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

Geesh, here's where I'd say WOW! 7 tons? NO doubt!

 

Here's another one (besides Luverne(***) and most cars with Murray(***) in the name) that has really got me with a lot of questions. [Those gauntlets(***) are still out there before us on this rare & extinct makes thread.]

There was an ORIGINAL DeSoto that preceded Walt's DeSoto. It was produced in AUBURN, INDIANA, only in 1913 and 1914. Among the RARE sources that mention it, ONE maintains it was a BIG car, while ANOTHER maintains it was, perhaps, a CYCLECAR (maybe even a venture by the Zimmerman company of Aubrun, which was the third biggest company to build cars in Auburn. Naturally, there are NO pix of the original DeSotos of Auburn, IN, so, I surely can't say WHICH is the case.

However, I am growing in my suspicion that the early DeSoto (pre-WWI) was actually one of the NUMEROUS smaller makes made in Auburn -- NOT one of the Auburn BIG-THREE.

 

The de Soto Automobile & The de Soto Motor Car Co.


<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>de Soto
The de Soto Motor Car Co.
Auburn, Indiana
1913-1916 The de Soto was a large American Automobile built in Auburn, Indiana from 1913 to 1916. The maker was the de Soto Motor Car Company and had no connection to the well known De Soto made by Chrysler from 1928-1960. It was equipped with a powerful 55 horsepower six cylinder engine, which was furnished with a compressed air starter.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The deSoto model Six 55 was a five passenger Touring Car that sold for $2,185.00. This was the only model known to be made by The de Soto Motor Car Co. There are some reports that the de Soto was apparently a six cylinder Zimmerman with a different name plate.


1913 de Soto Six 55

 

The Oldsmobile Series 60 was introduced in the late 1930s and remained in production until 1948 when the six-cylinder engine was given a larger displacement, to 257 cubic-inches. The Series 60 was Oldsmobile's entry level vehicle, offered in two flavors, the 66 and the 68. The Model 66's were powered by a six-cylinder engine that displaced 238 cubic-inches; the 68 had an eight-cylinder engine. There were a variety of bodystyles included for both the 66 and 68, including the two-door club coupe, four-door bustle back, 9-passenger woody station wagon, convertible, and two-door Fleeline. All, except the convertible and station wagons, were available in either Standard or Deluxe trim. All Series 60s were offered with a standard three-speed column shift manual gearbox. A four-speed Hydramatic automotive unit was available at an additional cost. The standard tires measured 6.00x16.

There were only 553 Oldsmobile Deluxe station wagons built in 1948 at a base price of $2,739

1948 marked the last year for the 'all wooden body' station wagon at Oldsmobile.

1935, 1940, 1948 and 1949 Oldsmobile Woodies pictured

 

The American Woody

<!-- Writer --> Hemmings Classic Car - SEPTEMBER 1, 2005 - BY DAVID TRAVER ADOLPHUS

Those lovable, hand-crafted wood-bodied vehicles represent a tradition that dated back to the beginnings of the automobile

No image is used more to evoke automotive nostalgia than that of a wood-sided station wagon--usually depicted by a big American model of the 1940s. But wood-sided cars are limited neither to the middle of the last century nor to America. We have now entered the third century of the automobile, and woodies continue to exert a pull that is difficult to explain.
The earliest woodies were wagons and utility depot hack wagons that were direct descendants of horse-drawn express wagons used primarily for transporting passengers and goods from railroad terminals. The companies that made these already had experience building similar vehicles, and adapted their horse-drawn designs for this purpose. These small coachbuilders were an important part of the process of successfully transforming the 19th-century horse-and-buggy economy into the motorized one.

<table align="left" hspace="5"> <tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>Stuart Margerum of Swab Wagon Company in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania, one of the original wood depot hack makers, said that their wood-bodied trucks of the 1910s were "the same bodies we were still putting on spring wagons. They were the same designs, stretched to fit over larger truck wheels." Innumerable small wagon and coachbuilders were purchasing rolling chassis from the fledgling auto industry and building specialized vehicles, often for their local market. This resulted in a concentration of these companies on the East Coast in areas such as New York City, as it was generally convenient to be close to the markets for their depot wagons and hacks, wagonettes and express wagons.

