It should come as no surprise to learn that the Orient name first appeared on a Bicycle. In 1893 champion bicyclist Charles H. Metz, who later went on to build the Metz, organized the Waltham Manufacturing Company to build the Orient Bicycle. Pushed by investor and General Electric president Charles Coffin, in 1899 the company showed an electric vehicle in New York. Although the electric for Coffin wasn't the death of the company, neither Metz nor the employees who built it were happy with the vehicle.
By 1902 Metz had his fill of investor meddling in the company and he left Orient, which by that time was an American agent for deDion and was a producer of its own quads and trikes, as well as a proper four-wheeled motorcar.
With Metz gone, investors Coffin and M.P. Clough brought in Leonard Gaylor, who promptly designed the elemental motor vehicle dubbed the Orient Buckboard. Looking almost exactly like a large rear-engine go-cart, the vehicle used a 4hp Orient single-cylinder engine, had no suspension as such and would travel at up to 30mph. One of the many catch slogans for the little $375 vehicle was Cheapest Car in the World.
The Orient Buckboard from the Wiglesworth Collection was restored at some point and remains in very nice condition with its original Orient brass lamps. The wood is well protected with varnish and there is no reason to think that the Buckboard's air-cooled engine wouldn’t spring right back to life. With only wire wheels and a wooden body structure for suspension and the power or the average push lawnmower, the Orient Buckboard isn't exactly suited for modern traffic conditions. But it is a fascinating piece of early automotive history that could offer a great deal of fun and interest.
