History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

I have an article somewhere in SIA or Hemmings Classic Cars about a guy that bought all of the remaining Kellers left over from the factory as well as a Bobbi Kar and, I believe, The original Bobbi Kar body buck. I think there were more than 18 Kellers built as I seem to recall that there were about 12 of them in the lot that the guy bought.
As I posted a while back, the guy that lives behind me has 4 Powells and I know of two others not far from me.
They used to be all over in the late 60s, but when is the last time anyone saw a Subaru 360?

 

The Gilmore Car Museum has a nice collection of rare cars built in Michigan by companys most people have never heard of.

 

Dang! Glad to see so manyguys wading in with input.

Please note that because a car isn't made anymore does not make it extinct, in terms of NO surviving specimens.

That would sure as heck make this ture of Franklins -- probably the most successful and long-running early U.S. AIR-COOLED car.

 

I had never heard of Franklin, let alone seen one in person. I did not know how rare it was, or was not. I also knew the whippets aren't as rare, but there are not as many of those as a model a or t. The franklin was the air cooled engine, aluminum bodied sedan, the owner also told me it had a hickory frame, he thought.
Sorry for the confusion, just something new to me.
I never realized there were so many off name automobile companies.

 

Now, THAT said. DUDE! A quick check shows that the Marathon (name apparently take from the 1904 Olympics) sure seems to have been a very good car, with MOST major components made in-house when MANY U.S. cars were "assembled" cars. It was the only mass-produced car made IN Nashville (modern ones are made outside the city limits, I read).

The Marathon offically went from 1911 through 1914, thanks to the oversight of a brilliant yung engineer. By 1914, top management had made terrible decisions, dooming the make.

Reportedly only eight of the hundreds made survive, four of those in the hands of the group that still own the original factory building.

Bottom line (thankfully) NOT extinct -- just not many still around. I am loving this thread. But I never expected the original question to produce NON-controversial results! LOL

This, after all, is WHY guys like to get together and discuss old cars! Keep it coming!

 

BTW, if your read an earlier post, I noted that Whippets were made for some time (by J.N Willys) and, therefore, couldn't be extinct -- scarce, yeah, not extinct.

 

I guess I'm wrong on that, oops.

Now I'm doubting myself that they made aircraft engines. That will teach me to blindly listen to my pops.

 

Karl leFong brings up Keller which is a GREAT subject, if for no other reason than that it shows rarity isn't just an issue with pre-1920, 1930 or even pre-WWII cars.

In the rush to cash in on America's hunger for new cars after WWII, BobbiKar sprang up in California. When the SEC shut them down (extinct?), George Keller dealt for their design & assets. By all accounts, Keller's efforts to build a sort of people's car based on the Bobbi-Kar design were honorable. SURVIVING Kellers show a sedan and station wagon, to the best of my recollection. Not ostentatious, the Keller had a little, dependable Continental engine. Tragically, George Keller died of a heart attack in his NYC hotel room a day or two before he was supposed to seal deals for big enough capital to produce Keller cars for a wide market. End of a man's life -- and dream.

But as Karl leFong (John) noted, surviving Keller cars do exist, though Keller the man died at his namesake's inception.

 

I visited a private museum in Elkhart, IN a few years ago. The museum had an Elkhart touring car. Made in Elkhart, IN of course! Sorry no pics.
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In response to the above previous post, here's some more info and pics .

Pratt Carriage Company began manufacturing automobiles in 1910 and produced a 40 horsepower model until 1912. They then began producing a 50 horspower model. The first cars were called Pratt Elkharts or sometimes a Pratt "40".

The model you see is a 1911 that my father rescued from a field in around St Louis Missouri, restored and finished in 1967. There are only 8 Pratts left in existence that we know of from one owner who has documented and researched them very well. We used this car last on our wedding day 23 years ago and I am currently working on getting it running again.

Oh by the way, did I mention that my last name is in fact Pratt??

 

CanuckTruck: GREAT that you take the makes built in Elkhart, IN, a step farther!