The first generation of depot hacks boasted open bodies constructed of wagon-style solid planking. But by the mid-1910s, closed station wagon bodies became more common and lighter construction was required. The rib-and-panel style that is familiar today made its first appearance on these vehicles and allowed for the first partially enclosed wooden station wagons with side curtains, two or more rows of seats, and side doors. These new wagons could still be considered depot hacks, but were now called Suburbans, Combinations and Country Clubs. (Versions of these names still appear today.) The lower halves of these wagonette bodies resembled the earlier versions and were now combined with a flat roof. These designs found favor with non-commercial customers, and an increasing number of firms began building them. Major manufacturers such as Ford started offering woodies through dealerships, although independent body builders performed the actual construction. The Martin Truck and Body Corp. in York, Pennsylvania, made so many bodies for Ford, Dodge and others during the 1910s and 1920s that they billed themselves as "The Largest Commercial Car Builder in the World."

Despite this expanding market for ever-more luxurious configurations in the early 1920s, none of the major automakers offered a factory-built woody. Healy and Company of New York built a Cadillac-based wagon in 1923, and Rolls-Royces in England were appearing with increasingly stylish bodies. The gentrification of what had started as a strictly utilitarian concept had begun in earnest, and would continue unabated for years to come.

In 1922, William C. Durant's Star Motor Company became one of the first automakers to offer a depot hack "factory" woody. Although they were sold as finished vehicles, they were assembled with bodies still provided by independent builders Martin-Perry and the Stoughton Wagon Company. Buick followed suit shortly thereafter with three models. These early factory efforts were still essentially a variation of the scheme Ford had used in the 1910s, and the bodies were still more cargo-oriented than their steel-bodied factory brethren. That was about to change.

On April 25, 1929, Ford Model A station wagons with maple and birch bodies built by the Briggs Body Company (later acquired by Chrysler), the Murray Corporation and Baker-Raulang became available. Ford was taking a step toward controlling woody production by producing wood sub-assemblies at their own Iron Mountain plant in northern Michigan and shipping these out for final assembly. While the production process was, at best, a half step toward a true factory body, the four-door styling with three rows of seats and a tailgate was much more consumer-friendly than the plain high-roof hacks that preceded it. The popularity of this wagon would put tremendous pressure on the small body manufacturers and was, perhaps, in part responsible for their demise during the Great Depression. A vast range of wagons, trucks, sedans and parcel deliveries from Ford followed over the next few years.

The golden age of the custom wood body maker ended during the Depression, as many of the small independent firms went out of business. Some reorganized and diversified, like the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company, which stopped making wood Ford Model T and Model A bodies (and its own line of automobiles as the Dixie Motor Car Company) and started manufacturing truck trailers. The company is still in business today as Kentucky Trailer. The major automobile manufacturers acquired many others at fire-sale prices during this time. The fortunes of Martin Truck and Body, who called themselves "The Largest Commercial Car Builder in the World," changed dramatically during the Depression. After merging with failed carmaker Parry in 1919, Martin Truck and Body was acquired by Chevrolet in 1930 and became its first in-house commercial truck body division.

Ford, with its vast timber operations near Lake Superior, was gaining experience in woody manufacturing. That experience would be put into practice in 1936 when a plant opened at Iron Mountain that built complete wood wagon bodies that were then shipped to Ford plants around the country for final assembly.

While Ford was the only manufacturer building woodies from the ground up, there were still coachbuilt versions available based on GM, Chrysler, Packard, Willys, Hupmobile, Graham, Hudson, Studebaker and even American Bantam chassis. The trend toward luxury continued through the 1930s, although woody amenities lagged far behind those in production automobiles. Pontiac, for instance, did not offer full glazing until 1939.

As the country began to recover economically, woodies were increasingly perceived as upscale vehicles and sales rose accordingly. Ford easily maintained its dominance, selling almost 10,000 redesigned Standard and DeLuxe station wagons in 1940 alone. Chrysler introduced its first truly car-quality woody, the Town & Country, in March of the following year. It boasted an all-steel roof and a white ash and mahogany body by Pekin Wood Products of Helena, Arkansas. With Willys, Buick, Pontiac and Plymouth all getting serious about passenger comfort in their woodies, things were about to heat up when the manufacturers were told to cease production of passenger cars and contribute to the war effort. A trickle of cars continued for a brief time, but all domestic automobile production had ended by March of 1942. Ford continued to produce a small number of Ford and Mercury woody sedans and ambulances used during the war.

