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

BoardTrackFan, thanks for mentioning the Alter automobile. Indeed, out of around 1,000 produced in Plymouth, MI, ONLY ONE, a 1915, is know to exist. It was finally acquired by a Plymouth resident, Clarence Moore, and it is on permanent display at the Plymouth Historical Museum. The Alter was named for its designer, Clarence Alter of Manitowoc, WI.

Though the privately owned company was founded in early 1914, most of the year seems to have gone for factory construction. As with Ned Jordan's successful company, Plymouth was located on a rail line so that components could be economically hauled in from suppliers for construction of finished cars. According to Wikipedia, it appears the company got up to speed in 1915 and 1916, employing some 100 people and putting out up to 25 cars a day.

The Alter business model called for building low-price quality "assembled" cars with "the classy look and finish of the higher priced cars." By standards of some other companies, Alter's scope and business approach seems pretty conservative. During its two full years of production, Alter offered a 5-passenger touring, with a roadster occurring later. Both were on a 108-inch wheelbase. Horsepower for the 1916 four-cylinder was rated at 27.

Despite a competitive, for then, price under $700, Alter was forced into receivership by January 1917 and closed its doors for good. I could find no record of whether government wartime curtailment of steel or other supplies played a role in Alter's demise.



1915 Alter 5-passanger tourer

 

Cooley Automobiles...... Batavia, NY

On April 2nd 1900 The Daily News of Batavia reprted that Robert L. Cooley who was the propriotor of a bicycle shop in town, was building an automobile which he wuld fit with a 4 hp gasoline engine, and 28 inch bicycle wheels. The year following, in partnership with Daniel W. Tomlinson, Cooley built another automobile patterned after a steamer that Tomlinson had purchased that summer. This car may have been revised from the gasoline car of the previous year. Subsequently Cooley and Tomlinson built another steam car for an ex-railroad engineer living in nearby Corfu. this represented the total extent of the Cooley/tomlinson production.

Klink.........Dansville, NY (1907-1910)

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Klink
The Klink Motor Car Mfg. Co.
Dansville, NY
1906-1909 Klink Motor Car Manufacturing Company was formed in 1906 by F. R. Dreisbach, E. O. Hoffman, B. H. Obendorf, N. Uhl and J. F. Klink. The Klink was an American Automobile organized under the laws of New York. The Factory was located in Dansville, NY and produced three different models from 1906 to 1909.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<CENTER>
1907 Touring Car</CENTER>The first Klink automobiles were available as a 108 inch wheelbase five passenger Touring Car or two passenger Roadster with a standard price of $2,000.00. By 1907 the price was down to $1,800.00 and a larger seven passenger Touring Car was offered. The Klink automobiles were equipped with four cylinder engines of 30 horsepower or 40 horsepower both with a three speed sliding gear transmission and shaft drive.

 

Klepfer.........Depew, NY (1912-1914)

The Klepfer Brothers of Depew were Mathew, John, and Frank, the last named having established a Buick agency in town in 1905. From 1912-1914 the brothers constructed the two prototype cars with the intention of following with a small series of a half dozen examples. Their inability to secure parts because of the materials shortages concomitant to the onset of Wrold War 1 thwarted their palsn. Only the two prototypes were completed, some parts of one of them remaining with the Klepfer family to this day.

I would call that pretty much extinct!

 

In the earlier Auburns (32-34) there was a lever next to the gear shift for the 2 speed. On the 35/36 the lever is mounted on the steering wheel where your advance/retard would normally go. You can switch speeds on the fly and it works really well. High is great for high way driving (that's how they got those cars up to 100mph). I wish every car in the 1930s had this setup. The 2 speed rear end is actually lighter then the weight of the worm gear rear in my Stutz. If anyone wants one I have a setup in my garage that would be great on a special .

The bodies were not intricate to build, in fact they were all left overs from the earlier years speedster production. When the bodies were gone, the production ended.

As the guy that started the thread, you can change the title by editing the original post, using the "go advanced" button and then simply changing the title in the edit box.

 

Thanks, AlsAncle! The Auburn is one of those early makes that, to me, seem almost mythical today.

Thanks, too, for the advice. If I hear no objections, I'll go ahead and attempt to retitle this thread, more inline with the direction it has taken of relatively late.

Extinct, Near-Extinct & Very Rare U.S. Makes & Models

Is this OKAY in everyone's eyes?

