perry Okey received a small amount of financing and the Okey Automobile Company was formed in January 1907.

The new Okey was a three-cylinder 20 hp runabout with shaft-drive. It was a superb vehicle but money ran out in November 1907.

Total Okey production is unknown but is believed to have been between 12 and 24 cars.

Emblem

The Okey did not carry a radiator emblem but the Okey vehicles made in 1907 did carry a combined maker's nameplate and serial plate. The Okey nameplate marked No. 23 shown above is extremely rare.