After the war, Ford was again first out of the gate with new woody designs. Not content to let Chrysler's spectacular Town & Country take over the luxury market, Ford introduced a steel-framed, wood-bodied Sportsman line early in 1946. Many of the other pre-war manufacturers, including Studebaker, Willys and Crosley, got out of the woody business, produced only limited runs of cars, or quickly switched to simulated wood vinyl over steel. Woodies were fully established as luxury transportation and the manufacturers billed them as such. Despite high prices and generally low sales, they acted as "halo" vehicles, raising the image of the entire make.

GM offered post-war woodies from Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick. Still relying on some of the few remaining independent coachbuilders, the Fleetmaster-based Chevrolet wagon used bodies from Ionia, Fisher and J.T. Cantrell & Co. Ionia and Hercules provided Pontiac and Oldsmobile bodies, while Buicks in the late 1940s used bodies initially built by the Biehl Body Company and later by Hercules and Ionia.

Aftermarket wood kits, designed to be applied by the owner, made their appearance during these years. These "woody-izing" kits could be screwed to the sides of non-woody vehicles and came from New York's Belbod Company as well as Engineered Enterprises of Detroit via Chevrolet's Fisher Body division.

The last great year of the woody was, by some accounts, 1949. Handcrafting complicated and maintenance-intensive wood frames and panels was becoming very difficult to justify in the red-hot, new-car market. The epochal Chrysler Town & Country switched to Dinoc vinyl (still available in aftermarket "wallpaper woody" kits today) with ornamental ash framing, and the 1949 Ford used all-steel construction with experimental plywood-like panels that underwent a dramatically high rate of failure. General Motors abandoned wood framing after 1948, and from 1948 through 1951, Packard produced station wagons with window framing and ornamental wood door trim by Briggs Manufacturing.

The few coachbuilders that survived the Depression and World War II were again in jeopardy during the 1950s. Despite efforts to make the transition to more modern products such as hearses and other steel bodies, the wood-body manufacturers, steeped in old-world hand craftsmanship, were almost all gone by the end of the decade. Car design and manufacture, as well as the tastes of the car-buying public, were undergoing radical changes and the woody, redolent of 1930s and 1940s country clubs, fell from favor. The Chrysler Town & Country was discontinued in 1951, and while Fords continued to sell well, they now increasingly used vinyl and paint instead of real wood. The 1953 Buick wagons were the last real woodies from any major American manufacturer.

Various wallpaper woodies or "vinylies" are still offered by Detroit to this day, but the age of the real woody ended in 1953. Fiberglass would come to substitute for ash and Dinoc for mahogany. It was a slow death, and the last real wood exterior trim of any kind on an American vehicle appeared on the Dodge Adventurer 150 "Li'l Red Express Truck" option available in 1978 and 1979.

A final round of die-offs among the coachbuilders occurred in the 1980s and 1990s when those who had survived by making school buses and other bodies were swept up in a wave of consolidation within the industry. By this point, many of these historic companies had reinvented themselves several times, moving from building carriages, to woodies, to steel utility and other bodies.

While a substantial number of the hundreds of small shops that once produced woodies still exist in some other form (The York Wagon Gear Company, for instance, is now a casket manufacturer known as The York Group, and others survive as repair or restoration shops), a surprising number remain in some aspect of the body business. The Swab Wagon Company is still making fire engine, ambulance and rescue bodies 137 years after they produced their first $10 sleigh. Hackney Brothers, which made its first wagon in 1854, survives making rescue vehicles and specialized truck bodies as part of Specialized Vehicles Corporation. Sayers and Scoville traces its roots back to the mid-1870s and the name remains as part of the Accubilt line of hearses (Vartanian, Eureka Coach, Miller-Meteor, Sayers & Scovill and Superior), while another portion of the company was split off as Hess & Eisenhardt and is now making armored vehicles for Armor Holdings as O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt.