 

Okay, now I went through those steps to retitle the thread appropriately. It DID change the title of Post #1, but the thread still appears on the main board under the original title. Does the process, perhaps, take a few hours while an editor must find time to review and approve it? Thanks! -- Jimi (Below is the text of Post #1)

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Old School HAMBer

Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: columbus, ohio
Posts: 2,508


</TD><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_4327298 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e5e5e5 1px solid"><!-- icon and title --> Extinct, Near-Extinct & Very Rare U.S. Makes & Models
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<!-- message -->Hi, guys. I've been watching the revival of an old thread where guys rae trying to remember TRULY EXTINCT American car makes.

FIRST, EXTINCT MEANS THERE ARE NO SURVIVING SPECIMENS OF THE CAR, MADE BY U.S. AUTO MAKERS, OKAY? NONE. ZIP. (NO SURVIVORS).

Now HERE is the dare : Try and find a PIC (or at least some evidence) that ANY of the following makes still have a survivng specimen, be it in a museum, private hands, etc. Remember, I did NOT make these up !!!

Royal Princess
Everybody's
Darling
Cutting
Ben Hur
Geronimo
Bobbie Kar
Electrobat
Gearless
AC Propulsion
Zip
Beaver
Dodo (yeah, the extinct bird name)

Again, these were REAL American car makes. Have at it!
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Go for it!!!

 

HJ, thanks. Just makes sense. First title was a sort of shot in the dark -- WAY too vague.

Experiencing a tech glitch, but by Monday, maybe a HAMB editor can help me make it happen. I reported to them and asked for their assistance.

This thread has been TOO much fun (and may I say TOO valuable a HAMB asset) to keep going with a lame, inappropriate title. JUST NEED TO MAKE IT APPEAR ON THE MAIN BOARD THIS WAY NOW!!!

Appreciate your and everybody's patience!

 

Hope this isn't already posted,there's too many posts to read through.
Anyway I remember back in high school in the '70's a guy had a Powell pickup truck,it was the only one I've ever seen.
They also made a "Sport Wagon"


http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/powellregistry/index.html

 

Hi, Y2K in Yacolt (where's that?). The Powell was covered, BUT your pictures are much better. And I didn't know they offered a "Sport Wagon." Fun to SEE these pix, man!

PS: You can go to the top of any page and put the MAKE name you're looking for into the red bar marked SEARCH. It'll show you what may have been posted on your make previously.

 

Thanks I did do a search but came up with dozens of posts with Powell in them and after quite a few gave up looking,most were some car builder named Powell.
Yacolt is a tiny SW Washington logging town near Mt.St.Helens.

Looking out my back door here at the house.

 

Looks to me like Al has done a pretty good job on the 35/36 Auburn Speedsters. Something you guys should keep in mind is that the majority of so called '35/'36 Auburn Speedsters you see at the average car shows today are REPLICARS. A lot of REPLICAR owners will pass them off as REAL '35/'36 Auburn Speedsters all day long. So, look carefully, you might not be looking at the GENUINE article. To me. the best Auburn REPLICA was the ORIGINAL one built by Glenn Pray. Here's a little history on Glenn Pray and the Auburn Automobile Co. courtesy of Milestone Motorcars.

<table border="0" bordercolor="#c0c0c0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="1" width="95%"><tbody><tr><td align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="bottom" width="251" height="84"> </td> <td align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="463" height="84"> AUBURN Speedsters.com
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top" width="729" height="1"> www.auburnspeedsters.com from the good guys at milestone motorcars</td> </tr> </tbody></table>

<center> <table bordercolorlight="#000000" bordercolordark="#000000" bgcolor="#d8d6a5" border="1" bordercolor="#242424" cellspacing="1" width="95%"> <tbody><tr> <td bordercolorlight="#000000" bordercolordark="#000000" bgcolor="#000000" width="100%">

AUBURN-CORD-DUESENBERG CO
Manufactured the Auburn 866 Speedster and 874 Phaeton

established in 1938​

</td> <td bordercolorlight="#000000" bordercolordark="#000000" bgcolor="#000000" width="100%"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </center> ​

<table bordercolordark="#000000" bordercolorlight="#000000" style="border: 3px double rgb(0, 0, 0);" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="1" cellpadding="15" cellspacing="1" width="95%"> <tbody><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="100%"> The Auburn Automobile Company closed it's doors in 1937. The Company and it's remaining parts inventory were purchased by Dallas Winslow, a Detroit entrepreneur in 1938 for $85,000 plus an additional $25,000 for the Auburn administration building. This newly acquired company was renamed the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company. Buying up bankrupt manufacturing companies was Mr. Winslow's forte. Dallas Winslow would eventually own over 300 such companies. Mr. Winslow would continue to operate these old businesses as parts suppliers. The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company (ACD Co.) would not only offer replacement parts to the now orphaned car owners, but would also offer service work. Later on, restoration work would be available at the original Auburn, Indiana factory by former Auburn employees.

