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

While looking for info on the Mason Maytag, I found there was another auto manufacturer in Iowa:

Colby Motor Company

Mason City entrepreneur, William Colby, founded the Colby Motor Company in 1910. The first Colby, a five-passenger touring car, took to Mason City's streets on November 12, 1910. It performed to all expectations and was fast enough to earn a speeding ticket for its test driver.
Colby equipped his cars with premium materials and an engine designed to withstand Iowa's winters. Colby automobiles were put through endurance tests over the state's rutted, muddy dirt roads. The cars passed the tests with flying colors, including a 658-mile run from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Helena, Montana.
Colby also participated in the newly developing dirt-track car races being held throughout the Midwest. Billy Pearce, a Colby driver on the racing circuit, broke many track records and won trophies for the company. He died in 1911 while racing the Colby Red Devil in Sioux City. The car was repaired but never raced again.
The Colby Motor Company was short-lived. A competitive auto market, company mergers and later reorganizations put the company out of business in 1914. Nine hundred Colby cars were manufactured, but only a few have survived. One has been carefully restored and is displayed at the Kinney Pioneer Museum in Mason City, Iowa.
<TABLE border=0 width="80%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=middle><TD>
Halladay car, 1911. (ACM pilot car).
COLBY 1</TD><TD>
Night control at Fargo, North Dakota, 1911.
COLBY 2</TD><TD>
The Colby car, as it looked on leaving Sullivan Hill, 1911.
COLBY 3</TD></TR></TBODY>
</TABLE>

 

Sure would like to see pictures of the Studebaker Astral...try it one more time?!

 

What is old id new again.

 

Old Canadian Railway Inspection Cars Thread


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=485125

 

Here is a 31 Reo Royale owned by the same gentleman since the 1950s.

 

I tried it, if the picture goes to the dreaded red X, try this link!
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2009/06/12/studebaker-astral-one-wheel-atomic-concept-car/

Or this link.
http://www.wired.com/cars/coolwheels/multimedia/2009/04/gallery_car_museum

 

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=1451 height=3494 usegridy usegridx showgridy showgridx gridy="16" gridx="16" cool><TBODY><TR height=53><TD height=53 vAlign=top width=776 colSpan=8 content csheight="39" xpos="8">

[FONT=Helvetica, Geneva, Arial, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif]Keith and Eileen Carpenter's Fascination[/FONT]

