Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 11, 2020
Photo – Bonhams
The H.H. Babcock Motor Company started as a carriage company in Watertown, New York, sometime before the Civil War. They entered the automotive arena in 1909 with a high-wheeler that eventually gave way to the more traditional touring cars like the one you see here in 1911.
This Model H touring car comes from the final year of Babcock production. It was the smallest model in the 1912 range, riding on a 114″ wheelbase and powered by a 32-horsepower 4.6-liter inline-four.
It’s pretty original, having sat in a Boston-area garage for many years. It’s being offered out of the Petersen Automotive Museum Vault Collection with an estimate of $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by The Vault | Online | October 1-14, 2020
Photo – The Vault
The Little Motor Car Company was founded by William Little and Billy Durant after Durant was forced out of GM. He went out and bought the Flint Wagon Works and set up Little and another marque, Mason. The company launched in 1911, and in 1912 Durant set up Republic Motors as Little’s corporate parent.
Republic also controlled the newly-formed Chevrolet, and some early Chevys were just re-badged Littles. Eventually, the Little plant starting building Chevrolets, which were more or less identical. Because the Chevrolet name was more marketable, Little was shut down by the end of 1913.
This four-cylinder roadster was built in 1912 and made 30 horsepower. It wears an older restoration, and it’s one of about 3,500 Littles produced. It is selling at no reserve. More info is available here, and more from this sale can be viewed here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Auburn, Indiana | September 3-5, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Many early car companies were started by engineers or industrialists. Chalmers was founded by a sales guy (sort of). The short version is the Thomas car company would become the Thomas-Detroit car company in 1906. Hugh Chalmers was a high-up at National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio, and he was a helluva salesman. He was lured to a struggling Thomas-Detroit in 1908.
One of the conditions was that the name be changed to Chalmers-Detroit (sorry, E.R. Thomas). By 1910, they dropped the “Detroit” and were known simply as Chalmers through 1924. Chalmers had officially merged with Maxwell in 1922 after a being sort of common-law married for the previous few years. Walter Chrysler bought out Maxwell/Chalmers in 1923, and the rest is history.
1911 was actually Chalmers’ best year when they were the 8th largest automaker in the U.S. The 1912 range consisted of four models, including the 30-horsepower, 3.7-liter inline-four-powered Model 11. This large tourer is expected to bring between $18,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Dorotheum | Vosendorf, Austria | August 29, 2020
Photo – Dorotheum
I’m sitting here browsing the ultimate automotive encyclopedia. It’s three volumes and weighs a ton. It covers everything. But it does not mention the Austro-Adler. Here is the story: Adler, the German car company, built their first car in 1900. In 1907, a shop opened in Vienna. They were selling Adlers as Austro-Adlers, and that’s because the cars underwent a sort of “final assembly” there to get around import taxes.
It was gone by 1918, and it is unknown how many cars they moved. This is the only known survivor, and it is fantastic. It’s a boxy touring car with a sporty folding windshield and big artillery spoke wheels that are wearing white letter tires.
This model was not an actual Adler model. It is thought that perhaps the Austrians bumped up the power ratings for resale. The prevailing theory is that this is actually an Adler 7/17 model renamed for resale. It’s got an inline-four that I would estimate to be around 1.8-liters in capacity. This unusual and rare tourer is expected to sell for between $59,000-$82,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 16, 2020
Photo – Bonhams
I. Love. Wintons. Alexander Winton is one of the most important figures in the early days of the automobile. He was the first person to formally set up production of cars in the U.S. A Scottish immigrant, Winton switched from bicycle production to experimenting with gasoline engines in 1896.
His first cars were sold in 1897. He sold 100 of them in 1899. By the teens, the company was fighting against the likes of Packard and Lozier near the upper end of the market, selling exclusively six-cylinder cars. Unfortunately, they ceased production in 1924. Cool fact: Winton set up a diesel engine building business that was ultimately sold to GM in 1930. It is still around as part of EMD.
This Model 17-C is powered by a 48 horsepower 7.5-liter inline-six. It was restored long ago and still remains well out of my price range, with an estimate of $200,000-$300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Autocar remains the oldest surviving vehicle brand in the United States, but they haven’t built a passenger car in over 100 years. It’s been heavy trucks for most of that time. Well, since 1907 to be exact.
This stake-bed truck is powered by a two-cylinder engine and has solid 35″ rubber tires, no weather protection, and a giant ship-like headlight. It’s basic. But that’s exactly what trucks were in 1910. They served a purpose – and it’s amazing that this one is still around. Look for a price between $20,000-$25,000 next week. Click here for more info.
Update: Sold $33,000.