The ACD Co. would continue to operate in this manor until an Oklahoma industrial arts teacher and Cord restorer, by the name of Glenn Pray, offered to buy the ACD Co. With financial help from friend Wayne McKinley, Glenn would eventually strike a deal with Dallas Winslow. The remaining inventory of ACD parts were packed up and moved to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. According to Glenn Pray's estimate, he thinks that they transported 700,000 pounds of parts. Glenn Pray had actually purchased much more than just parts. He now controlled the trademark names, Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg.

Once the ACD Co. was moved to Oklahoma and set up, it began offering parts and restoration work again. It was not long after the move that Mr. Pray had thoughts of putting the 1936-1937 Cord back into production. He did just that... A newly engineered front wheel drive Modern Cord 8/10 was available from the ACD Co. in 1964. Gordon Buehrig, the cars original designer, worked with Glenn on the design of the new 8/10 Cord (8/10 meaning eight tenths the size of the original Cord).

I will not attempt to tell the "New" Cord story, nor could I tell it as it deserves to be told. Glenn's accomplishments and the 8/10 Cord story have been highlighted over the years in many major publications. Automobile Quarterly has written several interesting Glenn Pray articles. An award winning film festival documentary, "Prays Passion", was released a few years ago on DVD. It is a must see for any Auburn-Cord enthusiast. The book entitled "Glenn Pray-The Man Who Brought Legends to Life" by Josh B. Malks has recently been released in limited printings. The book was four years in the making and is an excellent read.

After Glenn's involvement with the Cord ended it would not be long before he turned his attention and energy's towards building a Modernized Version of the 1935/851 - 1936/852 Auburn Speedster. Engineering started in 1966. An original Auburn Speedster body was purchased. The body was disassembled and all of the body components were restored to their original condition. These parts were then modified to be used for mold making. The molds were used to make an exact copy of the original body. This new body was then modified to be installed on a modern Ford convertible chassis with a wheel base that was extended to 127". Ford Motor Company provide the engine, transmission and rear axle assembly to be used on the Auburn prototype. Ford agreed to furnish parts for the production cars at OEM prices.

The prototype Speedster was completed in April 1967. The first public showing was August 1967 at the annual ACD Club meet in Auburn, Indiana. The car was then road tested for forty thousand miles. Only minor modifications were needed for the production Speedsters. The New Auburn, to be known as the 866 Speedster, was made available to the public in 1968. The New Speedsters were priced at $8,450. The 1968 production cars were equipped with a big block 428 Ford engine, your choice of either an automatic or four speed transmission. Functional supercharger style exhaust pipes, 2 pipes per side, were standard equipment. Power Steering, Power Brakes and Air Conditioning were just a few of the modern conveniences being offered on these cars. The cars weighed an estimated 3,000 pounds with a perfect 50-50 weight distribution that was achieved by setting the engines back 16" from Ford's original chassis layout. At the time it was estimated that the first 100-125 Speedsters could be trimmed out in original NOS (new old stock) Auburn parts that had been acquired with the ACD Co. purchase. The 866 Speedsters were produced through 1981. Glenn built 138 Auburns in his factory and sold an estimated 90-100 Speedsters that were in various stages of completion. By the early to mid 1970's the 866 Speedsters were selling for $16,000-$18,000. In their final years of production, the cars were priced in the low $30,000 range

Not Speedsters, but equally beautiful cars are the Auburn 874 Phaetons that were also built by Glenn Prays' ACD Co. The car is a stretch dual cowl, dual windshield Auburn Speedster, less the boattail. The rear of the car was inspired by the 810/812 Cord. I met Glenn in 1978 at the ACD Club meet. He was delivering a then new, Maroon 874 Phaeton to it's new owner. The car was unbelievable, it drew a crowd all weekend. The concept and development of the 874 Auburn Phaeton is another very interesting story and is covered in both the Book and the DVD mentioned earlier. Glenn Pray ended Auburn production in 1981 due to health reasons. There were only 18 of these car fantastic cars produced. The 874 Phaeton's sold in the $45,000 to $60,000 range.