In many ways, this is where the tradition of handcrafted, special-purpose body making that the early independent artisans embodied endures. Ambulances, limousines, fire engines, rescue bodies, hearses, truck trailers, specialized utility bodies and even RVs are still made in dozens of large and small factories throughout the country. The materials have changed from wood to steel, fiberglass and even carbon fiber, but the idea that a small manufacturer can take a chassis from the factory and use it as a blank slate is as good at the beginning of the 21st century as it was at the end of the 19th.

 

The Zimmerman Automobile & The Zimmerman Manufacturing Company

Zimmerman Manufacturing Company
Auburn, IN
1907-1915

In 1886, the Zimmerman Manufacturing Company was incorporated in Auburn Indiana to manufacture buggies for local sale. In 1907, the officers of this company were Elias Zimmerman President, Franklin T. Zimmerman Vice President & General Manager and John Zimmerman, Secretary-Treasurer. Elias Zimmerman was father to Franklin and John Zimmerman. The Zimmerman Manufacturing Company produced an American Automobile from 1907 to 1915.

Entry into the American Automotive market was not difficult for the makers of carriages and buggies. The Zimmerman Manufacturing Company had a basic chassis and other components on hand from the buggy line. Wheels, running lights, steering gear and other necessary items were readily available from other manufacturers. Including engines that were manufactured in Auburn Indiana by the Model Gas Engine Co.


1909 Zimmerman Runabout

<center></center> The first Zimmerman was a Runabout or High Wheeler shown above. This two passenger automobile was equipped with a two cylinder 12 horsepower Model Gas Engine and solid rubber tires. According to this ad the Zimmerman was offered in both a Planetary transmission and a friction drive.

<center>
1909 Zimmerman Runabout

</center> In this 1909 magazine ad (see above) The Zimmerman was offered in four models, three different High Wheeled Runabouts and a Surrey. The vintage photo below is the Surrey mention in the above advertisement.

<center>
1909 Zimmerman Surrey or Touring Car

</center> A surrey shown above is usually described as an open four passenger automobile, often equipped with a fringed top. About 1910 the Surrey was also referred to as a Touring Car.

<center> 1910 Zimmerman

</center> After the first two cylinder model Zimmerman's were successfully built by The Zimmerman Manufacturing Company, four and six cylinder models were in produced in 1910. The Model Z-35 shown above had a 115 inch wheel base, a four cylinder engine with 35 horsepower. Prices in 1910 ranged from $650.00 to $1,500.00.

<center> 1911 Zimmerman

</center> By 1911, horsepower on the four cylinder was increased to 40. Additional features included a 117 inch wheel base and a new selective type sliding gear transmission. Four styles of bodies were produced in 1911 and prices ranged from $1500.00 to 1700.00.

There are some reports that the de Soto Motor Car Co. of Auburn who produced the de Soto automobile was apparently a six cylinder Zimmerman with a different name plate.

In 1915 the Zimmerman automobile line was discontinued and all assets purchased by the Auburn Automobile Company.

 

1902 Zimmerman Runabout on display at ACD Museum in Auburn, In.

 

Okay, THANKS, HJ! Same material I found over the last several days trying and surfing. After all this, I need to know your gut feeling: WAS this an independent make (which I believe it WAS), or was it a whole different car from the Zimmerman -- but which someone lumped it in with??????????????? WHAT DOES YOUR GUT SENSE TELL YOU ABOUT THIS AUBURN, INDIANA-MADE, DESOTO?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>de Soto
The de Soto Motor Car Co.
Auburn, Indiana
1913-1916 The de Soto was a large American Automobile built in Auburn, Indiana from 1913 to 1916. The maker was the de Soto Motor Car Company and had no connection to the well known De Soto made by Chrysler from 1928-1960. It was equipped with a powerful 55 horsepower six cylinder engine, which was furnished with a compressed air starter.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
The deSoto model Six 55 was a five passenger Touring Car that sold for $2,185.00. This was the only model known to be made by The de Soto Motor Car Co. There are some reports that the de Soto was apparently a six cylinder Zimmerman with a different name plate.


1913 de Soto Six 55

 

Well, any-who, I hate to lean on my buddies on this thread, but you guys are sharp -- so there is no other knowledgable (and dedicated) group I know of who can really noodle this out.

