The Hol-Tan was an American

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

manufactured in 1908.

History

The Hol-Tan company was established in 1906 by G. P. Tangeman, Cornelius Hoagland Tangeman and E. R. Hollander as an automobile dealership in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. This incorporation just switched their unofficial (since 1902) importation of Fiats to an official status. Hol-tan later announced that it had given up the Fiat license and would now concentrate on selling American cars only. In fact, Fiat had revoked Hol-Tan's license, in preparation for the launch of Fiat production in

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. The new Hol-Tan automobile was built by the Moon Motor Company of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Moon's C and D models were shipped to the Hollander & Tangman company of New York City and sold under the Hol-Tan name. Some cars received custom bodies in New York by Locke, Quinby and Demarest, but most were standard Moons with a new name. Hol-Tans cost $3000 or more—expensive for the time. The company had planned to create a desirable image by taking their cars racing, but this never happened. Although Hol-Tan was the first U.S. company to enlist for the

1908 New York to Paris Race The 1908 New York to Paris Race was an automobile competition consisting of drivers attempting to travel from New York to Paris. This was a considerable challenge given the state of automobile technology and road infrastructure at the ti ...

, they never provided an auto for it. The company also entered the AAA Reliability Run in the summer of 1908, though they substituted a

Shawmut Shawmut, according to 19th-century scholarship, is a term derived from the Algonquian word ''Mashauwomuk'' referring to the region of present-day Boston, Massachusetts.Forsford, Eben Norton, ''The Indian names of Boston, and their meaning''Univer ...

at the last minute.Kimes, p.714. The reason for using a Shawmut rather than some other

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

was that the Hol-Tan Company was the New York City dealer of that brand. The Hol-Tan car was not a great success, having lasted only one year. The following year, Hol-Tan once again became solely an automobile dealership. In 1910, the company turned to dealing in

Delaunay-Belleville Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville was a French luxury automobile manufacturer at Saint-Denis, France, north of Paris. At the beginning of the 20th century they were among the most prestigious cars produced in the world, and perhaps the most de ...

and Lancia, after Shawmut went out of business. According to Curt McConnell, there are no known surviving Hol-Tans.

Notes

References

* * Kimes, Beverly Rae and Clark Jr, Henry Austin (1996). ''Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942'' (Third Edition). Iola, WI: Krause. * McConnell, Curt (1995). ''Great Cars of the Great Plains''. University of Nebraska Press. * Brass Era vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States 1900s cars {{Brass-auto-stub Motor vehicle manufacturers based in New York (state)