1912 International Model AW Auto Wagon
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
It’s hard to really draw a line in the sand as to when International switched from cars to trucks, as all of their high-wheeled cars were sort of truck-like from the start. In a way, 1911 was the last official year for passenger cars, as their 1912 announcement centered on delivery wagons (though you could get car-like appointments by request on their smallest commercial chassis for years afterward).
These “Auto Wagons” were available in two models for a few years: the AW and the MW. They evolved through 1915, but in 1916 IHC moved to a more modern style and things just kept going from there. With the rear bench seats, I like to think of this as an early SUV, a territory that IHC would dabble in all the way through the early 1980s.
The difference between the AW and MW was their cooling systems. This is where it gets weird. The AW was the air-cooled car, and the MW was water-cooled. The red car above is listed as an AW in RM’s catalog and is clearly water-cooled. The blue car below is listed as a 1913 Model MW. But it is air-cooled. Something is wrong here, or these cars got their running gear swapped at some point.
Both engines were 3.2-liter flat-twins, but the air-cooled version was good for 18 horsepower, three more than its water-cooled sibling.
Regardless, both cars are expected to fetch between $20,000-$30,000 each. So pick one and then rename it. More info on the red car is available here, and you can see the blue one here. Check out more from this sale here.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Update: Sold (red one): $33,000. (Blue one): $28,600.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
It’s hard to really draw a line in the sand as to when International switched from cars to trucks, as all of their high-wheeled cars were sort of truck-like from the start. In a way, 1911 was the last official year for passenger cars, as their 1912 announcement centered on delivery wagons (though you could get car-like appointments by request on their smallest commercial chassis for years afterward).
These “Auto Wagons” were available in two models for a few years: the AW and the MW. They evolved through 1915, but in 1916 IHC moved to a more modern style and things just kept going from there. With the rear bench seats, I like to think of this as an early SUV, a territory that IHC would dabble in all the way through the early 1980s.
The difference between the AW and MW was their cooling systems. This is where it gets weird. The AW was the air-cooled car, and the MW was water-cooled. The red car above is listed as an AW in RM’s catalog and is clearly water-cooled. The blue car below is listed as a 1913 Model MW. But it is air-cooled. Something is wrong here, or these cars got their running gear swapped at some point.
Both engines were 3.2-liter flat-twins, but the air-cooled version was good for 18 horsepower, three more than its water-cooled sibling.
Regardless, both cars are expected to fetch between $20,000-$30,000 each. So pick one and then rename it. More info on the red car is available here, and you can see the blue one here. Check out more from this sale here.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Update: Sold (red one): $33,000. (Blue one): $28,600.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Detroiter was a Detroit, Michigan-based car company that operated from 1912 through 1917. It was founded by Claude Briggs and John Boyle as the Briggs-Detroiter Company. They produced conventional touring cars and coupes using purchased engines.
But they also built some really sharp-looking Speedsters beginning in 1914. This car was actually ordered as a bare chassis by a Detroiter dealer in Indiana. He wanted a Mercer but could get a deal on a Detroiter, so he built a Mercer-style body on the chassis he bought. It ended up being the prototype for later Detroiter Kangaroo Speedsters.
Power is from a 25 horsepower Turner & Moore inline-four cylinder engine. This, the oldest-known Detroiter in existence, will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Pacific Grove, California | August 15, 2019
Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers
The “Three Ps” of Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrow get all of the glory as America’s best early cars. But there were some pretty good “S”s too. And Simplex was foremost among them. Between 1907 and 1914, Simplex turned out some of the greatest cars you could buy at the time. For 1915, they became Crane-Simplex (or Simplex Crane).
The Model 38 sat at the lower end of the 1912 and 1913 Simplex lineup. Powered by a 38 horsepower, 7.8-liter inline-four, the cars could be had in two wheelbases. The car you see here is the short wheelbase at 127″. It’s a four-passenger touring car, which would’ve cost $4,850 when new. That was a lot in 1912.
The body appears to be a replacement, as it is described as being “in the style of Holbrook.” It also has kind of a funky inward lean to it, but I think it may just be an odd photo angle. Completely restored, this is a useable brass era car, with enough power to comfortably use on tours. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Byron Carter left Jackson in 1905 and set up his own company across town in Jackson, Michigan. He bounced from there to Detroit before settling in Pontiac, Michigan in 1907. Cars continued to roll out of the factory through 1915. Carter unexpectedly in 1906 and Cartercar was purchased by GM in 1909. It was phased out to make room for additional Oakland production.
Cartercars were famous for their friction drive transmission, which was the pre-WWI equivalent of a modern CVT. The Model R is powered by a 40 horsepower, 4.1-liter inline-four. It was the brand’s mid-range model in 1912, and the tourer was positioned in the middle of that range at $1,600.
This car carries a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$35,000 and for 20 grand, I think it is the car I want most out of this collection. It’s kind of weird to think that a brand of GM automobile is so rare today, but Cartercars are not easy to come by. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