In fact, many of the car makes of Elkhart were part of a "family" of cars started by the Pratt family. which had been respected carriage makers since the late 1800s. Two Pratt brothers made the first Pratt prototype in 1908 and, then production Pratt-Elkharts from 1909 through 1911, calling their cars only Pratt until 1915. At that point they sold 40-percent of stock interest and proceeded to build the "Elcar" from 1915 all the way through 1930.

Bear with me here. From 1909 through 1924, the Crow-Elkhart was also made in Indiana -- but also in Mount Brydge, Ontario. And to make things still more interesting, two more cars were built, early on, in Elkhart: the Sterling (1909-1911) and the Komet (1911).

Now, it's my feeling that many people looking back on U.S. autos made before the WWI (or even before, say, 1930) somehow regard those machines as inferior in quality. Well, different road and general transportation issues were different then, and there was a quite DIFFERENT standard of quality and construction.

That said, the "family of cars produced in Elkhart, IN, were very well-regarded in their era. Engine-wise, they were durable, with many earlier models using Lycoming engines. By 1930, full-size Elcars featured one of America's most POWERFUL engines -- third in power only behind Caddy's V-16 and Deusy's straight-8.

But like so many other lower-production "assembled cars," the companies centered in Elkhart just couldn't keep unit costs low enough to compete with the mass-producers that grew up in the '20s. Simple as that.

And I'll add: I couldn't find a picture of a surviving Sterling or Komet out of Elkhart. So, maybe we're talking "hens' teeth" again, fellow HAMBers!!! Fun thread.

 

I remember once seeing a Jordan magazine ad for his 1927 Jordan "Little Custom." Now, I surely wish I had KEPT it, 'cause I now can't even find a PICTURE, much less any evidence one of the 1,600 Jordan made that year actually SURVIVED. Reportedly, the idea of a SMALL luxury American car (@ $1,595) flopped, leaving Ned unable to give the cars away, since they were about twice the price of nice Ford model. Wasn't like Jordan to blunder, but it put the company 1.5-million in debt AND on a downward spiral that sputtered out for good with his '31 Jordan ACE models (the Speedway Ace is recognized as a true American Classic automobile BTW).

SO, my question is: DOES ANYONE HAVE A PHOTO OF THE "LITTLE CUSTOM" OR KNOW OF ONE IN A MUSEUM? ARE THEY, IN FACT, EXTINCT?

A private collector restorer in Northern Ohio has a running Speedway Ace. But the Little Custom . . . ?

 

The Ben Hur was an automobile produced between the years 1917 and 1918. It was built by L. L. Allen in Willoughby, Ohio. Around 40 cars were produced before May 1918, when the business went into receivership

 

A stamp with a Jordan.

 

On a side note, isn't it kind of funny that every time a thread pops up from somebody builing a car from a cowl that they picked up and can't identify, the responses always seem to be "looks like a Dodge" or some other guess using a common manufacturers name. This thread proves that there are some body parts in barns and garages that will just never be properly identified.

 

Where is the 1948 Beechcraft Plainsman? or the 1958 Charles Town-About (Stinson Aircraft Co.)?..The 1933 Continental/DeVaux, built by the Continental Engine Co..Who owns the 1952 Die-Valkyrie designed by Brooks-Stevens?...

 

How are we supposed to find photos of existing specimen if no existing specimen exist?

 

1923 Arkansas climber

 

1950Jax, YUP, the Ben Hur HAS to be rare, if not extinct. ANYBODY have info confirming one still exists in a museum or with a ocllector?

 

Nefarious Art, that's clever, buddy. For truly EXTINCT CARS, a PHOTO would be about all that still exists (in one case on this thread, all we had was a MANIFOLD stamped with the manufacturer's name). Extinct doesn't mean there is no record. extinct means there are NO surviving specimens.

 

Gasser57, you can say THAT again, man!

 

LowFat48: Man, I think you just brought up aREAL car name that isn't even on the HUGE list referenced on a link eary in this thread!

I NEVER heard of an Arkansas Climber. Wow. ANYBODY have any evidence of one of these still existing somewhere? (museum, collector, etc.)