​

</TD><TD height=53 width=1><SPACER width="1" type="block" height="53"></TD></TR><TR height=674><TD height=674 width=16 colSpan=2></TD><TD height=674 vAlign=top width=768 colSpan=7 content csheight="674" xpos="16">You know the adage “Be careful what you wish for?”
Keith and Eileen Carpenter of Parker, Colo., know it well. One Sunday morning in 1975 or 1976, they were driving down West Colfax Avenue in Denver when they spotted an airplane-shaped car sitting on the lot of Vern Hagestad’s Volkswagen dealership. The Carpenters whipped a U-turn and went back to check out the weird black and gold “car” called the Fascination.
“Boy, I’d like to own that someday,” Keith said to Eileen. Little did he know that one day they would own three of the five Fascinations ever built.
About 10 years later, the Carpenters were sharing their weekly Sunday breakfast with a friend who said he bought a very unusual car at a storage auction. He took them to see it, and there, on a trailer, was the same black and gold car they had seen 10 years earlier. It was basically intact, but the long tails, although still with the car, had been sawed off because they were too long for the storage facility. The windshield was also cracked.
Their friend put the car back into storage, and the Carpenters bought it when he succumbed to cancer 20 years ago.
In-depth research by the Carpenters unearthed much of the Fascination’s history. It was the brainchild of Paul M. Lewis, a Colorado man who, in the 1930s, designed a three-wheeled Airomobile. The Airomobile was not successful, but he kept his idea alive. In the late 1960s he built the Fascination and started the Highway Aircraft Corp. in Sidney, Neb. Five vehicles were built before the company collapsed.
The Carpenters’ black and gold Fascination is car No. 1, the original prototype that was built in Denver. It originally had airplane propellers in the rear, but one failed during a demonstration. Propellers were abandoned and a Volkswagen engine was installed.
A year ago the Carpenters bought the red and white car No. 2 that you see here. It is powered by a four-cylinder Renault engine under the back window. Cars No. 3 and 4 also had Renault engines.
Car No. 5, which the Carpenters also own, has never been fully finished. It has a V-6 engine and the transaxle from an Oldsmobile Toronado.
So what do the Carpenters do with the Fascination? Car No. 1 is being restored, but Car No. 2 has been on the auto-show circuit this year. They have taken it to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Jacksonville, Fla., Keels and Wheels in Houston, and the Meadowbrook Concours in suburban Detroit.
Do they drive it? “No,” Eileen Carpenter said, “it’s a trailer queen. We don’t drive it because it simply creates too much havoc the way people gawk and pay attention to it.”
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>Y.E.onDOMReady(show_notes_initially);</SCRIPT>
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>F.decorate(_ge('photo_notes'), F._photo_notes).notes_go_go_go(3368131518, 'http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3368131518_c17eb3626c_t.jpg', '3.1444');</SCRIPT><FORM style="VISIBILITY: hidden" id=fave_form method=post> </FORM><!-- PHOTO CONTENT: DESCRIPTION, NOTES, COMMENTS -->
Ben F. Gregory was an early advocate of front-wheel drive and built a small number of such vehicles.

This prototype sedan had a four cylinder, rear mounted engine that drove the front wheels. A drive shaft went from the rear to the front wheels.

Only one built.
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>Y.E.onDOMReady(show_notes_initially);</SCRIPT>

 

1931 REO Royale Convertible Coupe, taken by
Douglas Wilkinson for RemarkableCars at the
2005 Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance in
Rochester, MI.

AJ, I really feel that the Royale was one of the grandest cars of a darn grand decade. While the nation was wallowing in the depression, the auto industry still produced cars every bit as beautiful as those of the '20s -- as well as anything from Europe. At 358-CID & a five-inch stroke, the Royal would have pulled hills and run with all but the most elite, eh? Too bad the Depression made what was a fine, fine reasonably priced car rather expensive for most people, at some $2-3 grand.

Since serious car people know RE Olds' stature, I don't mean to carp for them. But I really don't think most folks nowadays realize who the OTHER giants of U.S. auto history were -- BESIDES Henry Ford. For my money, some of the true great get shoved to the wings while people dwell on discussing Ford, Durant and ol' Walt.

A few on my Blue Ribbon panel would include Olds, J.N. Willys, Charlie Nash, the Appersons, the Stanleys and, probably the most unsung yet deserving of all, Charles Brady King.

Here's a brief quote from www.absolutemichigan.com/dig/michigan, and a lengthy but WORTHWHILE article can be read by searching "Michigan Automotive History: Reo Motor Car Company."

"Ransom E. Olds, of Lansing, Michigan, organized the Olds Motor VehicleCompany in 1897 and began producing the Curved Dash Oldsmobile Runabout in 1901. It became America's first mass-produced automobile and was soon the nation's best-selling car. This was a full two years before Henry Ford began his company."


Old's Lansing REO plant in 1918

 

Amen, brother!

1913 Spaulding automobile climbing Iowa capitol steps


BTW, gang, I put in a PM to Alchemy & asked him of any PROGRESS on the restoration of the only known Iowa Spaulding auto. We'll see.

 

Very true Jim. At 2500 dollars the Royale was at the bottom of the luxury pricing but definitely at the high end compared to 95% of the cars being sold.

There are a number of 30s cars that are super cool but have been more or less overlooked - even by hard core car guys. I'm thinking Nash, Hudson, Hupp, Reo, etc.

