Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2023
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The White Motor Car Company existed for 80 years – from 1900 through 1980. But passenger cars disappeared after 1918. In the early years, the company also dabbled in steam propulsion before going exclusively to gas-powered cars in 1912.
This car is from 1913, partially. The 1913 Model Forty was powered by a G.E.B. 40-horsepower inline-four. But this car actually has a G.E.C. engine from 1915, which made 45 horsepower.
The car would’ve retailed for about $3,500 when new, which means they didn’t sell many. But White cars were good, so its no surprise it’s still around. And it remains not cheap: the estimate is $70,000-$90,000. Click here for more info.
1911 Palmer-Singer Model 4-50 Seven-Passenger Touring
Offered by Bonhams | Middletown, Rhode Island | April 29, 2023
Photo – Bonhams
Yes, that Singer. Charles Singer was part of the Singer sewing machine family, and he joined with barrel maker Henry Palmer to start a Simplex, Matheson, and Isotta Fraschini dealership in Manhattan. The next year, 1908, they started building their own cars in Long Island City.
The company’s 1911 model range constituted four cars, with the 4-50 positioned as the second most powerful. It’s powered by a 50-horsepower, 8.2-liter inline-four. It has a four-speed manual transmission and rear drum brakes. Six body styles were offered, and the seven-passenger touring retailed for a hefty $3,900.
This car has had three owners since new and has been in the same family since 1956. It was restored from ’56 through 1960 and is the only four-cylinder Palmer-Singer left (and the only 4-50). The estimate is $400,000-$500,000. Click here for more info.
1916 Packard Twin Six 1-25 Seven-Passenger Touring
Offered by Gooding & Company | Lynchburg, Virginia | April 7, 2023
Photo – Gooding & Company
In 1915, Packard offered one line of cars: the 3-38 six. The next year, the six was dead. Instead, they doubled it to the Twin Six – which was Packard’s first V12. This car is the beginning of Packard’s legendary pre-war V12 lineup that would last through 1923 before reappearing for 1933-1939.
The engine is a 6.9-liter V12 that was rated at 88 horsepower. Two different wheelbases were offered, with this example being on the shorter 125″ wheelbase. On this chassis, nine different body styles were offered.
This seven-passenger tourer has known ownership history since new and has been in static storage for some time. Fun fact, there is a disclaimer at the bottom of the catalog that essentially says “this car may or may not come with a title, good luck.” At $60,000-$80,000, good luck indeed. Click here for more.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Online | November 12-19, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Henry Abrahm Lozier made sewing machines and bicycles before turning to marine engines, and in 1900, automobiles. In its first year of production, 1905, the company made 25 cars. Why so few? Because they cost $4,500 each. That was a fortune in 1905. Most companies that charged huge sums for cars in the early days – or any period, really – never lasted long. Lozier did. Because their cars were fantastic.
Racing success followed, and their model line grew, with their first six-cylinder car appearing in 1909. The Type 82 was produced from 1915 through the end of Lozier production in 1918. This inline-six-powered car was factory rated at 36 horsepower and rode on a 132″ wheelbase. The seven-passenger touring was the only body style offered in 1915 and 1916, and the cost was still an exorbitant $3,250. A basic Cadillac could’ve been had for less than two grand in 1915.
Only about 200 of these were sold in 1915, and this is the only known survivor with its original body, chassis, and engine. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2019
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Frederic Chandler worked for Lozier before he jumped ship in 1913 with a few of his fellow employees to form his own company. The Chandler was a hit and lasted through 1929, when it was acquired by Hupmobile and quickly phased out.
There were a lot of cars “in the middle” of the American market in the 1910s and 20s. Chandler was one of the better ones in that class. This 1917 model is powered by a 27 horsepower 4.4-liter inline-six. Five body styles were offered, and the seven-passenger touring sold new for $1,395. This time around it should bring between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.
Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Frank and Charles Matheson hopped around a bit with their company, which they founded in 1903 – first in their hometown of Grand Rapids for a year, then to Holyoke, Massachusetts until 1905, then finally on to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where they built cars through 1912. After their luck ran out running their own firm, both men remained in the industry for decades to come.
In 1907, Matheson offered two different four-cylinder model lines. This “Big Four” is the larger of the two, and it is powered by a 50 horsepower, 8.0-liter inline-four and bad ass double chain drive. A shaft-driven six-cylinder car would arrive in 1909.
