Roosevelt (automobile)

Last updated
Roosevelt
1929 Roosevelt Model 68 four-door sedan, front right.jpg
1929 Roosevelt Eight Model 68 4-Door Sedan
Overview
TypePassenger car
Manufacturer Marmon Motor Car Company
Also calledMarmon-Roosevelt
Production1929-1930
Designer Alexis de Sakhnoffsky
Body and chassis
Body style Sedan, Coupe, Victoria and Convertible
Powertrain
Engine L-head 8-cylinder engine, 201.9 cubic-inches
Power output72 horsepower
Transmission 3-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 113 in (2,870 mm)
Chronology
SuccessorMarmon Model 70
1929 Roosevelt advertisement in Amsterdam Roosevelt-1929-05-dirk-mark.jpg
1929 Roosevelt advertisement in Amsterdam

Roosevelt was a Vintage era marque of an American automobile that was manufactured by the Marmon Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, during the 1929 and 1930 model years. [1]

Contents

History

The Roosevelt was named after President Theodore Roosevelt and designed to be priced as an "affordable" automobile, and advertising used the tag line Smart Transportation for the Thrifty. [2] The Roosevelt was the first automobile in America with a straight-eight engine to be priced under $1,000, with the sedan and coupe selling for $995, equivalent to $17,655in 2023. [3]

Although the Roosevelt name did not appear for the 1931 range of Marmon models, the car was refined into the new Model 70 Marmon. [1]

Sales in 1929 approached 24,500 automobiles, considered an excellent first year for a new marque. One of the unique features of the Roosevelt was the horn button. It served 3 purposes. Push down and it would honk, pull up and it was the starter, and turn it, to turn the head lights on and off. It also had a cameo of Theodore Roosevelt, black and white, on the front top middle of the radiator. [4] [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Kimes, Beverly Rae (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942. Iola, IA: Krause Publications. p. 1612. ISBN   0873414284.
  2. "The Roosevelt". Pittsburgh Press. April 21, 1929. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  3. "Marmon-Built Roosevelt Auto On Display Here". Schenectady Gazette. March 27, 1929. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  4. Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN   1-57958-293-1.