 

AJ, this is one of MY votes for those "etcetera" cars of the '30s. But I am partial to the Graham brothers, because I felt they were among the most COMMITTED people in the industry In their time.

And, I'm partial to early-'30s cars (about '31 to '35 or '36), as this was a WONDERFUL, transitional blend of '20s "stately" lines and later "aerodynamic" lines. Ninety-five percent of MODERN cars are just beans on four wheels.




'33 Graham Supercharged 8 is owned by Jon Shead and Cynthia Pominiek,
members of the Golden Era Automobile Assn.

 

Jim, I'm with you on Graham. The 33-35 supercharged 8 is a great car that is NEVER seen. It's basically very comparable to the 35/36 blown Auburn which you see all the time (and one of my favorites too). I'm really into the 32 to 38 era. If I had to pick one it would be the Nash Ambassador (which I'm sure we covered 1000 posts ago.)

 

AJ, I have collected a lot of things in my life (coins, guns, rare books, some cars, etc.). My experience is, if you buy something you like BUT it's not really what you desire, you'll still always long for the PREFERRED item.

If I were you, I'd wait for the Nash Ambassador to come along, at least CLOSE to the condition you want to see. The one shown above is as SWEET as any Buick or Cad or Lincoln of the era I ever saw!

Moreover, NASH is a very respectable brand which, unfortunately, is judged today (by laymen at least) by many today on the bathtub and the Met models. THOSE people just dont know when the NASH was one of the PREMIER independents (and -- you already know -- I am quite partial to the independents! LOL).

SunRoof has HIS prize. If I were you, I'd wait for the one you really want. There's always osmeone out there who will buy, restore and cherish any of these restorable GOLDEN-AGE cars. You can (I have faith) get the one you have sought, buddy. Hang in there!

 

1902 Union runabout, thanks to Royal Feltner's great site.

In 1902 the Union automobile came upon the scene, and with only 60 cars built the first season, it was the eighth best-selling car in the country!

How's that possible? Well, the Union had an advantage, in that it was a "new" four-wheel make from John Lambert who had been successfully building three-wheel gas buggies since 1891. (BTW, Union production was about a third of that of either Packard or Stanley in '02.) Made in Union City and, next, Anerderson, IN, the Union was inexpensive and used only two cylinders. By 1905 when Lambert stopped building the Union, only about 300 were made in all, making the Union quite a rare car.

Remember, EVERYBODY LOVES A DARE, right??? SO, can anybody find evidence (preferably a pic, too) that a Union car survives today?

And just for the fun of it, here's a reprise
look at Lambert's first, humble three-
wheeler from 1891 !!!
​

1902 Lambert (not so very different from the Union, eh?)

 

This advertisement is with sincere THANKS to American-Automobiles.com!



The reason for this ad is to show that the Union (and the Later Lambert for that matter) was not just another horseless carriage. If you read the ad carefully, the car starts "from the seat." Gotta wonder how that worked.

More importantly, though, the Union was the first application of the continuously variable transmission, or CVT, later made fairly famous in Byron Carter's CarterCar. The Metz and the Petrel also used a CVT, but Carter was the most successful -- so successful, in fact, that Billy Durant bought CarterCar out after Byron Carter's tragic death.

Lambert himself first used the CVT in 1902 in the Union, though his patent didn't come through until '04. For a detailed explanation of HOW the CVT worked (and still does) -- and in layman's terms, you can search:

Cartercar - tracing the origins of the CVT transmission
www.examiner.com/x-4493-Orlando-Auto-Mechanic-Examine

 

AJ, this is the one you mentioned, I think. Schwitzer-Cummins supercharged Lycoming 8, Ab Jenkins-signed 100-mph plate on the dash and 150 hp @ 4,000 rpms?


As always ConceptCarz shows great, quality photos of gorgeous classics. I thank them for this sharp retrospective view!

