The Regal 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 ...

produced by the Regal Motor Car Company of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, from 1907 to 1918.

History

The Regal Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan was established in 1908 as a partnership between brothers Charles R., J. E. and Bert Lambert and Fred W. Haines. The Regal was a medium-sized and medium-priced automobile designed by Paul Arthur. The car was widely publicized and a factory stock 30-hp Regal nicknamed "Plugger" crossed the country 5 times in 1909 and 1910 covering 22,000 miles. Regal four-cylinder engines were their own design while automobile bodies came from the Fisher coachworks of Detroit. Regal introduced an Underslung chassis model late in 1910 which added to its sporting image. In 1915 a

V-8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

and a light four-cylinder engine designed by S. G. Jenks were introduced that were manufactured by the Port Huron Construction Company. Regal pricing was competitive, in 1911 pricing started at $900 () for a Runabout to $1,650 () for a Fore-Door

Touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

. Regal was among the leaders in U.S. automobile exporting. Material shortages due to the

First World War 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 ...

slowed production and Regal Motor Car Company ran out of operating funds. In February 1918, creditors elected to liquidate the company. The factory was purchased and kept open for a short while making spare parts.

Regal Britain

In addition to American sales, from 1911 the cars were exported to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The Seabrook Brothers who had a large

automotive accessories The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories, ''after'' the ...

business, branded the Regal as RMC and Seabrook-RMC for the British market. The First World War interrupted the supply from Regal and Seabrook turned to importing Napoleon trucks for the war effort.

Regal Canada

In 1910 an attempt was made to assemble the Regal across the river from Detroit in Walkersville, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but very few were made.

Henry Nyberg Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

who had made cars under his own name, and was involved with the Madison automobile, set up Canadian Regal Motors, Ltd in Berlin (later

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

) in 1914. The factory was the first in Canada to have a proper test track and test hill. It also had a club building with reading rooms, pool and dining rooms for factory workers with a separate one for white collar staff. A 30-hp four-cylinder Regal and the V8 Regal were produced. Local bodywork was used on the Regal components shipped from Detroit. Between 200 and 400 cars were sold up to the end of 1916 when supply problems arose with the Detroit factory. Due to World War I, Regal Motor Company in Detroit closed down. Nyberg closed and sold the factory in 1918 and built another factory next door to build the Saxon automobile. When this didn't happen, he made the Dominion unit, which converted cars into light trucks.

File:Regal 1913 Brochure cover.jpg, Regal Motor Cars brochure cover File:1908 Regal Advertisement Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1908 Regal advertisement Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal File:1910 Regal 25 ad in Motor World magazine.jpg, 1910 Regal 25 advertisement in Motor World File:1913 Autocar Magazine Seabrook RMC ad.jpg, 1913 Seabrook R.M.C. advertisement File:1914 Regal ad The Horseless Age.jpg, 1914 Regal advertisement in The Horseless Age File:1917 Regal ad in Motor Age.jpg, 1917 Regal advertisement in Motor Age

Models

Production

1912 Regal Model NC Colonial Coupe photo2

Annual production totals

References

{{Reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Canada Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars