Moon Motor Car Company (1905 – 1930) was an American

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

company that was located in

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

. The company had a venerable reputation among the buying public, as it was known for fully assembled, easily affordable mid-level cars using high-quality parts. Often this meant the manufacturing process required more human intervention, leading to operating losses. The company was founded by carriage maker Joseph W. Moon.McConnell, Curt (1995). ''Great Cars of the Great Plains''. University of Nebraska Press. Moon produced both cars and trucks.

History

The first Moon, Model A was shown at the

New York Automobile Show New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

in January 1906. It was a four-cylinder Rutenber engined car. In 1906 former

Peerless Peerless may refer to: Companies and organizations * Peerless Motor Company, an American automobile manufacturer. * Peerless Brewing Company, in Birkenhead, UK * Peerless Group, an insurance and financial services company in India * Peerless R ...

engineer Louis P. Mooers joined Moon. Mooers designed a 4-cylinder

overhead camshaft engine An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

and with a four-speed transmission and aluminum bodywork, the Moon was a luxury car at $3,000 (). In 1908 Moons were sold in the eastern United States using the

Hol-Tan The Hol-Tan was an American automobile 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. This incorporation ...

name. By 1910 more mid-priced cars in the $1,500 to $2,000 range that were competitive with

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

and

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

, became more common. In 1916 Moon was using

six-cylinder The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...

engines exclusively and in 1919 introduced their

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style

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

. Joseph Moon died in 1919 and was succeeded by his son-in-law and Vice President Stewart McDonald. Moon automobiles could get custom coachwork from designers such as Pullman, Rubay and Murray. Moon exports increased in the 1920s when they reported they were delivering to 47 different countries. Beginning in 1924, Moon was increasingly unable to meet dealership orders. Factory capacity would be an issue for the next several years. Moon Motor's peak production year was 1925 when the company produced 10,271 vehicles and the prices ranged from $1,195 to $2,540 (). Moon produced the Diana via its subsidiary the

Diana Motors Company The Diana Motors Company was an early United States automobile manufacturing company. The company produced automobiles from 1925 to 1928. The St. Louis, MO, St. Louis based company was a subsidiary of the Moon Motor Car company. The company did ...

in 1925–1928. Diana motor repair claims and the need to refund government payments from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

caused a near million dollar loss in 1926.

Howard "Dutch" Darrin Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897–1982) was an American free-lance automotive stylist born in Cranford, New Jersey. Darrin had been a US pilot serving in France in the last years of World War I when he met fellow countryman Thomas Hibbard. They were ...

designed a new car for Moon which would be come the Moon Aerotype. In 1928 Moon introduced its first eight-cylinder car. Another subsidiary produced the

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

in 1929-1930, the last branded Moon became a Windsor in April 1929. Effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

hampered the company. The company decided to build the

Ruxton automobile The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York, New York, United States, during 1929 and 1930. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Board Machine plant in Philadelp ...

but boardroom troubles resulted in Windsor and Ruxton both ending production in 1930. The Moon Motor Car Company ceased trading in 1930, but resolving the finances of the moribund company would take more than two decades.

Models

Gallery

File:Moon Model A.jpg, alt=, 1906 Moon Model A Touring Car File:08 Moon Model C Touring (7750115824).jpg, alt=, 1908 Moon Model C Touring Car File:Concours d'Elegance (20452323158).jpg, alt=, 1917 Moon 6-45 Roadster File:MHV Moon 6-28 1920 01.jpg, alt=, 1920 Moon Model 6-28 Touring Car File:Mena November 2016 36 (1923 Moon 6-40).jpg, alt=, 1923 Moon Model 6-40 Touring Car File:Moon Roadster Typ 6-40.JPG, alt=, 1925 Moon Model 6-40 Roadster

References

{{StLouisCars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1905 1905 establishments in Missouri 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Missouri Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1930 Cars introduced in 1905

History

Models

Gallery

See also

References