 

Yes Jim. We talked about these somewhere around post 1000. Supercharged straight 8, outside pipes, 2 speed rear end, full instruments including tach, and very popular with collectors. I've driven one a few times and the dual ratio makes highway driving at 60/65 very comfortable.

 

Neet picture of the Lambert.

<!-- </hs:element14> --><!-- <hs:element15> -->

1904 Union (possibly a Lambert) in front of house.​

<!-- </hs:element14> --><!-- <hs:element15> -->

1904 Union (possibly a Lambert) in front of house.​

Cruise IN &#8211; Union City once shared its name with two automotive businesses

<CENTER> </CENTER>
Union City, straddling the Ohio state line in Randolph County, once shared its name with two automotive businesses-the Union Automobile Company and Union City Body Company, Inc. Both of these entities have historic significance.
Union Automobile Company was formed in 1902 by John W. Lambert of Anderson to produce his rear-engine automobile with a gearless, friction-drive. Production was designed for 10 cars a month. One source lists over 300 Union cars were sold, none of which are know to exist today. The early Union was a two- or four-passenger auto. A front seat over the axle was accessible for the other two passengers by folding down the cover, which became the floorboard. Another unique feature of the Union was that it was guaranteed for one year from the purchase date. (Editorial comment: So much for today's extended warrantees.) The car sold for $1250 without extras. A $100 down payment was required with the balance due upon delivery. In 1905, Lambert formed Lambert Automobile, a division of Buckeye Manufacturing Company, in Anderson, and the Union Automobile Company was closed. (See sidebar.) The Union Auto building is currently used as a storage facility for the Sheller-Globe Corporation, which manufactures plastic and zinc automotive parts. Union City businessmen C.C. Adelsperger, S.R. Bell, and J.W. Wogoman formed Union City Body Company to manufacture bodies for the horseless carriage in 1898. Early manufacturing was done principally for customers located within a radius of 100 miles. The company produced bodies for automotive pioneers Haynes, Apperson, Clark, Davis, H.C.S., Lexington, National, Premier, and Chandler. Later UCBC built bodies for some great names in the American automotive past such as Duesenberg, Cord, Essex, Pierce Arrow, and the Auburn Speedster. The company manufactured these bodies until the decline of specialty automobiles in the late 1920s.

 

AJ, this '31 Royale Victoria is being offered at $60 G on a Hemmings Clissified. I saw it on eBay about 1.5 years ago, and there were plenty of clear color shots indicating that the resto is as good as the owner claims (" rare, body-off restoration, no expense spared, needs nothing, ready to show or tour"). It is a beautiful two-tone blue. No arguing with the fact that it is a AACA Senior Champion. Location, LaCrosse, WI.

One of the things I love about the Reo Royale is that it passes my toughest test: Is there a bad angle? Nope, the Royale looks good high and low, and from any angle -- front on, rear, any quarter, close-ups -- you name it. I enjoy applying this same measure on makes I love. Though, e.g., I love my Exner-era DeSotos, I have specific personal rubs on every year and body style ('55 tail lights way under-developed, '57 front fender/bumper joint visually very heavy, '56 hood ornament non-descript, etc.).

But the Royale stands out -- for my money, more pleasing lines than the Blue Streaks. Northrup's (and Dietrich's) finest work, hands down.

 

One aspect of automobiling I'd never pondered until this thread came along is the WHAT and WHY of survival rates on various models and makes. BUT, it's dawned on me that certain makes, models, years seem to have been "saved" in disproportionately higher quantity than others. I'm often baffled at rarity.

For example, it does not seem that many Cord 810/812s, Auburn boat tails, Blue Streaks or Zephyrs got junked. But, Hupps, Terraplanes, the Ambassador you mentioned, Stude Land Cruiser and REOs (even the gorgeous Royale) don't pop up as often as the aforementioned cars.

Now, I suppose some people would have a broad-brush answer for this phenomenon (an OBVIOUS one, taste being a prime candidate), but I suspect there are multiple factors. (And I mean beyond just original production numbers, though that's a factor, too.)