Glenn Pray still offers parts and restoration services from his Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Co. I was last there in 2005 for Glenn's Annual Open house, usually held in May or June. All ACD cars are welcome, regardless of their original manufacturer. Glenn Pray is a great host. Glenn's personal museum of vintage anything and everything is open. His collection is displayed on two levels. Don't forget to bring your camera. You will definitely want to tour the old factory and parts warehouse. The whole experience is like a trip back through time. The original Auburn factory parts bins are still there with plenty of parts. The bins and cabinets still have the original Auburn Automobile Company part numbers and descriptions on the drawers. There are literally ton's of used and NOS (new old stock) parts stored away. I saw, still new, parts wrapped in the 1960 newspaper used in the move from Auburn, Indiana. There are always interesting restoration projects in Glenn's shop along with a lot of great stories.

Glenn's great success with his Auburn 866 Speedster spawned many copy-cat Auburn Speedster companies to start up. None, that I am aware of, had Glenn's blessings. I have touched on some of these other companies elsewhere on this website.

Glenn Prays Book "The Man Who Brought Legends to Life" is available in the Swap Meet area of this website along with the DVD "Prays Passion". Both are very informative and are must haves for the Auburn Cord Duesenberg enthusiast.

Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company
Glenn Pray (ACD club member)​

Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Company
122 S. Elm Place, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 74012
Tel: 918-251-3161 / website: www.glenn-pray-cord-group.com​

</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table bgcolor="#d8d6a5" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing="1" width="746" height="65"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="121" height="1"> Auburn
Speedsters
Home Page</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="128" height="1"> Auburn
Automobile Co.
History</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="148" height="1"> The Second
Generation
Auburn Speedsters</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="152" height="1"> Auburn
Speedster
Manufacturers</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="113" height="1"> Auburn Parts Suppliers</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table bgcolor="#d8d6a5" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellspacing="1" width="746" height="65"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="128" height="1"> Auburn
Speedster
Photo Gallery</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="127" height="1"> Swap Meet
Parts and
Automobilia</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="110" height="1"> Auburn
Speedsters
For Sale</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="110" height="1"> Road Trips
& Travel</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="110" height="1"> Car Shows
and Events Calendar</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="110" height="1"> F</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

I had a guy swear up and down that this Glenn Pray 4 Door Phaeton was not a REPLICA in any way. He shows it as a 1936 Auburn. Well, Auburn never built this body style in 1936, so it's not a REPLICA in that sense.

This body style was designed by Glenn Pray and introduced in 1974, so it is a REPLICA in that sense.

It is NOT a 1936 Auburn. It IS a 1974 Auburn REPLICATED as a 1936 Auburn that was NEVER BUILT!

 

I got this from the Perless website www.peerlessmotorcar.com June 2008 newsletter.

There will be a few Peerless cars a Pebble Beach this year; this should be good for some publicity on the great cars of Peerless. Allen Unrien is doing some research on the 1932 aluminum Peerless and has found that Peerless was working with the engineers of Alcoa Aluminum to develop this car. They are researching the Alcoa archives and hopefully they will find some more information on the development of it. It is too bad that the Peerless Corporation archives were lost, it makes researching the company very difficult. This is why there has never been an accurate history ever written about the Peerless Motor Car Company. I am slowly putting it together but still have many unanswered questions. If any of you have any information on Peerless please share it with me so I can make this history as complete as possible.

 

Testing

 

Testing

 

I did a reply to the #1 post with the revised title and the revised title appeared.

I did a quick reply in general and the unrevised title appeared. Just experimenting.

 

reply to post 1070 shows revised title.

 

Thanks, HJ. Seems as though we'll get this thread "shifted into second gear" here soon. We'll SEE how the header comes up when I post THIS reply, eh?

BTW, enjoyed all the info on Glen Pray. I'd seen the 8/10 at a show, as well as a '36 or '37 Auburn speedster repro. I appreciate these "tributes" to E.L. & Buehrig's work. But, in all honesty, they look good from a distance but wouldn't "fool" an auto afficionado, up close. To anyone who's stood next to a real 810 or 812, the 8/10 actually LOOKS too small. Maybe it looks fine tooling down the street, though.

