H. C. S. Motor Car Company

Last updated
H. C. S. Motor Car Company
HCS Motor Car Company Building.jpg
H.C.S. Motor Car Company Building
Location map Indianapolis.png
Red pog.svg
USA Indiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location1402 N. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates 39°47′10″N86°9′42″W / 39.78611°N 86.16167°W / 39.78611; -86.16167 Coordinates: 39°47′10″N86°9′42″W / 39.78611°N 86.16167°W / 39.78611; -86.16167
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1920 (1920)-1921
Architect Rubush & Hunter
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No. 09000432 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 17, 2009

H. C. S. Motor Car Company was a short-lived Indianapolis, Indiana, automobile manufacturer. It may have built as many as 3,000 cars between the summer of 1920 and 1926, when its doors were closed by its creditors.

Contents

Incorporation

H. C. S. Motor Car Company was incorporated with $1,000,000 in capital in late 1919 by Harry C. Stutz, founder and former president of the Stutz Motor Car Company, with his friend Harry Campbell as treasurer and Samuel T Murdock as vice-president. Stutz served as president and managing director. [2] He also was the majority stockholder and chairman of the board of directors. [3]

Harry C. Stutz H C Stutz portrait.jpg
Harry C. Stutz
Harry F. Cambell H F Campbell portrait.jpg
Harry F. Cambell

Early models

A prototype was displayed at the end of 1919. The press noted the hand embossed leather upholstery was on very low seats, the cushions sat directly on the floor. [4] Others reported the center of gravity was very low and the top of the windshield was less than the height of the average man. [5] Demonstrators did not go to dealers until May 1920 because the new factory building was not progressing as it should and production was restricted by difficult conditions in the busy factory of the Stutz Fire Engine Company. [6]

Production

The first production cars were roadsters and touring cars. A coupe was added in late 1920 and a 4-door sedan was added to the catalogue in July 1921. The body height of the sedan was "low with a European look" but "ample head room" remained. [7]

Prices

The economic climate of the early 1920s was unstable, with very damaging short sharp booms and busts. Production was cut back from the planned ten cars per day to only five and prices were cut by $200 on all models as of August 1. 1921. Rolls-Royce had announced a $1250 cut in their chassis price two weeks earlier. [8] Further price cuts were announced with effect from March 4, 1922. It was noted they were an approximate reduction of $500 to $600 from the prices at August 1. The new prices were: [9]

  $2400Touring  $3150Sedan
  $2400Roadster  $2600All Weather Touring
  $2850Coupe  $2550All Weather Roadster

Series 4

A new series 4 model was announced in August 1922 with enlarged cylinder bores giving more horsepower with improved gas consumption. Pistons had been lightened and an automatic spark advance and a new exhaust muffler fitted. There was a larger steering wheel and changes had been made to the springs. A taller radiator and a new design of wire wheels were fitted. [10]

H. C. S. Cab Manufacturing Co

The struggle continued. Stutz left his Stutz Fire Apparatus Company and took control at H. C. S. In mid-1924, H. C. S. announced its engineers had designed a new taxicab that was lighter than competitors' cars and easier to maintain. A feature of all the H. C. S. cars was the easy accessibility of major components. Design allowed each engine accessory to be serviced without removing or dismantling any other accessories. [11] The press was shown the taxi prototype and photographs were published in December 1924. [12]

Closure

Stutz retreated to Orlando, Florida, in 1925, leaving his car and fire engine businesses to flounder. The next year H. C. S. Motor Car Company was placed in a trust for creditors under the management of Harry's one-time assistant (1920-1925), Charles Merz, an engineer and former race driver.

The company was liquidated in 1927. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

Saxon Motor Car Company 1910s-20s automobile manufacturer

The Saxon Motor Car Company was located in Detroit, Michigan, from 1914 to 1922. In 1917, 28,000 cars were made, making it the seventh largest car maker in the United States.

The Ace was an American-assembled car made in Ypsilanti, Michigan by the Apex Motor Car Company, which was reorganized as the Apex Motor Corporation in 1921. The initial batch of cars assembled were sent to Seattle, Washington dealer FE Earnest, who had the idea for the Ace after he was unable to secure a steady supply of new cars for his dealership.

Duesenberg Defunct American engine and automobile manufacturer

Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American racing and luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana by brothers Frederick and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win the 1921 French Grand Prix and Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1924, 1925, and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937.

Stutz Bearcat Motor vehicle

The Stutz Bearcat was an American sports car of the pre– and post–World War I period.

Dort Motor Car Company U.S. automotive manufacturer 1915–24

The Dort Motor Car Company of Flint, Michigan, built automobiles from 1915 to 1924.

Stutz Motor Company Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Stutz Motor Car Company, was an American producer of high-end sports and luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935.

The National Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles in Indianapolis, Indiana, between 1900 and 1924. One of its presidents, Arthur C. Newby, was also one of the investors who created the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Templar automobile Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Templar was a manufacturer of automobiles in Lakewood, Ohio from 1917 to 1924. The company was named for the Knights Templar and used a Maltese Cross as an emblem.

Lexington (automobile) Automobile manufactured in Connersville, Indiana

The Lexington was an automobile manufactured in Connersville, Indiana, from 1910 to 1927. From the beginning, Lexingtons, like most other Indiana-built automobiles, were assembled cars, built with components from many different suppliers. The Thoroughbred Six and Minute Man Six were popular Lexington models.

