Tag Archives: 1906

1906 Studebaker

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1906 Studebaker Model G Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Studebaker was the quintessential American automobile manufacturer. Like many of the great, early European marques, Studebaker had a long history dating back to the 1850s. They started by building wagons. Cars came in 1897. The early cars (until about 1911) were actually sold as Studebaker-Garfords.

The Model G was new for 1906 and it was the highest-priced, most decked out model in the Studebaker lineup. The engine is a 4.6-liter straight-four making 30/35 horsepower. It could cruise at 45 mph and was only offered in this five-passenger touring configuration.

This car has somewhat known history since new. It was discovered by Henry Austin Clark Jr. in the 1940s and put in his museum until 1968 when it was sold to – guess who – Bill Harrah. It remained in his collection until 1982. It is said that this is the oldest known four-cylinder Studebaker in existence. And its ownership history doesn’t get much better. Add your name to that list for between $325,000-$450,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $275,000.

Update II: Not sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2017.

Waltham Orient Buckboard

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1906 Waltham Orient Buckboard

Offered by Bonhams | Cape May, New Jersey | May 10, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Waltham Manufacturing Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, was founded by Charles Metz (who would later build the Metz automobile). They began by selling the Orient bicycle before turning to automobiles in 1905.

Four different models were offered for 1905, with that shrinking to three for 1906. The Orient Buckboard was the entry-level car and was marketed as “The Cheapest Automobile in the World.” It is powered by a rear-mounted single-cylinder engine making only four horsepower. It has tiller steering and can do 35 mph. This is about as basic as cars came, even for 1906.

Waltham’s last year was 1908 (until some weirdness involving the return of Metz in 1922 when he tried to revive the brand which ultimately failed). The Orient Buckboard – as well as the rest of their models, are exceedingly rare. This car is thought to contain mostly original parts and is super-interesting, if you’re into this kind of thing. It should sell for between $12,000-$18,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,320.

1906 Autocar

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1906 Autocar Type 10 Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Carmel, California | August 16, 2013

1906 Autocar Type 10 Runabout

Photo – Bonhams

Autocar, a company that is still around producing trucks, adopted the name Autocar in 1899. Their first car was introduced in 1900. In 1907, they started building trucks and by 1911, that’s all they were making. You’d think, in the past 100 years, they may have thought about a name change, but no, Autocar remains Autocar, even though they haven’t built a car in 102 years.

The Type 10 was introduced in 1904. It uses a flat-twin engine (at a time when most companies were using an inline configuration) making 12 horsepower. It was practical and reliable and over 1,000 were built by the end of production.

The car was restored sometime around 1967. A collector acquired it in ’67 and owned it until 2008 when it went to a European collection. Because it spent the past 50 years in museums, it remains in remarkable condition. This car should sell for between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in California.

Update: Sold $46,200.

Simple Success

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1906 Success

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2013

1906 Success

When John C. Hidgon founded the Success Auto-Buggy Manufacturing Company in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906, he probably thought to himself, “With a name like Success, how can this endeavor not be a, well, success?” Unfortunately he went out of business in 1909.

Well he had the right idea anyway – a low-cost, rugged high-wheeler for developing parts of the country where roads weren’t paved and wages weren’t high. The Success (no model name that I can find) was priced at about $250 in 1906. The Curved-Dash Oldsmobile was retailing for $650. It was certainly cheap.

The engine is a two-cylinder, that you can see kind of hanging off the side of the car. Top speed was in the 18 mph-ish range but it got about 100 miles per gallon. With figures like that, maybe someone should put it back into production. When I was looking at this thing, this occurred to me: it’s like a turn-of-the-century hot rod. The body is very lean and low – most of it is below the tops of the wheels. And then those wheels. They’re like Victorian dubs. It definitely has a striking appearance and is one of very few that remain. Click here for more info and here for more from Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale. And strangely enough, Bonhams is offering a 1908 Success at their sale in Arizona – albeit, in original, unrestored barn-find condition.

Update: Sold $33,000.

1906 Pope-Waverley

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1906 Pope-Waverley Electric Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 12, 2012

From Albert Augustus Pope’s early automotive manufacturing empire comes this 1906 Pope-Waverely Electric Runabout. Waverely was actually founded in 1899 in Indianapolis by the Indiana Bicycle Company. They began by making electric two-seaters. In 1903, the Pope Motor Car Company scooped up Waverely and changed the name to reflect their new corporate overlords.

This model is a three horsepower model with a 60-volt DC motor. The body is a simple runabout with tiller steering. It also has electric lighting and the older restoration still shows well. The Pope empire crumbled quickly, going bankrupt in 1907. Waverely was spun off as an independent marque again in 1908, but some Pope makes lasted longer – up through 1914.

As electric vehicles become popular once again, cars like this are finding a larger collector fanbase and prices will be going up. The price for this car is expected to be between $60,000-$80,000. For more information, click here. And for the rest of the RM Auctions Hershey lineup, click here.

Update: Sold $60,500.

