Metz Roadster

1914 Metz Model 22 Roadster

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Charles Metz originally founded the Waltham Manufacturing Company, producer of the Orient Buckboard. He left it in 1901 and returned in 1908 when it was financially destroyed. Essentially what was left was a huge pile of debt and a huge pile of parts. So he started selling the parts for $25 a pack. Fourteen “packs” later and you’d have an entire car, unbuilt, at your home.

But if you spaced it out right, the next pack would arrive just as the prior one was put together. It was like buying a car on an installment plan. But you had to build it yourself. It was one of the first kit cars. Mail-order at that.

After the “Metz Plan” paid off Waltham’s debts, Metz reorganized as the Metz Company in 1909 and upped the price a bit. It was a popular car and lasted through 1921.

The Model 22 was the only model offered in 1914 and could be had as a Roadster, Speedster, or Torpedo. This Roadster cost $475 and is powered by a 22 horsepower inline-four. It features a friction transmission and chain drive.

It’s kind of weird to think someone assembled this car in their garage. Over 100 years ago. And yet here it is, ready to go. It should sell for between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,200.

Metz Model 25

1915 Metz Model 25 Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | Harrogate, U.K. | November 14, 2012

This is the third Metz I can recall coming up for auction in the past two months. I really wanted to feature one of the other two but it never fit on the schedule. So when I saw this one third from the end of Bonhams’ lot list for their Harrogate sale (here), I had to feature it.

Charles Herman Metz founded the car company that bore his name in 1909 in Waltham, Massachusetts. He bought out the Waltham Manufacturing Company – a company he co-founded and was subsequently booted from. They were producing Waltham and Orient Buckboard cars when he bought them out. Metz produced cars in their factory but they also offered them on the “Metz Plan” where consumers would pay a weekly fee and have parts shipped to their homes, where they would assemble it themselves. It was a mail-order car – in parts. Which is interesting, but not great if you needed a car, say… anytime in the next 4-to-6 months. Metz folded in 1922.

No word on if this four-cylinder Metz was a home-build or a factory car, but it was involved in an accident in 1915 before it had even covered 600 miles. It was then promptly garaged for the next (gets his calculator out)… the next 55 years! That’s right, this thing sat in storage somewhere until 1970 when it was dragged out and had its engine rebuilt with only 564 miles on the odometer. It has since been completely restored and can be yours for $19,000-$24,000. Fore more information, click here.

Update: Sold $13,600.

RM 2012 Hershey Highlights

RM Auctions’ 2012 sale in Hershey, Pennsylvania had a bunch of really old, really cool cars for sale. We featured the cream of the crop (at least from our perspective) and most of those sold. The one-of-a-kind South Bend Surrey failed to sell. So did the Stanley Mountain Wagon and 1915 Peerless. The top sale went to the Barrelside Model J Duesenberg for $1,292,500. Our other featured Duesenberg, the Murphy Sport Sedan, was the second-biggest sale at $792,000. One of the interesting cars we didn’t get a chance to feature was this 1914 Jeffrey Four Five-Passenger Touring that sold for $40,700.

1914 Jeffrey Four Five-Passenger Touring

One big seller was a horse-drawn fire wagon. There were three of these at this sale, but this was far exceeded the other two, at $396,000. It’s an 1894 Silsby Fourth Size Horse-Drawn Steam Pumper. It was pretty decked out and everyone seemed happy when it sold.

1894 Silsby Fourth Size Horse-Drawn Steam Pumper

Other interesting sales included this 1912 Baker Electric Model W Runabout. There’s something about the tires on this thing that make it look like it’s ready to go tackle some trails somewhere. It sold for $85,250.

1912 Baker Electric Model W Runabout

Other alternative-propulsion vehicles included our featured 1900 Milwaukee Steam Runabout for $44,000. The 1906 Pope-Waverley Electric Runabout brought $60,500. And the 1906 Columbus Model 1000 Electric Stanhope sold for $52,250. This 1913 Simplex 38HP Five-Passenger Touring, while not electric or steam-powered, was still cool at $214,500.

As was this 1910 White Model G-A Five-Passenger Touring that sold for $66,000.

There was an interesting selection of American cars from the 1950s and 60s that included this very rare 1966 Studebaker Daytona Sport, which sold for only $10,450.

Kaiser and Frazer were also represented. This 1949 Kaiser Deluxe Convertible sold for $57,200.

1949 Kaiser Deluxe Convertible

And this 1950 Frazer Manhattan sedan brought $49,500.

This 1903 Ford Model A Rear-Entry Tonneau is the oldest known Ford in existence being  one of the first three cars built by the Ford Motor Company. It came from the John O’Quinn  collection and sold for $264,000.

1903 Ford Model A Rear-Entry Tonneau

As many old Fords as you see at auctions, you don’t see too many pre-1920 Chevrolets. This sale had one and its a great looking car. It’s a 1918 D-Series V-8 Touring car and it sold for $46,200.

1918 Chevrolet D-Series V8 Touring

Our featured 1918 Roamer Five-Passenger Touring car sold for $93,500. And the 1920 Premier Model 6-D sold for $63,250. This 1919 Renault Type EU Torpedo seemed especially cheap at $49,500.

1919 Renault Type EU Torpedo

Another car I found interesting was this 1910 Metz Two Runabout. It also sold for $49,500.

1910 Metz Two Runabout

Our other two feature cars were the 1902 Northern Runabout for $66,000 and the 1906 American Tourist Roi des Belges Touring for $110,000. For complete results, check out RM’s website, here.

Aalholm Automobile Collection Sale (RM Auctions, 8/12/12)

RM Auctions no-reserve sale of the Aalholm Automobile Collection in Nysted, Denmark was one of the most awesome sales of the year, opportunity-wise. There were some obscure old cars to be had and, although they were all museum cars they were still able to bring some serious money. None of the cars appeared to be in concours-level condition and some were hardly better than barn finds, but most just seemed to have been sitting in their current state for years if not decades.The top sale was a 1938 Maybach Zeppelin DS8 Roadster for $1,687,000.

There are also a boatload of other cars I wanted to feature, but the proximity of this sale to those at Pebble Beach precluded this. So, instead of a feature article of each of them, here’s a rundown (with photos) of the more interesting cars. First, this pair of three-wheelers. This yellow 1934 BSA Model 9 sold for $10,200.

1934 BSA Model 9 Three-Wheel Runabout

And our featured 1921 Darmont-Morgan sold for $41,700. There was also a pair of nearly-identical microcars, both license-built versions of the Isetta. First, this 1958 Trojan sold for $9,200.

Then its German cousin, the strangely purple 1963 Heinkel Kabine sold for $18,500

A couple of other German cars included this 1939 Adler 2.5-Litre Convertible by Karmann for $64,900.

1939 Adler 2.5-Litre Convertible by Karmann

This 1931 DKW F1 Roadster brought $16,700.

1931 DKW F1 Roadster

One of my favorites from this auction is this 1926 Hanomag 2/10 PS “Kommissbrot.” It sold for $27,800.

1926 Hanomag 2/10 PS “Kommissbrot”

This 1965 NSU Wankel Spider was one of the few post-1960 cars at this sale. It sold for $55,600.

1965 NSU Wankel Spider

A couple of the German cars on offer were also military vehicles. The most interesting of which was this 1939 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen. It’s amphibious, although, from the photos, I’d say it might need a little attention paid to it before the new owner takes it out for a swim. It sold for $139,100.

1939 Volkswagen Schwimmwagen

This 1940 Horch Kraftfahrzeug 15 Command and Control Car was also on the expensive side, bringing slightly less than the VW at $111,300.

1940 Horch Kraftfahrzeug 15 Command and Control Vehicle

The final military vehicles may not have ever been used by the military at all. It was produced in the inter-war years, but in all likelihood was used by some military or other. It’s a 1926 Citroen Kegresse Half-Track and it’s awesome. It sold for $38,900.

c. 1926 Citroën Kegresse Half-Track

There were plenty of other French cars at this sale and many of them started with the letter ‘D.’ Like this 1904 Delahaye Surrey-Top Tourer for $111,200.

1904 Delahaye Surrey-Top Tourer

Then there was a 1900 Decauville Roadster for $204,000.

1900 Decauville Roadster

And this 1909 Delaunay-Belleville Belvalette for $269,000.

Don’t forget the biggest of early French automakers, De Dion-Bouton, who were well represented at this sale. I really liked this 1909 Tourer for $78,800.

And another French ‘D,’ the somewhat less-spectacular 1925 Donnet Type G Saloon that sold for a comparatively diddly $16,700.

1925 Donnet Type G Saloon

One of our feature cars was French, the out-of-this-world 1896 Léon Bollée. It sold for $129,800. Another unusually laid-out car is this super-rare 1902 Lacroix de Laville La Nef tyicycle. It sold for $60,200.

c. 1902 Lacroix de Laville La Nef Tricycle

Panhard et Levassor was also represented. Of the two offered, this 1908 Type X1 Coupe Chauffeur by Rothschild was the more impressive. It sold for $153,000.

1908 Panhard & Levassor Type X1 Coupé Chauffeur by Rothschild

And, of course, Renault. This 1925 Type NM 40 CV Coupe de Ville by Kellner brought $278,200.

1925 Renault Type NM 40 CV Coupé de Ville by Kellner

And this 1903 10 CV Limousine sold for $222,500.

Other cars of note included this 1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges Tourer. It was the second-highest selling car of the auction at $871,700.

1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost Roi des Belges Tourer

This very strange (I’ve never seen one before) 1954 Arnott Lea Francis Sports sold for $55,600.

1954 Arnott Lea Francis Sports

American cars at this sale included this 1906 Cadillac Model M Light Touring for $70,400.

c. 1906 Cadillac Model M Light Touring

There was also this 1927 Falcon-Knight Sedan for $20,400.

1927 Falcon-Knight Sedan

There was a 1902 Holsman High-Wheel Runabout. It went for $48,200.

1902 Holsman High-Wheel Runabout

This 1914 Packard 2-38 Seven-Passenger Touring car looks great in two-tone blue. It brought $102,000

1914 Packard 2-38 Seven-Passenger Touring

Another car more than 100 years old is this 1902 Rambler Model C Runabout. It was hammered away for $64,900

And this simple-looking 1915 Metz Model 25 Touring sold for $18,500.

Our other feature cars were the 1906 Ford Model N and the 1914 Benz 18/45 Four-Passenger Runabout. The Ford sold for $37,000 and the Benz $370,900. Now on to the weird stuff. We’ll start with this Russian copy of a Cadillac. It’s a 1954 Zim Limousine. It was sold in a lot of five cars, so judging what the buyer thought they were paying for this could vary on which car he/she actually wanted. But a fifth of the lot price comes out to $742. A steal.

1954 Zim Limousine

Next up is the 1905 Invisible Eight. It was not built in 1905, as it has a modern chassis and a Flathead Ford V8. It’s weird, that’s what it is. It cost $46,300.

And finally, a really fun car. This 1965 Hannibal Eight Special was one of four built for the film The Great Race, starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and a stunning Natalie Wood. The Hannibal Eight was driven by Jack Lemmon’s character, Professor Fate, throughout the movie. It sold for $77,900.

For complete results, click here.