 

Well, SHOOT!

 

Y2K, beautiful of Mount St. Helens there! Does your proximity have anything to with how you arrived at your HAMB handle? I remember seeing the shift preceeding the eruption back in '80 (?). Like the airlines smashing into the Trade Center towers, that eruption was just plian SURREAL!

 

Sounds good to me.
As I said before, I'm having a lot of fun with this thread, and hope to keep up with it! It's been a great read so far........

 

Thanks, Swi. We'll get this re-titling straightened out. Yes, this HAS been a tremendously enjoyable discussion. Kind of reminds me of a gathering place where people ocme in as they can and juts talk about a common passion -- in this instance, scarce old cars. Given the long list of defunct makes, plus one-offs, prototypes, special editions, etc., I think we could go ALL winter -- probably much longer!!!

 

Atterbury.......The Atturbury was a huge ten-passenger touring car produced in 1911. It was the second car built by the firm which had begun business in Buffalo, NY in 1904 as the Auto Car Equipment Company and which in addition to commercial vehicles produced passenger Auto Car in 1907. In 1909 tyhe firm's name was changesd to Atterbury Motor car company to avoid confusion with Autocar from Pennsylvania. Trucks remained the principal focus of attention.

Auto Car........The Auto ar Equipment company was incorporated by John B. Concoran, George W. Atterbury, and Elmer B. Olmstead in 1904 for the purpose of building commercial vehicles. In 1907, in addition to its line of delivery wagons, trucks, buses, and sightseeing cars, Auto Car offered a six-cylinder 60hp limousine thast was stretched over a commercial chassis of unspecified length. It was gargantuan, seating seven to ten passengers, and was advertised (probably without fear of contradiction) as the largest limousine in the United States. Although a "Limousine Department" was set up in Buffalo for its marketing it quickly became a lonely placebecause Auto Car discontinued the car after only one year to fully return to the business it knew best. At some point the firm's name changed to the Auto Car Manufacturing Company and in Dec. 1909 it changed again to the Atturbury Motor Car company. The reason was given to avoid confusion with the Autocar from Pennsylvania. In 1911 a ten passenger Atturbury touring car was offered, but again this venture into the passenger car market was for one season only. In may 1912 the Atturbury Motor Car Company changed its name to the Atturbury Truck Company, and commercial vehicles production was the companies sole emphasis.
​

1919 Atterbury Truck
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Advertised in the April 5, 1919 issue of Country Gentleman magazine.

 

The 'Buffalo Car' & 'Thomas Flyer'

The first automobile manufactured by the E.R. Thomas Motor Car Co. was in 1903. The cars were small, single-cylinder two-seater runabouts called the "Buffalo." E.R. Thomas began manufacturing the Thomas Flyer touring car in 1904, and in 1908 a Thomas Flyer won the 22,000-mile New York to Paris Race (aka "The Great Race").

Ad for 1905 Thomas Flyer by the E.R. Thomas Motor Car Co.


The E.R. Thomas Motor Company built automobiles from 1902 and 1919. In 1912, the company went into receivership, and was purchased by Empire Smelting & Refining Company owner C.A. Finnegan. E.R. Thomas was finally shut down between 1918 and 1919.

The "E.R. Thomas Motor Company" located in Buffalo, New York, was founded by Erwin Ross Thomas in the late 1890s. The E.R. Thomas company began as a manufacturer of "Cleveland bicycles," but was one of the many companies that decided to diversify into the world of motor-driven bicycles, motorized tricycles, and automobiles that were becoming the latest fad at the turn of the century.

The E. R. Thomas Auto-Bi Company

The "Auto-Bi" was manufactured under the "Buffalo Automobile and Auto-Bi Company" which manufactured cars and motorbikes. The 1901 E.R. Thomas 'Auto-Bi' had a 442cc single cylinder motor, wood wheels and handlebars, and a leather belt drive.




Most automakers started out making bicycles, then even motorcycles before making cars.

 

1912 Hupp-Yeats Electric, coach model

The Hupp-Yeats electric car was made by the company started by Robert C. Hupp after he left Hupmobile. Something over 1,200 Hupp-Yeats were built from 1911 through 1919. Low original numbers, along with relatively steep prices help to explain why ONLY THREE Hupp-Yeats survive today. Prices ranged from under $2,000 up to $5,000.

