Tag Archives: 1913

1913 Alco Touring Car

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1913 Alco Six Model H Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by RM Auctions, Boca Raton, Florida, February 24-25, 2012

The American Locomotive Company was formed in 1901 as the result of a merger between eight smaller locomotive manufacturers. This made Alco the second-largest steam locomotive producer in the United States.

In 1906 the company began producing Berliet automobiles under license (as American Berliet). This license agreement was trashed in 1908 in favor building their own cars. Alco cars won the Vanderbilt Cup in 1909 and 1910 and competed in the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Alco was also the first automobile company at which man named Walter P. Chrysler worked before he left in 1911 to join Buick.

In 1913 Alco shifted their focus back to locomotives (they had lost an average of over $450 on every car sold since 1906), producing their last steam locomotive in 1948 and final diesel locomotive in 1969.

The car seen here is a six-cylinder Model H from the final year of production. It is believed that this car was featured on the Alco stand at the 1913 New York Auto Show. It has 60 horsepower and after the completion of restoration in the mid-1990s, the car was “mechanically updated” in order to take place in brass-era tours. So it’s a driver.

Only six of these cars are known to exist and this one is a glorious example. There is something undeniably stately and imposing about large brass-era touring cars. The estimate on this car is $400,000-$600,000 and is offered from the Milhous Collection. For the complete catalog description, click here and to see all of the other interesting things available at this sale, click here.

Update: Sold $506,000.

1913 Delaunay-Belleville

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1913 Delaunay-Belleville Type O6 8L

Offered by Artcurial, Salon Rétromobile, Paris, February 3, 2012

Photo – Artcurial

The Type O6 was the most powerful car produced by Delaunay-Belleville prior to the First World War. It featured an 8-liter straight-six engine producing 100 horsepower at an insanely low, count-the-revs 1500 rpm. The car is capable of just over 70 mph.

These cars were sold as bare chassis with coachwork to be added later. This particular car retains its original coachwork from J. Rothschild & Sons. Over time, the hood had weakened and was replaced. The car was also repainted and mechanically refreshed – but not restored – in the 1980s.

This car was purchased new by Edward Daubree – part of the family that founded a little known company called “Michelin.” After World War I the car was given to his nephew and at the onset of the Second World War the wheels were removed from the car and walled up in a house, while the rest of the car was stashed in a different residence. The car was re-discovered in 1986 and brought back to life. It remains in the Michelin family as it has its entire existence. The car is being sold to raise funds for medical research.

Delaunay-Belleville cars are extremely rare and valuable as they were once near the height of French automobile production – being owned by royalty from France to Russia. They were out of production by the end of the 1920s and they rarely come up for sale. Here is a chance to own one with known ownership (the same family) from new. It’s a massive, amazing car with a fascinating history. Buy it.

The pre-sale estimate is a wide $525,000-$785,000. It is being sold for a charitable cause, but that shouldn’t have a huge impact on its selling price because it is worth a ton of money as it is. For a complete run down of this car, click here. To see the rest of Artcurial’s lineup, click here.

Update: Sold $600,834.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams Monterey 2016 $450,000.

Pathfinder Touring Car

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1913 Pathfinder Series XIII A Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 19-20, 2012

This 40 horsepower Pathfinder is described as “the only one of its kind in existence,” meaning it is the only 1913 Pathfinder in existence – making it sound rarer than it is. It’s a Series XIII Five-Passenger Touring model with attractive, but average for the time, styling.

This model was originally spec’d with all available electrical equipment – but as you can see, there is a hand crank hanging out the front of the car. At this time, the electric starter had only been on Cadillacs for a year. While this car is quite interesting and worthy of being collected, it is not a Cadillac.

Pathfinder was in production for five short years, from 1912 until 1917, as a sub-marque of the Parry Automobile Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. Later cars became more luxurious with V-12 engines, but this early model has a 281 cubic inch L-head 4-cylinder.

This particular car sold this past summer at an RM Auction for $115,500. You have to wonder when a car pops up at auction twice in a year. Either the new buyer wanted to hurry and try and flip it for a quick profit and that plan went south and they needed to just get rid of it. Or there is something wrong with it. I’m guessing the former. With only six months since it’s last sale, I doubt the market for 1913 Pathfinder’s has changed all that much. More about it here, with auction info here.

Update: Not Sold.

Update II: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2016, $121,000.

1913 AC Sociable

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1913 AC Sociable Runabout

Offered by Coys | “True Greats,” London, U.K. | December 7, 2011

Autocars and Accessories Ltd. was founded by the Weller Brothers who initially produced a three-wheeled delivery vehicle called the Autocarrier. When they decided to sell it to the emerging motoring public as a passenger vehicle, the replaced the cargo box with a front seat and the AC Sociable was born.

AC produced approximately 1800 Sociables from 1907 through 1914. It is powered by a single-cylinder engine of about 630cc that sits below the driver who sits in the lone seat at the car’s rear. This car has a somewhat perplexing convertible top that can be raised over the passenger compartment. It’s purpose, one could suppose, would be to block the sun – as it does not reach the small half-windshield, therefore not really protecting anyone from the elements.

Curiously, it also obscures the vision of the driver. This picture:

shows that, perhaps if the correct height, the operator could see through the porthole window to drive (assuming the passengers aren’t large enough to cover it up), but their vision is still quite limited. It’s an interesting car, no doubt. But it also showcases that we’ve come a long way so far as ergonomics are concerned.

Coys estimates the price to be between £18,000 and £22,000 ($28,000-$34,000 USD). More info on the car can be found here. And more info on the auction here.

Update: Sold £25,370, or about $40,300.