 

Ooooo, you mean the new owner didn't match the original colors? Seems that's a sin in restos, idsn't it?

 

Original colors are only key to market value with post-war cars where the original color is known. Prewar cars, not so much.

The 1980s will be known as the "dark ages" of restoration in my mind. Many nice original cars got restored that should have been left alone. Many were painted "circus colors". Red was very popular. The Robin's Egg Blue is not a circus color, but I believe does not flatter this particular car. Just my opinion and maybe not accurate. It is possible that those are the

 

AJ, true, the eye-catching blue didn't seem what I'd have expected on a "stately" car like the Royale. More what you'd expect on a Moon or Jordan. Somehow, though, I couldn't take my eyes off that Royale. Sadly, I've lost the pictures, so I can't show anyone but the black-&-white shot I dug up.

 

Most people today couldn't imagine that until the depression set in, Hudson was running third in the U.S. auto market. And as AJ noted, they sported some of the finer body styling available.

<CENTER>
The 1932 Hudson Brougham, a two-door sedan, was
part of the Greater Eights line of 1931-32,</CENTER><CENTER>thanks to HowStuffWor?ks!</CENTER>

<CENTER>Hudson Eight convertible coupe from 1934, thanks to the WikiMedia Commons project!</CENTER><CENTER>
</CENTER>
As if possessed of a crystal ball, Hudson managers recreated the Essex into the timely, well-built, peppy and lower-priced Terraplane. Just in time, too! The line bolstered overall company sales through the long depression years.

Little more than two decades later, the once-proud Hudson was fighting a losing battle for survival. With a little over 20,000 units, Hudson's best-selling 1956 model was a re-badged Nash Rambler. But cosmetics and Hudson hubcaps didn't fool the buying public who derisively dubbed the Kenosha-made Hudson clones "Hashes."

Though I had read about these Hudson Ramblers, I'd only seen the senior Nash/Hudson cars. The example below is currently on eBay with a buy-it-now price close to $20 G. Not a commercial here, but it's just not a car one sees often nowadays. I think, like most original Ramblers, they just got worn out and thrown away, so one restored like this is quite seldom seen. This car would probably be treasured by an AMC fanatic!

Though Rambler sales were starting to blossom by 1956, Nash was the primary beneficiary, as they outsold Hudson at about a two-one clip. The mainstay mill would have been a "Typhoon" six of 196-CID and 120-hp, making the Rambler a tough -- though not beautiful -- car.

But you have to love the car below. It's the embodiment of mid-'50s garishness, in lieu of actual style. It's so darn ugly, you just have to like it -- at least in a period-defining sort of way, you know? Look at the tri-tone paint and the akimbo chrome up front and down the sides!



For '56 the Hudson Rambler came as a four-door sedan like this one. However, there was also a VERY low-production four-door hardtop station wagon. Now THAT sounds exciting.

 

I agree completely on Hudson. People tend to think of Hudson and the early fifties step down cars. They made some very cool cars in the 30s. This straight 8 boatail has been for sale for a while. It was formerly part of the Harrahs collection and has not run in years.

http://www.smithautomotiveinvestments.com/carsearch/details.php?id=104

 

Don't forget the Mile-a-Minute Hudson- there's a great one in the Simeone Collection in Philly!

 

Keaton had a Mercer in the 20's -Motor Trend had an article on the restored car in 1962 or 63 and had an interview with Keaton himself.

 

Following are photos of a 1912 Hudson Model "33" Mile-A-Minute Roadster that I took at the 2009 National HET meet in Pontiac (Detroit), MI. They were limited to a 1,000 cars produced. It has 32" wheels and 4" tires as opposed to 34" inches on other models which put it closer to the ground and safer to travel across country roads. Wheelbase: 115 inches, Cylinders: 4, Horsepower: 33. Bore 4" & Stroke 4-1/2", C.I.D. 226.1