The Hupp-Yeats was lower slung than most other electrics of that time and came in closed and open models. Depending on the observer, the Renault-like styling was either reviled or seen as aerodynamic (odd term for a slow, early electric, no?). They used Westinghouse motors with 5-speed selector. Solid rubber tires were standard throughout the Hupp-Yeats' run.

Anyone have a better pic of this very RARE Robert Craig Hupp automobile???

[BTW, has anybody yet come up with a photo or decent magazine illustration of the Jordan Little Custom]

 

I was wrong about the thread originator being able to change the title:

No...once you submit your thread, the title is locked. A moderator can come in and change it if he's got time..
Rocky
Classified's moderator

 

Clarence was indeed my grandfathers friend. Together they put in 1000s of hours building the Plymouth historical museum where the car resides.

 

From 1909 through 1924, the Crow-Elkhart was also made in Indiana -- but also in Mount Brydge, Ontario.



<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=557 height=1049 cool gridx="16" showgridx usegridx gridy="16" showgridy usegridy><TBODY><TR height=16><TD height=16 width=556 colSpan=5></TD><TD height=16 width=1><SPACER type="block" width="1" height="16"></TD></TR><TR height=48><TD height=48 width=48 colSpan=2></TD><TD height=48 vAlign=top width=464 colSpan=2 align=left content csheight="32" xpos="48">1913 Crow-Elkhart Roadster

​

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</TD><TD height=400 width=1><SPACER type="block" width="1" height="400"></TD></TR><TR height=584><TD height=584 vAlign=top width=480 colSpan=2 align=left content csheight="343" xpos="16">

The Crow-Elkhart grew from a plan to build the Menges self-starter automobile at the Sterling-Hudson Whip Company in Elkhart, Indiana. Dr. E.C. Crow and his son Martin departed the Menges project to begin producing automobiles with their own name. Crow-Elkharts were powered by Rutenber, Lycoming, Herschell-Spillman, Gray and Atlas proprietary engines. The last Crow-Elkharts, sold in 1923-25, were assembled from left-over parts.​

Specifications: Model C-3 roadster serial no. 5786; engine Atlas four-cylinder, in-line, water-cooled, 33 hp., no. 7314. Price new: $1,200.​

​

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The Elgin Ideal Realized

To make a motor car individual in design,
sturdy in construction, accurate in the finest
details of it's mechanism, powerful, dependable
in every service, economical in operation, equal
in beauty to the most costly types, yet obtainable
at a price that fits the purse of the average American
Family, is the ideal realized in the building of the
Elgin Six
​

​

1916 Elgin Six Touring Car​

ELGIN — Argo, Illinois— (1916-1923), Indianapolis, Indiana — (1923 - 1924) —"The Car of the Hour" and "Built like a Watch" were scarcely subtle reminders that several executives of the famed Illinois company producing clocks and timepieces had decided to enter the automotive arena. They did this by taking over the defunct New Era Motor Car Company of Joliet and moving it part and parcel to Argo. There a 210,000-square foot factory awaited on 13 acres of land "to provide for future expansion."

The Elgin was a conventional car that performed exceedingly well in Midwest endurance contests, which demonstrated that "Illinois roads are not roads." The most interesting model was a six arriving in 1922 that featured the Cutler-Hammer pre-selective gearbox, double transverse rear suspension, and a built-in trunk. Apparently the Elgin Motor Car Corporation was an immensely popular proposition for small investors.

Attendance at annual stockholders meetings was so large they had to be held in a tent. A stock dividend of 10 percent had been paid in July 1916 and a cash dividend of five percent in July 1920. Nineteen-twenty was Elgin's best year ever with sales totalling over $7 million. Then Elgin hit the postwar recession hard, and sold a bond issue of $500,000 to pay bank loans and "provide additional working capital."

In June of 1923 Elgin stockholders formed a new corporation — Elgin Motors, Inc. — with J.H..McDuffee, formerly an officer with the Willys-Overland and Cole companies, as president and general manager. Indianapolis was selected as the new home of the Elgin car, and the buildings of the old Federal Motor Works in that city were purchased. It was all over soon after that. Manufacture began in Indianapolis, but in late June of 1924 the new Elgin company was placed in receivership, following a suit brought by plant manager M.S. Black on a salary claim.

History from Wikipeida and OldCompany.com.



According to the Elgin Owners Registry there are (9) Elgins known to exist.

See link: http://beaver.vinu.edu/Eowners.HTM