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ORPHAN BABIES VOLUME 2, 1927-1943 |
Without the Model T, America seemed ready for a baby car. |
ORPHAN BABIES America's Forgotten Economy Cars Volume 2, 1927 - 1943 Available early 2010 The soft cover features the stylish 1930 American Austin coupe and the custom Austin garage from an aftermarket supplier. |
A PARTIAL LISTING OF CARS COVERED IN ORPHAN BABIES, VOLUME 2: 1927-1943: American Austin; American Austin-Overland Gun Carrier; American Bantam; American Dye Works Delivery; Austin Hi-Way King; Bantam Cyclecar; Batchelor; Borntraeger Silver Bullet; Brauks; Broadway Melody Town Car; Bury; Checker-Bantam BRC 40; Chevrolet Extra Light "Jeep"; Continental Beacon; Chevrolet Pennsylvania Dump Truck; C.R.A.D.; Crosley; Custer; Dart; Davidson Gun Carriage; DaVinci Pup; DeCross Cycar; Fearless Greggs' Stunt Car; Flying Squirrel: Ford GP; Ford GPW; Ford Extra Light "Jeep"; Ford Model A; Ford Pygmy; Freedman; General Motors Martia; Golden Bear Pickup; Griffin; Hamilton Light Cross Country Car; Hearst Davies Baby Boat tail; Herds; Hormone Eight; Howie-Wiley Gun Carrier; Indian Automobiles; Kaiser Extra Light "Jeep"; La France Stunt Car; Littlemac; Little Mystery; MacKenzie Junior Racer; Martin, Martin Aerodynamic Auto; Martin Aerodynamic Autoette; Martin Motor Truck; Mathis; Maytag Toy Racer: MHC; Midget Special; M-M Sport Roadster; Motor Bob; National Junior Racer; Olympic; Pepito's Roadster; Red Bug; Rena; Reo Baby; Reo Doodlebug; Scootmobile; Shaw; Shotwell; Smith Flyer; Victory; Victory Taxibus; Weber Moon; Willys 37; Willys 77; Willys MA; Willys MB; Willys MB-L; Willys Quad; Willys WAC; Wright-Martin. |
All content on this website and in the book (c) Copyrighted 2009 by Robert D. Cunningham. No portion may be reproduced without permission. All content is contributed by amateurs for general enjoyment; no guarantee of accuracy is guaranteed or implied. |
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The 1927 Shaw Speedster weighed just 175 pounds. Its engine was rated at 2.5 horsepower. |
The 1927 Shaw Speedster weighed just 175 pounds. Its engine was rated at 2.5 horsepower. |
The 1927 Shaw Speedster weighed just 175 pounds. Its engine was rated at 2.5 horsepower. |
Amusement parks featured Custer Cootie cars, but the electrics could be driven on the streets in some states. |
The Plymouth Junior Special was created by an employee of the Chrysler Corporation for his little boy in 1933. |
The Littlemac prototype was built in Moline, Illinois, in 1929. |
The American Austin was built in Butler, Pennsylvania from 1930 through 1934. Nearly 20,000 were made in roadster, coupe, and various truck body styles. |
The 1932 Martin Autoette was built on a chassis of "metal wood" and carried an American Austin engine in the back. |
The Willys-Overland Model 77 was the smallest, least expensive automobile made in America for 1936. |
The American Bantam was introduced for 1938 and was made by the same folks who built the American Austin. |
Although Bantam's attempts to market a civilian economy car were disappointing, the company developed a light weight 4-wheel-drive combat car we now call 'jeep'. |
The Little Mystery, built by Ken Morehouse, of Detroit, Michigan, on a wheelbase of just 52 inches, was driven across the United States in 1927. |
Miles Carpenter built three Dart cars for Captain James V. Martin who unsuccessfully attempted to finance mass production for several years. |
Powel Crosley, Jr., introduced his 2-cylinder convertibles in April, 1939. |
DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, America's well-to-do children traveled in Red Bugs, Custer Cooties, Shaw Speedsters, National Junior Racers, Maytag Toy Racers and many other expensive playthings. Some were even licensed for use on the streets. Available early in 2010, Volume 2 of ORPHAN BABIES, America's Forgotten Economy Cars tell the untold stories of baby cars that tried to carry us through those stressful times. "I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST YOU!" Zeke tossed his wrench onto the workbench as he stormed into the garage. "Where is it? Where's the steering wheel?" In recent days, rare auto parts had disappeared from Zeke's collection--a pair of Metz headlights; steam plumbing fixtures from the Locomobile; a half dozen radiator mascots and hood ornaments. When I first broke into Zeke's garage five weeks ago, he thought I was a thief. Now he was sure. "We're friends," I protested. "You know I would