EMF Touring

1910 EMF Model 30 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

Everitt-Metzger-Flanders was relatively short lived – around from just 1908 to 1912. But those three names were all over the place in the early days. Everitt built bodies, Metzger helped get Cadillac off the ground, and Flanders was Ford’s production manager.

The Model 30 was their only product, and in 1910, it was only offered as a five-passenger touring car. The 3.7-liter inline-four engine made… 30 horsepower. It’s obviously been restored, and is said to have spent its recent life as a parade car.

E-M-F built ~15,000 cars in 1910. They don’t come up for sale all that often, but this EMF is… unbelievable. Click here for more info.

Packard Model 30 Toy Tonneau

1912 Packard Model 30 Toy Tonneau

Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Model 30 was one of the great early Packards, and it was produced from 1907 through 1912. We’ve feature two of them previously, including a touring car. This is a “toy tonneau,” which looks pretty much like a touring car but with a narrower rear passenger compartment. You can see it in the photo above how the body sits inward of the fenders.

The 30 is powered by a 7.1-liter inline-four that was rated at 30 horsepower when new. The body on this one isn’t original, as it was recreated in a Holbrook style approximately 20 years ago. The car, which is believed to have been the final Model 30 chassis completed, initially spent time with the Detroit Fire Department.

Packard sold 1,250 Model 30s in 1912, and this, the last of them now has an estimate of $250,000-$300,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $257,600.

Chalmers 30

1911 Chalmers Model 30 Roadster

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 26, 2022

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

Chalmers-Detroit lost the “-Detroit” suffix beginning in 1911, making this a first-year stand-alone Chalmers automobile. The Model 30 was a carryover from the prior year, but now with updating branding, revised running boards, and a new dashboard.

Power is from a 30-horsepower inline-four. Six body styles were offered, including the $1,500 roadster. Not super cheap, but then again the Chalmers was not an entry-level automobile.

This example was restored as needed over the years, the last 20 or so of which were spent in a private collection. It is now offered at no reserve and without a pre-sale estimate. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $36,960.

Cadillac 30 Roadster

1910 Cadillac Model 30 Roadster

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Slough, U.K. | July 17, 2021

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

Cadillac’s Model 30 was produced from 1909 through 1911. It was their only model those three years and was based on a design stemming from 1906 (although it was called by different names then, including the Model G). The four-cylinder model would continue one essentially unchanged through 1914.

The engine is a 4.2-liter inline-four that was rated at 33 horsepower when new. In 1909 and early 1910, you could only get the 30 as an open car. Limousines and coupes didn’t come until mid-1910. Two roadsters were available at $1,600 each. This is the two-seat roadster.

It was restored over time, and the body is said to have been fitted about 100 years ago. So I guess that makes it close enough to being “original.” It is expected to fetch between $37,000-$55,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $46,194.

Dodge Brothers Touring

1918 Dodge Brothers Model 30 Five-Passenger Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 2, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

John and Horace Dodge were very important figures in the rapid expansion of the US motorcar industry. They got their start supplying engines to Oldsmobile and then became Henry Ford’s secret weapon until they cashed out and opened their own operation in 1914.

The firm remained “Dodge Brothers” until 1930 when it was shortened to just Dodge. But by that point, both brothers had passed and the company was under the control of Chrysler. The 1918 Model 30 was powered by a 30 horsepower, 3.5-liter inline-four.

It was essentially aimed at the Model T but was more expensive (Bonhams’ catalog very factly states that they are “way cooler than the T”). These really are great cars and this example is one I would love to own. Dodge built 90,000 cars in 1917 across six body styles. This tourer should sell for between $10,000-$15,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Paterson Touring

1910 Paterson Model 30 Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Tupelo, Mississippi | April 27, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

Born in Canada, William A. Paterson moved to Flint, Michigan in 1869 to build carriages. In 1908 he built a prototype automobile, and by 1910, cars were his only line of business. There were a lot of car companies in America in the 1910s. Some were big and are still around today. Some were small and only lasted a few years. And then were companies like Paterson who fell right in the middle: they built a fair number of cars and lasted, as Paterson did, for a solid 15-ish years (until 1923, in this case).

The 1910 Paterson model range consisted of the Model 30, the company’s first four-cylinder car. It is a 30 horsepower, 3.3-liter inline-four. Three body styles were offered, each costing $1,400. Only 450 cars were built in 1910.

