Oakman-Hertel
{{Infobox company
| name = Oakman Motor Vehicle Company
| type = Automobile manufacturer
| founded = {{Start date and age|1899}}
| founder = Max Hertel
| defunct = {{end date and age|1900}}
| fate = Closed
| products = Automobiles
| production_year = 1900
}}{{short description|Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer}}
Hertel or Oakman-Hertel was an American veteran automobile company in Greenfield, Massachusetts started in 1899 and closing in 1900.100 Years of the American Auto Millennium Edition, Copyright 1999 Publications International, Ltd.{{cite book | last = Kimes | first = Beverly Rae | authorlink = |author2=Clark Jr |author3=Henry Austin | title = Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805–1942 | publisher = Krause Publications | year = 1996 | location = Iola, WI | pages = 700 | url = | doi = | isbn = 978-0-87341-428-9 }}
History
Max Hertel was an engineer for the American Biscuit Company and entered the 1895 Chicago Times-Herald Race. His small two-cylinder gasoline car, built between two bicycle frames, broke the steering gear on the way to the starting line and he could not compete.
In 1899 Hertel established the Oakman Motor Vehicle Company in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The company produced a two-seat, two-cylinder (581 cc; 2,5 HP),{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015020229970&seq=252 |title= Hertel Motor |date=1900-01-01|publisher= Horseless vehicles, automobiles, motor cycles operated by steam, hydro-carbon, electric and pneumatic motors : a practical treatise for ... everyone interested in the development, use and care of the automobile, including a special chapter on how to build an electric cab, with detail drawings / by Gardner D. Hiscox |access-date=2025-03-15}} tiller steered runabout which sold for $750 ({{Inflation|US|750|1899|fmt=eq}}), that was very similar to his Times-Herald car.
With very few cars selling, creditors closed Hertel's factory in November 1900.