40 lost American car brands

 

40 lost American car brands (msn.com)

40 lost American car brands

40 lost American car brands

David Finlay  14 mins ago

 

1/41 SLIDES © RM Sotheby’s

 

Forgotten American auto makers

If you asked anyone who knows anything about cars if they have heard of Ford, Chevrolet or Jeep, they would probably retort, “Of course I have.”

Far fewer people are aware of Studebaker, Nash or Tucker, but you will still receive some positive responses.

The game becomes more interesting when you start referring to US marques which have become footnotes in automotive history. There are a great many of these, nearly all of them almost completely unknown, even by motoring experts.

Here we present a representative 40, listed in alphabetical order. If you’re aware of even one, you are a knowledgeable and cultured reader, and we salute you for that.

 

Slide 1 of 41: If you asked anyone who knows anything about cars if they have heard of Ford, Chevrolet or Jeep, they would probably retort, “Of course I have.” Far fewer people are aware of Studebaker, Nash or Tucker, but you will still receive some positive responses. The game becomes more interesting when you start referring to US marques which have become footnotes in automotive history. There are a great many of these, nearly all of them almost completely unknown, even by motoring experts. Here we present a representative 40, listed in alphabetical order. If you’re aware of even one, you are a knowledgeable and cultured reader, and we salute you for that.Next Slide

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2/41 SLIDES © RM Sotheby’s

 

1. Abbott-Detroit

Abbott-Detroits were manufactured in the city they were partly named after for about 10 years from 1909.

It produced several luxury cars in that period, one of the later ones being the 6-44 roadster pictured above.

An earlier Model 30, nicknamed the ‘Bull-Dog’, was taken on what should have been a 100,000-mile road trip around North America. It completed only half the distance, but this was still a splendid effort for 1911.

The brand name was later shortened to Abbott (after company founder Charles Abbott), though most of the cars were built and sold during the Abbott-Detroit era.

 

3/41 SLIDES © RM Sotheby’s

 

2. Apperson

Elmer and Edgar Apperson joined forces with Elwood Haynes to form Haynes-Apperson in the late 19th century.

The brothers decided to go their own way with a new company a few years later, at which point Haynes renamed the original after himself.

Both businesses survived into the 1920s, though Apperson lasted slightly longer. Its cars were often given unusual names, including Roadplane and, in the case of the 1919 model pictured here, Jack Rabbit.

Their engines became larger and more powerful as the years progressed. Early models had just two cylinders, but by the time the company folded it had moved on as far as V8s.

 

4/41 SLIDES © United States Library of Congress/public domain

 

3. Birmingham

The Birmingham featured a Continental straight-six engine and, impressively for the early 1920s, all-round independent suspension.

This was promising stuff, but the project was scuppered at an early stage due to the chaotic nature of the company responsible for it. Unsavoury events are reported to have included political machinations, a fatal stabbing and an escape through a plate-glass window.

The whole affair collapsed in 1923, after only an estimated 50 cars had been built.

The lady in the picture above (presumably a publicity shot) is Margaret Gorman, who won the first Miss America pageant in 1921. In later life, she was quoted as saying that she was bored of having been Miss America and wanted to forget about it.

 

 

 

 

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