1923 Locomobile
1923 Locomobile, Model 48 from the Nickel period. $9000 dollars when new in 1923!
Locomobile was one of the earliest manufacturers in the advent of the automobile age. For the first two years after it's founding in 1899, the company was located in Watertown Massachusetts. In 1900, production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The example above is a 1923 Model 48 touring car, and a very original example that had been owned by one family for over 60 years. Power is provided by a 525ci T-head 6 cylinder engine that is rated at a true 100hp. President Warren G. Harding had the exact some car and model during his tenure in the White House.
Model 48 and the Durant years
The most important for the marque became the impressive Model 48. Introduced in 1911 as the "type M," it had a very conservative, perhaps dated, concept. It had a conventional but huge chassis with a wheelbase of 143 inches (3,632 mm). Its engine was a straight six with side valves; cylinders were still cast in pairs and it featured a nonremovable cylinder head. Displacement was 429.4 cu in (7.0 L), from a 41⁄2+ in × 41⁄2+ in (114 mm × 114 mm) bore and stroke, giving it a 48.6-hp tax rating by the North American Chamber of Commerce. While called the "M" internally, this car is usually referred to by its tax hp rating. The brake horsepower rating was somewhere north of 90 for the original model, higher in the later versions. Quality of materials and workmanship were impeccable and among the best in the world. Such was also its pricing: A typical open-body cost about $10,000 when the average Model T Ford Phaeton cost about $300. Locomobile also offered custom designs for the lamps and metal work, carried out by Tiffany Studios. Until 1915, left- or right-hand drive could be specified; afterwards, left-hand drive became standard. Right-hand drive cars were meant for export and sat on a chassis four inches shorter. Around 1919, the engine was updated with a longer 51⁄2+ in (140 mm) stroke, for 525 cu in (8.6 L) displacement while retaining the same tax hp rating.
A smaller "38 hp" model, very similar to the Model 48, was added in 1913. The model 38 has a 425 cu in (7.0 L), 62 bhp (46 kW) version of the T-head six and sits on a somewhat shorter 140 inches (3,556 mm) wheelbase. By 1914, Locomobile had stopped selling all four-cylinder models to concentrate exclusively on sixes.
In July 1922, Locomobile was acquired by Durant Motors, which not only continued using the Locomobile brand name for their top-of-the-line autos until 1929, but also still produced the Model 48 until its demise in 1929. Until the mid-1920s, this car was Locomobile's only offering. In 1925, the marque brought out their first new model, the 8-66 Junior Eight, with a more contemporary straight-eight engine, and more importantly, a lower price of $1,785.
1923 Locomobile
1923 Locomobile, Model 48 from the Nickel period. $9000 dollars when new in 1923!
Locomobile was one of the earliest manufacturers in the advent of the automobile age. For the first two years after it's founding in 1899, the company was located in Watertown Massachusetts. In 1900, production was transferred to Bridgeport, Connecticut where it remained until the company's demise in 1929. The example above is a 1923 Model 48 touring car, and a very original example that had been owned by one family for over 60 years. Power is provided by a 525ci T-head 6 cylinder engine that is rated at a true 100hp. President Warren G. Harding had the exact some car and model during his tenure in the White House.
Model 48 and the Durant years
The most important for the marque became the impressive Model 48. Introduced in 1911 as the "type M," it had a very conservative, perhaps dated, concept. It had a conventional but huge chassis with a wheelbase of 143 inches (3,632 mm). Its engine was a straight six with side valves; cylinders were still cast in pairs and it featured a nonremovable cylinder head. Displacement was 429.4 cu in (7.0 L), from a 41⁄2+ in × 41⁄2+ in (114 mm × 114 mm) bore and stroke, giving it a 48.6-hp tax rating by the North American Chamber of Commerce. While called the "M" internally, this car is usually referred to by its tax hp rating. The brake horsepower rating was somewhere north of 90 for the original model, higher in the later versions. Quality of materials and workmanship were impeccable and among the best in the world. Such was also its pricing: A typical open-body cost about $10,000 when the average Model T Ford Phaeton cost about $300. Locomobile also offered custom designs for the lamps and metal work, carried out by Tiffany Studios. Until 1915, left- or right-hand drive could be specified; afterwards, left-hand drive became standard. Right-hand drive cars were meant for export and sat on a chassis four inches shorter. Around 1919, the engine was updated with a longer 51⁄2+ in (140 mm) stroke, for 525 cu in (8.6 L) displacement while retaining the same tax hp rating.
A smaller "38 hp" model, very similar to the Model 48, was added in 1913. The model 38 has a 425 cu in (7.0 L), 62 bhp (46 kW) version of the T-head six and sits on a somewhat shorter 140 inches (3,556 mm) wheelbase. By 1914, Locomobile had stopped selling all four-cylinder models to concentrate exclusively on sixes.
In July 1922, Locomobile was acquired by Durant Motors, which not only continued using the Locomobile brand name for their top-of-the-line autos until 1929, but also still produced the Model 48 until its demise in 1929. Until the mid-1920s, this car was Locomobile's only offering. In 1925, the marque brought out their first new model, the 8-66 Junior Eight, with a more contemporary straight-eight engine, and more importantly, a lower price of $1,785.