Why would Zimmerman bring out an ostensibly "new" make when they could have just brought out a higher-powered Zimmerman cyclecar? What is your sense on this? Help me nail it (at least speculatively) and I'll never brinbg it up again.

 

According to the book Auburn The Classic City by John Martin Smith de Soto was a subsidiary of Zimmerman. Pages 75 and 76 spells it out.

http://books.google.com/books?id=cr...ook_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#

And now you know the rest of the story.

 

Corphibian (1961) prototype
It was build by Hulten-Holm & Co on the bases of the Corvair 95 Load side truck with a 6 cyl petrol engine.
The first owner Richard Hulten had it for 30 years and drove it 126 miles.

It is perfect original, except it has been repainted.

On the rear at the end of the loading bay there is a diving platform that also houses the swimm parts

This Amphib has 2 propellers and 2 rudders mounted at the rear.
Not know is if there was more than one prototype build.

First picture taken by Gary Aube.
The other are from cars and parts magazine.

 

Conte (1979) prototype only
It was presented at Frankfurt Saloon in 1979.
It used a Ford engine, with 135 hp, and its max speed was 140 km/h.
In fact it was build from mostly Ford parts by Herzog in Germany.
I had a 5 speed gearbox with high and low and a PTO to a hydraulic pump to drive the dual hydraulic driven propellers.
One propeller could run forward and the other one in reverse so the Conte was highly manoeuvrable.
The body was made from steel.
It had disk brakes in front and drums in the back.

The Herzog Conte is lost in time.
Not know to exist any more and probebly scraped.

 

Corphibian (1961) prototype

There must be one heck of alot of ballast at the rear of that thing. If I was driving it it would probably be listing so bad it would probably look like the Titanic going down bow first. I would like to see a pic of it floating in the water with a driver and passenger in the cab.

 

Just as E.L. Cord provided much of the success at Auburn Automobile Co., the driving force behind the W. H. McIntyre Co. centered in one man. The company's namesake ran his endeavor with vision and daring.

William H. McIntyre purchased a portion of the W. H. Kiblinger Co. when its founder died in 1894. The Auburn business made &shy;&shy; what else? &shy;&shy; buggies.

Three years after becoming an owner, McIntyre began tinkering with automobiles. In early 1907, the company completed a prototype and orders poured in. McIntyre began marketing automobiles under the brand name Kiblinger.

In 1908, a patent-infringement lawsuit resulted in DeKalb Circuit Court renaming the business W.H. McIntyre Co. The name of its automobiles changed as well.

For the next seven years, McIntyre reigned as Auburn's largest automaker. The company belched its products out of five separate plants, including the two original Kiblinger buildings along Jackson Street and the former Auburn Wagon & Buggy Works building.

McIntyre proved to be a business pioneer. He used electricity in his manufacturing process as early as 1908. From 1912-1915 he cashed in on America's first small-car craze by building the Imp Cycle Car.

Auburn's largest automaking company of the time would unfortunately die quickly. McIntyre misread the demand for small cars and put too much of the company's resources into the cycle car market. The fad passed, as did McIntyre's fortune. In August of 1915, lenders forced his company into bankruptcy.

1908 McIntyre
W. H. McIntyre Co. Auburn, IN
1909-1915 ​

1909 McIntyre Auto Buggy
W. H. McIntyre Co. Auburn, IN
1909-1915


1909 McIntyre Touring
W. H. McIntyre Co. Auburn, IN
1909-1915


1912 McIntyre
W. H. McIntyre Co. Auburn, IN
1909-1915


1912 McIntyre
W. H. McIntyre Co. Auburn, IN
1909-1915

 

Thanks, HJ. It's good to know the facts.

According to the book Auburn The Classic City by John Martin Smith de Soto was a subsidiary of Zimmerman. Pages 75 and 76 spells it out.

 

The American Car Since 1775: The Most Complete Survey of the American Automobile Ever.

A great reference book that I'm not sure has been mentioned before or not. SunRoof, I don't think it's been mentioned. Thanks for doing so. I'd also like to ask about the Beverly Kimes book:<!-- / message -->


Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942, Kimes, Beverly Rae. (Iola, WI: Krause Publ.)

This is a quite costly book, so I can't afford to own a copy. Hence, two questions: (1) Is it a title most public libraries would have handy, and (2) is there any site where one can consult the book for free? THANKS in advance for any help!