This car wears a large seven-passenger touring body, one of four styles offered in 1907 (though this body is a recreation constructed in the 1980s). The price when new would’ve been $5,500 – a fraction of the $250,000-$350,000 it is expected to bring later this week. Fun fact: William Randolph Hearst owned a pair of Mathesons. Only four Wilkes-Barre-built cars are known to exist today, and this is a pretty nice one. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Thomas Tincher sold some seriously expensive cars between 1903 and 1909 (their 1904 90hp race car model cost $12k… in 1904!). Up until the formation of the South Bend-based Tincher Motor Car Company in 1907, his cars were all built by the Chicago Coach & Carriage Company.
The Model H was the only Tincher offered in 1906 and 1907. At $6,000 it was extremely pricey and was powered by a monstrous 60 horsepower, 7.7-liter inline-four. The company never built more than six cars in a single year and closed their doors in 1909 after being unable to make a profit with such a low production volume.
This is the only Tincher known to exist, and it’s going to be one of the more expensive brass era cars sold from this collection, with an estimate of $500,000-$700,000. Be sure to go to the catalog to check out the amazing paintwork. Click here for more from Bonhams.
Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
How Harry A. Knox became to be an automobile manufacturer probably has something to do with how this car looks. His neighbor happened to be J. Frank Duryea, who along with his brother, was one of America’s first automobile producers. And their early cars looked a lot like this (three-wheelers included).
The auction catalog lists this as a c.1899, but my information says that Knox built their first 15 3-wheelers in 1900. Another 100 were built in 1901, and a 4-wheeler was added in 1902. This car is powered by a five horsepower, 1.6-liter single-cylinder engine.
The engine number is 28, which might mean this was actually built in 1901. In any case, it’s one of the earliest Knox cars around, and it is really, really cool. It should sell for between $100,000-$120,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Update: Sold $106,400.
1910 Knox Model R Seven-Passenger Touring
Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Here’s a later Knox, and a much larger, more traditional example. When I think of this marque I think of tiny, early runabouts like this one. But later on, they certainly built big tourers as well.
The Model R was sold in 1910 through 1912 and it is powered by a 40 horsepower, 6.1-liter straight-four. It has shaft drive and is finished in an attractive combo of blue with red wheels. The restoration is described as older, but with big power on tap, it should be a nice, usable car.
The seven-passenger touring body style was only available on the Model R in 1912, after the wheelbase was extended to 122″. But who knows, anything is possible with old cars. This one should bring between $175,000-$250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.
Offered by Bonhams | Amelia Island, Florida | March 7, 2019
Photo – Bonhams
Brothers Fred and A.R. Welch built their first automobile in 1901 and entered production in 1903 in Chelsea, Michigan. The company moved to Pontiac, Michigan in 1904 and in 1909 they spun off a subsidiary producing a small car called the Welch-Detroit. General Motors acquired Welch in 1910 and quickly phased it out.
The 5.5-liter inline-four was rated at 50 horsepower and features an overhead camshaft and hemispherical combustion chambers. The OG Hemi. Only four “hemi-head” Welch cars are known to survive, and in 1908, this was the only body style you could get on a Model 4-L.
This car has known ownership history back to about 1910, and it was co-acquired by Henry Austin Clark Jr. in 1951. Restored prior to the early-1970s, it has been a mainstay in its current collection for decades. The Welch was one of the best cars in America in 1908, and this one should bring $250,000-$320,000 today. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 5-6, 2017
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Frank Stearns sold his company to John North Willys in 1925. From 1925 through 1930, when the Stearns-Knight brand was shuttered, it operated under the corporate umbrella of Willys-Overland.
This 1929 model, one of the last Stearns-Knight cars built (as 1930 production was minimal if it occurred at all), is an example of what is probably the greatest car the marque ever sold. It looks like a large Packard of the era and is powered by a 112 horsepower 6.3-liter straight-eight sleeve-valve engine.
Only 388 of this model were built between 1928 and 1929 – only 11 survive today. This chassis originally sported a sedan body, but by the time the restoration began, the body was in too bad of shape to restore. So a factory-correct seven-passenger touring body was constructed for it. And it’s gorgeous. The J-8-90 was the pinnacle (and sort of the end of the line) for the decades of Knight-engined automobiles in the United States. You’re unlikely to come across one of these for sale in the wild because they are that good. Click here for more info and here for more from RM Sotheby’s.
