1911 Overland Model 49 Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

 

Overland was established in 1903 as the Overland Automotive Division of the Standard Wheel Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a 5-horsepower gasoline runabout designed by Claude E. Cox. Overland moved to Indianapolis in 1905 and was sold to Cox, who partnered with investor David M. Parry who formed the Overland Auto Company. In 1906, Overland produced 47 cars and all were sold to dealer John North Willys of Elmira, New York. Following the Panic of 1907, Willys purchased control of Overland in 1908 and increased production to 467 cars, then to 4,907 in 1909, when Cox left to work for the new Inter-State Automobile Company in Muncie, and Willys moved Overland to the former Pope-Toledo factory in Toledo, Ohio. In 1912 the company would be renamed to the Willys-Overland Motor Company and from 1912 to 1918 it would be America's second-largest automobile manufacturer after Ford. The Overland marque would be used until the 1926 introduction of the Whippet. This 1911 Overland Model 49 is a 5-passenger Touring Car with a 102-inch wheelbase powered by a 25-horsepower 199-cubic-inch inline 4-cylinder L-head engine with a 3-speed selective sliding gear transmission. The Model 49 was originally priced at $1,095.00 and dark blue was the standard color. This example was photographed at the Northwest Car Collectors Association Car Show & Swap Meet at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in Portland, Oregon, on October 18-19, 2003.

1908 Ford Model T Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T, which would go on to be one of the best-selling automobiles of all-time. The Model T first went on sale on October 1, 1908, and 305 were built by the end of the year. By the time production ended in 1927, over 16.5 million would be built.

The Model T was powered by a 20-horsepower in-line 4-cylinder cast iron engine with a 2-speed manual planetary gearbox. It could reach a top speed of 42 miles per hour. The Model T used quarter-elliptic leaf springs for its suspension instead of semi-elliptic to reduce costs, resulting in a rough ride on its wooden wheels and solid tires.

Despite Ford's famous statement that a customer could buy the Model T in any color as long as it was black, early Model Ts were made in a variety of colors, including blue, green, gray, and the red shown here, though only touring cars were available in red. Not until 1914 was black the only color available. In addition to the Touring Car pictured here at the Towe Ford Museum (now the California Automobile Museum) in Sacramento, California, in March 1992, the other initial body styles available were the Runabout, the Coupe, the Landaulet and the Town Car.

1915 Dodge Brothers Model 30-35 Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

Brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company in 1900. Initially a bicycle manufacturer, Dodge Brothers expanded to supply parts to automakers like Ford and Oldsmobile and abandoned bicycles. By 1914, Dodge Brothers had decided to introduce its own automobile, and thus the 1915 Dodge Brothers Model 30-35 Touring Car was born.

For 1915, all Dodge Brothers cars were touring cars, and all were painted black with blue wheel spokes. This one is pictured at the Towe Ford Museum (now the California Automobile Museum) in Sacramento, California, in March 1992.

Designed to be an improvement over the Ford Model T while remaining affordable, the larger Dodge Brothers Model 30-35 featured a 35-horsepower engine, a sliding-gear transmission, all-steel body construction and a 12-volt electrical system for a starting price of $785. The new car proved to be a success and by 1916, Dodge Brothers was the number two marque in the United States, second only to Ford. Dodge Brothers would expand to become a leading manufacturer of light trucks. Unfortunately, Horace and John Dodge both died in 1920, and the company subsequently struggled until it was purchased by Walter P. Chrysler in 1928 and was merged into the Chrysler Corporation.

1912 Ford Model T Touring Car

1912 Ford Model T Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

The Ford Model T was produced from 1908 to 1927, and over 16.5 million were built. The Model T was powered by a 20-horsepower 4-cylinder engine. The Model T Touring Car pictured here is a 1912 model. Despite Ford's famous statement that a customer could buy the Model T in any color as long as it was black, early Model Ts were made in a variety of colors, and all 1912 Model Ts were painted midnight blue with black fenders. Not until 1914 was black the only color available. Touring cars like this one were by far the most popular in the early years. This example was displayed at the Towe Ford Museum (now the California Automobile Museum) in Sacramento, California, in March 1992.

1904 Ford Model B Touring Car

1904 Ford Model B Touring Car

Photo by Cliff West

Henry Ford built cars before the famous Model T. His first was called the Model A. It had an 8-horsepower engine under the seat, and was introduced in 1903. In 1904, Ford expanded the lineup with the upscale Model B. (Initially, the model letters made sense.)

The Ford Model B was Ford's first front-engine car, with a 24-horsepower 4-cylinder engine mounted behind a conventional radiator. It cost considerably more than the concurrent Model A ($2000 vs $750). Ford sold about 500 examples of the Model B and about 1,750 examples of the Model A. As a result, The Model B is very rare today. This example was at the Towe Ford Museum (now the California Automobile Museum) in Sacramento, California in March 1992.