never swipe anything from you." Zeke straddled an old riding lawn mower and slid down into the seat. He cradled his forehead in his hands. Johnathon Yancy was wrong when he told the sheriff Zeke's collection was worth no more than its weight in scrap iron. But his best years were behind him. He couldn't hope to get more than one or two cars running before Yancy and the sheriff came back to evict him. And his leg was still throbbing from the day the garage roof collapsed. "Why don't you sell some of this stuff?" I asked. "I'm trying to save my cars," Zeke snorted, "not part them out." "But some are in really bad shape. And we can't restore them all by the end of the summer. Maybe if you sold parts from the cars that need the most work you can get some money to pay your taxes. Or you could use the money to hire someone to work on the cars you keep." |
Zeke agreed reluctantly. "I suppose it makes more sense to sell my stuff than to let a guy with a monkey wrench and a hack saw get it all." For the next few days, restoration took a back seat to scavenging. We began removing the most valuable parts from the cars outside and tacked them in the garage where the Austin had been parked. I helped Zeke take inventory. Work on the Austin may have stopped, but Zeke's stories did not. He recalled in great detail how and why he moved away from Chicago. Manson, Iowa was the last place on earth he and Kat wanted to be, yet it was the right place to open an automobile dealership. THE CONTENDERS Arguably, the car that single-handedly prepared America to welcome the Depression-era baby car was the brainchild of one man who had enough talent, diligence, technical background, fame and intestinal fortitude to get the job done. Captain James V. Martin adapted many of his patented ideas for lightweight airplanes to create a completely new type of lightweight automobile. Martin called his 600-pound Dart "the smallest car for practical purposes ever made." Martin said they would sell for $200 each when production reached 3 million cars per year. And at that price, the buyer would receive a free garage--the shipping crate. Clayton E. Frederickson partnered with Iowa politicians Herbert and Ralph Thompson to deliver the Littlemac--larger than the Dart but smaller than any production car in the country. It was clean, contemporary and conservative. The 1,200-pound car could reach 35 miles per hour in just 75 feet and advertising boasted of being "the fastest small automobile in the world." The Thompson brothers began an aggressive fund raising campaign but Sir Herbert Austin put a damper on the project all the way from England. The American Austin Car Company was incorporated in 1929 to build the English Austin Seven in Butler, Pennsylvania. The American Austin styling and innovative body engineering were conceived by Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, the son of a former counselor to Russian Czar Nicholas II. |
Body shells were built and upholstered by the Hayes Body Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and shipped to Butler for completion. The petite engine achieved 45 miles per hour and up to 50 miles per gallon. Investment in Martin Motors, Thompson Motors and American Austin appeared to be sure money makers. But it ws a bad time to build a new car company. By the mid-1930s, all were history and a new crop of baby cars burst onto the scene. JEEPERS CREEPERS! American Austin salesman Roy S. Evans acquired the bankrupt company in 1936 and introduced an updated version late the following year. The new American Bantam was faster, stronger and more streamlined than its predecessor, but even less successful. Its products might have been completely forgotten if not for their BRC or Bantam Reconnaissance Car, created for the United States Army in just 49 days. The BRC was the first "jeep", yet Bantam built only a handful before the government awarded production contracts to Ford and Willys-Overland. Radio manufacturer Powel Crosley, Jr., also offered a miniature car. His two-cylinder convertibles debuted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and were sold beside Crosley's appliances at Macy's and other department stores. Crosley also hoped for government contracts and he built a few special prupose vehicles for the military. Of all the baby cars introduced during the 1930's, only the Crosley survived World War II. The incredible competition Crosley encountered is covered in ORPHAN BABIES, Volume 3: 1943-1969, available in late 2010. |