This car was once owned by the director of Dumbo and was then acquired by the Harrah collection. The Tupelo museum bought it from a Harrah’s dispersal sale in 1986. It should now sell for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $43,680.

1912 Cadillac

1912 Cadillac Model 30 Four-Passenger Touring

Offered by Worldwide Auctioneers | Arlington, Texas | April 21, 2017

Photo – Worldwide Auctioneers

The Model 30 was introduced by Cadillac in 1909 and it was the first model that really pushed Cadillac to the top of the heap among American automakers. The model underwent slight changes (and engine enlargements) year after year until it was ultimately replaced for 1915.

Over the years, a variety of body styles were offered and this car sports a Four-Door Touring body which was the entry-level style offered in 1912. The price would’ve been $1,800. It’s powered by a 4.7-liter straight-four making more than 40 horsepower. That engine, famously, has a built-in starter. No crank required! If only modern IndyCars could figure out how to use that same, 100-year-old technology.

Let’s talk appearance: this car has a wonderful patina and is all-original. We’ll call it “time warp condition.” And it has an amazing story: last used on the road in 1923, a man bought it from a used car dealer in 1935 for $10! It’s amazing and will sell without reserve. If you have the know-how (or resources) to get this back to roadworthy condition, it’s a must-buy. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Worldwide’s lineup.

Update: Sold $36,300.

Oakland Touring

1912 Oakland Model 30 Touring

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 6-7, 2016

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded 1907 by Alanson Brush (founder of Brush and inventor of the planetary transmission and the Cadillac one-cylinder car) and Edward Murphy (owner of the Pontiac Buggy Company). Oakland was based in Pontiac, Michigan – foreshadowing of its future. In 1909, after only a single model year’s worth of cars, Murphy sold half the company to General Motors.

In the 1920s General Motors introduced its Companion Make program to fill price gaps between its existing brands. In 1926, Oakland got its partner brand: Pontiac. In 1931, GM announced that it would be discontinuing Oakland – and continuing with Pontiac, giving Oakland the dubious distinction to be the only GM brand to be swallowed and outlived by its companion make.

This early GM-era Oakland is powered by a 30 horsepower 3.3-liter straight-four engine. The Model 30 was Oakland’s entry-level model for 1912 and the five-passenger Touring was one of two body styles offered. It carried an as-new price of $1,250 and 104 years later, well restored, it should sell for between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $44,000.

1911 Packard Limousine

1911 Packard Model 30 Limousine

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 12, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The Model 30 Packard was new for 1907 and lasted through 1912. It was their stalwart and most popular model. This particular car is listed as a “UEFR” – which likely means it was a 1912 model – but production of the UE series Model 30s actually began in the summer of 1911. Make of that what you will.

It is powered by a 7.1-liter straight-four putting out about 60 horsepower. Eight body styles were offered for 1911 and this open-drive Limousine was among the most expensive, costing its owner approximately $5,450 when new. This car was sold new to a lady in New Orleans where it remained until 1947.

In 1947 the car was in the possession of the chauffeur of the original owner and he traded the machine to a 19-year-old college student for a bottle of whiskey. Yeah. Good luck making that deal today. That 19-year-old, exhibiting a case of “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” drove the car back to Houston from the French Quarter. It’s been in Texas since and has never been restored but has been used gently over the years. It’s an amazing survivor. Only 1,250 “UE” Model 30s were built and the Limousine is rare. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $137,500.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Hershey 2018, $71,500.

Marion Roadster

1911 Marion Model 30 A Roadster

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | November 25, 2015

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

Marion was a marque produced by a few different companies in the early days of the automobile. The company that produced this car in 1911 was the most prolific. Based in Indianapolis, Marion was one of the first companies to build a sports car: the Bobcat.

But their bread and butter were more standard cars in an array of body styles. The 1911 range included the Model 30 and 40. The 30 (seen here) uses a 30 horsepower, 3.7-liter straight-four. It was offered in four styles, with this Model A Roadster being the least expensive and smallest.

This car spent most of its life in the American Northeast before being exported to the U.K. in 1991. It was restored in the mid-1990s and has been used steadily since. It should sell for between $30,000-$46,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Brightwells’ lineup.

Update: Sold $30,211.