 

I think you would have to check with your local Library to see whether they had it or not. You could also watch www.half.com for a copy. The cheapest I find is $195.00 right now which is still spendy.

And to think I could of bought the first book for $10.00 Saturday night but then my friend who did buy it could of out bid me and we could of got in a bidding war. LOL

You could also watch this site but Tom tends to be spendy too. Looks like he gets $150.00 if he has one in stock.

http://www.tewarthautobooks.biz/

Looks like you can get a copy for $20.00 here. Might be a reprint and none in stock at present.

http://www.factoryautomanuals.com/1805-1942-Standard-Catalog-of-American-Cars-p/85390.htm

Here's a sight that has a link that will tell you what Library in your area has the book.

http://openlibrary.org/b/OL605120M/Standard_catalog_of_American_cars_1805-1942

 

Many THANKS, Jim, for taking the time to illustrate the real-world market. It CERTAINLY appears that the most exhaustively researched and best-illustrated and bound volumes on early autos USUALLY command some serious ducats!

 

Oh, BTW, SunRoof, you mentioned a while back that you had been compiling a LIST as this thread was ongoing. Have you kept up with that?

 

The other day, I got an inquiry from the great grandson of the founder of the company that built the post-WWI Murray automobile. He was looking for a photo and any facts. In my digging, I also got interested in the Herschell-Spillman engine family. Today, this led me to the Dixie Flyer, made from 1916 - 1923 by the Kentucky Wagon Mfg. Co., Louisville. They began with a Lycoming four and soon switched to a Herschell-Spillman four, through 1923. The company's slogan was "The Logical Car."

For 1923, Dixie debuted its only sporty model ever, the Dixie Flyer Firefly. According to AACA material on the 'net, it seems only two Flyers (at all) survive -- oddly enough, one in Australia and one in Iceland!

So, you can imagine, I'm looking for a PHOTO (or a decent mag ad) of a Dixie Flyer -- in particular, the '23 Firefly. Any help, folks???

Illustration is thanks to SloshSpot.com​

 

SunRoofCord/Jim, knowing you have a soft
spot for woodies, I knew you'd like this early
example by Durant.


1922 Star Depot Wagon, Durant Motors. This nice
photo is from the site, earlyAmericanAutomobiles.com,
created & maintained by enthusiast Royal Feltner,
Amesbury, MA, to whom my appreciation is owed.

 

Check out this thread for the Dixie Flyer "Firefly" Speedster being restored in Australia

http://forums.aaca.org/f190/dixie-flyer-firefly-speedster-photographs-252653.html

 

Remember, the Corvair is rear engined, so there is plenty of weight back there, they are pretty light up front.
I owned a Rampside, and own a van...........when you hit the brakes on a corvair, the nose does not dive, the tail end drops slightly.

 

Wow, man, you did it. The height of the cowling tells me that the wreck the guy's doing in Australia really may be the ONLY remaining Firefly! It's rough, but when you have a car THAT rare, you have to do it! I haven't read the thread yet, but I think he desperately needs solid opinions, advice and any pix or date about the Dixie Flyer s and the Firefly, in particular. Awesome work, SunRoofCord!

Sheesh, this makes this thread fun, just like HJ and someone trying to figure out just what some pristine auto/truck frames hanging forever up in some rafters are part of! Or, finding a Geronimo in Oklahoma!

Oh, BTW, notice those portals on the hood? Way ahead of Buick and the WWII V-fighter planes!

 

You aint just whistlin' Dixie there Jimi.

The Dixie Flyer was a vintage car built in Louisville, Kentucky from 1916 until 1923. Dixie Flyers were marketed under the slogan of "The Logical Car."[1]

The origins of the company can be traced back to 1878, when the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company was established. In 1912, the local Electric Vehicle Company was acquired, which marked the entrance of Kentucky Wagon into the automotive field.[2] An electric car called the Kentucky Electric was planned, but did not come to pass. Erroneously, some lists of old automobiles list the Kentucky Electric from the Kentucky Wagon company in this period. The sole electric automotive product of the company was the Urban Electric truck, produced from 1912 to 1916. In 1914, the Hercules Motor Car Company of New Albany across the Ohio River contracted with Kentucky Wagon to build bodies for their cars. Hercules went out of business in 1915, with its assets acquired by Kentucky Wagon.