1906 Columbus Electric

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1906 Columbus Electric Model 1000 Stanhope

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

The Columbus Buggy Company of Columbus, Ohio was founded in 1875 by Clinton Firestone and his partners, brothers George & Oscar Peters. Columbus, Ohio was known for the plethora of buggy manufacturers but by the turn of the century the automobile was gaining traction in America. In 1903, the Columbus Buggy Company turned to these motorized machines.

Both gasoline and electric cars were available. This Model 1000 Electric Stanhope has a 24-volt DC motor making 1.5 horsepower. It was restored before most collectible cars were new and looks as old as it is. It has been in collections and museums constantly since the 1940s.

Columbus went belly-up in 1913, but not before having given people like Harvey Firestone and Eddie Rickenbacker their start in the business world. This car is a rare example of this marque and is expected to sell – even in its somewhat rough condition – for between $40,000-$60,000. For more info, click here. And for more from RM Auctions, click here.

Update: Sold $52,250.

A Pre-Underslung American

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1906 American Tourist Roi des Belges Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

Photo – RM Auctions

This car, offered from the endless estate of John O’Quinn, was built by the American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. That company is more famously known as “American Underslung” – the name by which their vehicles were badged beginning in 1907, when they introduced their revolutionary (and awesome looking) “underslung” chassis (where the frame is low and between the axles).

But in 1906, their first year for production, the cars were more traditional in design. In fact, the chassis here was designed by non other than Harry C. Stutz – prior to him making it big on his own. The engine is a 35/40 horsepower 5.5-liter L-head straight-four with a three-speed manual transmission sending power through the rear wheels.

The name of the car is simply “American” with “Tourist” being the model designation. I don’t know if I need to explain that, but I’m used to car companies where the word “American” is directly followed by something like “Austin” or “Bantam” or “Underslung” and my mind wants to refer to this as an “American Tourist” – but I guess if that were true it would have to be wearing shorts and gym shoes and shouting loudly in slow, plain English (what a European once told me “gives you away as an American”).

In any case, this car was restored in the 1960s but has been preserved in a museum-quality state ever since. It is expected to sell for between $175,000-$250,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $110,000.

Ford Model N

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1906 Ford Model N

Offered by RM Auctions | Nysted, Denmark | August 12, 2012

The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and the Model N was introduced in 1906, making it one of the first handful of models built by the company. It features a 15 horsepower straight-four engine mounted at the front, driving the rear wheels to speeds up to 40 mph. It was Ford’s entry level offering until the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This was also Ford’s final right-hand drive automobile built in America.

The Model N retailed for $500, about $150 less than its competition – a curved-dash Oldsmobile. Listed equipment consisted of twin side oil lamps and a horn. A leather top was a $50 option. The 10 gallon fuel tank was good for a 200 mile range on rough, early roads.

There were upgraded versions of the Model N called the Model R and Model S ($600 and $700, respectively). With 7,000 Model Ns built over a three year span, the model was quite successful – although it was dwarfed immensely by its successor, the Model T. The car seen here is listed as a Model N (the catalog description has yet to be written) but it seems to have a few of the Model S extras on it, including full running boards and the mother-in-law seat behind the front bench. The Model S was rarer than a Model N (only 3,750 Model Ss were built) and the Model R was the rarest of the bunch with only 2,500 sold.

These are very rare, very early Fords and they don’t sell often – especially ones that are coming straight out of a museum as is the case here. Look for it to bring somewhere between $20,000 and $40,000. The Aalholm Automobile Collection in Denmark is being liquidated at this sale and there is an immense amount of fascinating early cars coming up for sale. We’re going to feature as many as possible, but will likely fall short of what we want to feature. But we’re sure going to try.

For the complete catalog description, click here and to see more of the cars from this sale, click here.

Update: Sold $37,000.

Holsman High-Wheeler

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1906 Holsman Model G-10 High-Wheel Runabout

To be offered by Bonhams’ at their “Classic California” sale on November 12, 2011

We said we would bring you the interesting and unusual. This definitely qualifies as the latter. High-Wheelers were a style of early automobile where the wheels were, well, high – providing significant ground clearance for the unpaved roads of rural, turn-of-the-century America. They eventually fell out of favor in the teens as America’s infrastructure improved and pneumatic tires became the norm. Imagine the “comfort” offered by solid-state wooden wagon wheels on hard pavement – or any other surface for that matter.

The Holsman Automobile Company was founded in 1903 in Chicago, Illinois and built a variety of cars using a variety of engines ranging from this single-cylinder model up to 26 horsepower 4-cylinders. Early models utilized rope drive but the company switched to steel cables and finally chains. This model sports rope drive to the rear wheels. This car is currently not running but was parked in running condition (a long time ago).

Gooding & Company sold a Holsman, a 1908 Model 10-K. This is a G model and it’s current condition means it will probably come in below Gooding’s result of about $45,000 in 2010. For more information on the car, check the details on the Bonhams website here and for the entire auction catalog, click here.

Update: Not Sold.