Barley Motor Car Co. Automobile manufacturer

Barley Motor Car Co. was a manufacturer of automobiles in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Streator, Illinois. It manufactured the Roamer automobile (1916–29) and, briefly, the Barley (1922–24), and the Pennant (1924–25).

Harry C. Stutz

Harry Clayton Stutz was an American automobile manufacturer, entrepreneur, self-taught engineer, and innovator in the automobile industry.

Daniels Motor Company Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Daniels Motor Company was a pioneer brass era American automobile company, founded in 1915 by George E. Daniels with Neff E. Parish. George Daniels was a known lawyer, engineer, and mechanic. He was considered the best motorcar designer in the United States. Neff Parish had his own automobile parts and framing manufacturing company. Neff was the creator of the time's highest-grade heat-treated alloy steel frames, respected in the steel industry. Daniels Motor Company produced 1,500 high quality automobiles between 1916-1924, branding themselves as “the distinguished car with just a little more power than you will ever need”, and “The aristocrat of American cars”.

Cole Motor Car Company Car manufacturer

The Cole Motor Car Company was an early automobile maker based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cole automobiles were built from 1908 until 1925. They were quality-built luxury cars. The make is a pioneer of the V-8 engine.

Chevrolet Superior Car model

The Chevrolet Superior Series F was launched in 1923, manufactured by Chevrolet for four years with a different series per year. The 1923 model was known as the Series B, the 1924 model was the Series F, for 1925 it was known as the Series K and the 1926 Superior was known as the Series V. It was replaced in 1927 by the Series AA Capitol. It was the first Chevrolet that didn't have a larger companion model and was the only car sold by Chevrolet in several body style configurations all supplied by Fisher Body. Each year new mechanical changes, appearance updates or optional features that became standard in subsequent years became expected of all GM products including Chevrolet. Body styles were separated into open and closed which meant closed included retractable glass in the doors and glass surrounding rear seat passengers. Standard items included tools, a jack for tire removal, speedometer, outside lockable door handles, ammeter, oil pressure gauge, dashboard light, choke pull knob, electric horn, ignition theft lock, and a two piece vertical ventilating windshield that allowed fresh air to enter the passenger compartment. Wheels were 30" and came standard with hickory wood spokes or optional pressed steel discs. For 1925, bumpers were offered optionally along with outside side view mirrors, heater for passenger compartment and a clock.

Cunningham automobile

The Cunningham automobile was a pioneering American production automobile, one of the earliest vehicles in the advent of the automotive age. It was produced from 1896 to 1931 in Rochester, New York by James Cunningham, Son and Company.

Lincoln L series Motor vehicle

The Lincoln L series is the first automobile that was produced by the Lincoln Motor Company. Introduced in 1920, the L series would continue to be produced after the bankruptcy of Lincoln in 1922 and its purchase by Ford Motor Company.

Chrysler Six Motor vehicle

The Chrysler Six was a series of cars that were all installed with the Chrysler Straight Six when the company assumed operations of the Maxwell Automobile Company in 1924, and Chalmers Automobile Company in 1926. The Chrysler Six initially consisted of several Models, then Series designations that originally declared the approximate top speed each vehicle was able to consistently maintain, then each series number was incrementally updated every new model year, and each series was offered in several body style choices. The engines were technically advanced for their time and were entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 1925, 1928 and 1929.

Oldsmobile Light Eight Car model

The Oldsmobile Light Eight was an automobile produced by the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors in roadster, two-door coupe, four-door sedan form between 1916 and 1923. It was powered by an sidevalve V8 engine, the maker's first, and shared with the 1916 Oakland Model 50.

Oakland Six Car model

The Oakland Six was the first six-cylinder engine offered by the Oakland Motor Company in 1913 which became a division of General Motors in 1909. The Oakland Six was offered in many different model names that changed every year, along with several body styles and engine displacements until 1929, when the V8 was reintroduced, then in 1931 Oakland was renamed Pontiac. When Oakland became a division of GM and introduced the Oakland Four, Oldsmobile and Buick shared bodywork and chassis of their six-cylinder models with Oakland. When Chevrolet became part of GM in 1917, Oakland chassis and bodywork were shared with Chevrolet. Manufacture of the Oakland was completed in Pontiac, Michigan.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Automobile Trade Journal, Philadelphia. page 204, July 1, 1919
  3. The Economist, Chicago, USA. page 930, November 8, 1919
  4. Motor Age, page 29, January 8, 1920
  5. Motor Age, page 38, May 6, 1920
  6. Motor Age, page 30, May 20, 1920
  7. Motor Age page 16 August 4, 1921
  8. Automotive Industries page 245, August 4, 1921
  9. H. C. S. Cuts. The Automobile Journal, Pawtucket, R.I. page 42, March 1922
  10. H. C. S. Brings out a new series 4 model, Automobile Topics, page 21, August 19, 1922
  11. The Commercial Car Journal, page31, July 15, 1924
  12. H. C. S. Cab Manufacturing Co. page 49 The Commercial Car Journal, December 15, 1924
  13. John P. McDonald. Lost Indianapolis. Arcadia Publishing 2002 ISBN   9781439630181
  14. Indianapolis news. Motorsport magazine, Page 9, March 1940