There appear to have been plans to continue the Hercules name, but the Hercules instead formed the nucleus of the new Dixie Flyer in 1916. All cars had four-cylinder engines, originally supplied by Lycoming and later by Herschell-Spillman. Two distinctive features of early Dixie Flyers were their vertical windshields that were integrated into the curved cowl dash, and the spring-mounted radiators. This latter feature was to reduce vibration, as well as strain on the chassis. The Shadburne Brothers acquired the company for a very brief period in 1917, but ownership quickly reverted to Kentucky Wagon. The Firefly speedster of 1922 was the sportiest Dixie Flyer, unfortunately, it was their last new model as well.

The post-World War I recession claimed another victim in the Dixie Car company. Truck production was also discontinued at this time; however, wagons were still produced for almost another decade.[3] Dixie Flyer, National and Jackson, were all merged into Associated Motor Industries and Corporation in 1923.[4] Dixie Flyers and Jacksons were henceforth discontinued. Many of the last Dixie Flyers were converted to Nationals by simply exchanging the Dixie radiator emblems and hubcaps with National ones.

 

Our AACA fella in Australia posted this pic in 2008, and it surely seems to be a Flyer, if not an actual Firefly. They had a pretty distinctive windshield mount and a spring-mounted radiator, to protect that key part.

 

SWI, every time I think you have TOTALLY demonstrated how versatile the Corvair was, you come up with something I never HEARD of! I thought the AmphiCar and the military experimentals were the only water-going vehicles. LOL You DO learn something new, every day.

 

Kentucky Wagon Mfg. Co. – 1879-present located in Louisville, Kentucky and made the DIXIE FLYER, HERCULES, and CROWN automobiles. Address: Kentucky Wagon Works. 2601 S. 3rd St. Louisville, Kentucky. By 1919, horse drawn vehicle production was curtailed except for farm wagons and in 1920 Studebaker sold their wagon works to The Kentucky Wagon Mfg Co of Louisville. In so doing, Studebaker became the only wagon maker to successfully transition to automobiles.. In 1916 the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company decided to go into the car manufacturing business and was renamed the Dixie Motor Car Company. It only lasted from 1916 to 1923. Only car manufactured here was the Dixie Flyer which had a Lycoming and Herschell-Spillman four cylinder engine. Company sold out to the National Automobile Company of Indianapolis. Finally in 1936, the company was acquired by R.C. Tway Sr. and turned into the Kentucky Manufacturing Company. It now is back to it's roots and manufactures Truck Trailers. Reportedly made car & trucks from 1915-1923. President William C. None died on January 24th, 1929 at the age of 83. Built Ford Model T& TT – Model A&AA Driver Salesman Truck bodies for Fords.
xxxxxxxx
OLD HICKORY (US) 1915-1923
(1)Kentucky Wagon Works, Louisville, Ky. 1914-1915
(2) Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Co., Louisville, Ky. 1915-1923
The original Old Hickory model was a 1 ½-tonner with worm-drive. In1916, only, a 3 ½-tonner was made with a 4&shy;cylinder engine under a frontal hood with bevel-gear drive and pneumatic tires on a wheelbase of 9 feet, 4 inches. This model was continued to the end of 1919 and at least in 1918 it had a Lycoming engine. In 1919, a 1-tonner also was made with a 4-cylinder Continental engine. This com&shy;pany also built the Urban electric commercial vehicle. GMN
xxxxxxxxx
URBAN (US) 1911-1918
Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Co, Louisville, Ky
The Urban was a battery-operated electric. The initial model was a modest ½-tonner but in later years a number of chassis were offered, up to 2-tonners. Edison alkaline batteries were used in all models, and final drive was by double chains. Open and enclosed models of delivery vans were offered on chassis with wheelbases to 10 feet, 10 inches.

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Model T in disguise, it is a special body with aftermarket radiator by Ames of Owensboro, Kentucky. They built this speedster, a coupe, a racer, and a touring car body. The convertible foursom body converted into a bed... (!). The F.A.Ames company claimed to be the World's Largest manufacturer of Special bodies for Fords."