 

RixRex asked about THESE rare makes:
1948 Beechcraft Plainsman
1958 Charles Town-About (Stinson Aircraft Co.)
1933 Continental/DeVaux (built by the Continental Engine Co.
1952 Die-Valkyrie designed by Brooks-Stevens

Once again, ANYBODY out there have any info to confirm whether one of ANY of these STILL exists? (IF NOT, it might be extinct, so we'd be looking for at least a PICto show what they looked like -- SEE ORIGINAL QUESTION.)

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Although not extinct, and I have personally seen a driving example, there was a car called a "Lexington", originally produced in Lexington, KY; then moved to Indiana. The one I saw was a first year 1909 made in Lexington and was a restored car. It was many years ago and I do not recall any real spectacular things about the car, it was typical of the early 1900s design from what I recall.

See here for more details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington_(automobile)

 

Electrobat:

 

rtden -- Toby!!! GREAT pic of an Electrobat! Wow.

It was such a weird NAME for a car, I wasn't entirely sure they EVER existed. And HERE you show us HAMBers a SURVIVOR! Awesome.

So, where did the creators MAKE these things (who were they anyhow?) and what years? Any INFO???

Cool little machine. First one of these REALLY EARLY little runabouts I would REALLY like to build a repro of! Cool, (and I'll bet my 2 grandkids would like steering this little stinker around!). THANKS for posting this PIC, bro.

 

According to what history I've read so far, the first auto race in America was won by an Electrobat II, 1895. That's some pretty cool trivia. You got to keep that info handy the next time you want baffle your buddies at the next bench racing session.

Below are a couple of links with some interesting information about this early electric car:

http://www.dwkautorestoration.com/Electrobat.html

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/6111/electcar.htm

 

BTW, thanks for this thread. I appreciate a good challenge. It forces you to learn new stuff!!

 

Amen on the CHALLENGE, Toby! YES!!! A lot of guys have thrown out defunct-car names, and I keep challengin them back, to dig up some info OR pix. This has been fun, and it seems to be a popular theme with hotrodders and about anybody who really digs old cars of every era. (From my POV, I wonder how ANYBODY can love cars WITHOUT wanting to see the EARLIEST, the most exotic, biggest, smallest, fastest, most creatively style, the ugliest, the best, the WORST, etc., etc. HOTRODS, CUSTOMS, CARS IN GENERAL ARE JUST ADDICTIVE!!!)

(BTW, I LIKE your avatar image!!! My BROTHER had one of those kits, and THAT was my first source of understanding for the guts of a V-8. So, at about 10, I was HOOKED! LOL)

 

37Chevy454, here's a "nutshell" account on the once-proud Lexington make, buddy.

Built from 1910 through 1927, Lexingtons were lower-production but well-regarded "assembled" cars, using Ansted and Continental engines of various displacements and cylinder configurations during their tenure in the U.S. auto marketplace. Starting in Lexington, KY, the company had relocated to Connersville, IN, by 1920 -- Lexington's pinnacle year, with some 6,000 cars sold.

Not a low-profile car company, Lexington had an entry in the 1912 Indy 500 (only 10 of 24 starters finished that grueling race!) and won the 1920 Pikes Peak Climb. They also boasted a number of industry firsts and helped pioneer other tech advances. Among these were an innovative multiple-exhaust system (1911), making lighter Lexingtons something of a "performance" car in the early days! Lexington was among the first to offer an emergency brake and was making and pushing enclosed cars even before Essex (which generally got the credit). Besides their "hard top," as they called it, Lexington was on the forefront of the move to all-steel construction and as early as 1917 was "boxing" chasses in, adding rigidity most earlier cars, unfortunately, did not enjoy.

But the higher-priced Lexingtons fell from public favor after the recession of 1921, with sales falling by two-thirds just by 1922! With mass-produced cars increasingly grabbing market share, Lexington sales faded to just 200 by 1926, when E.L. Cord bought out the assets of both Lexington and Ansted. With no realistic hope of reviving Lexington's earlier prestige, the marque was quietly phased out after the 1927 models.

 

I think that was built in Anderson, Indiana