Royal Motor Car Company was a

Brass Era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

manufacturer of

luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

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 ...

s in Cleveland, Ohio, in business from 1904 to 1911. It was the result of a reorganization of the Hoffman Automobile Company.

History

In November 1903, Edward Shurmer took over the Hoffman Automobile Company and reorganized it as the Royal Motor Car Company. For 1904 the new company introduced the Royal Tourist, a

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 ...

model. Equipped with a

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, it could seat five passengers and sold for $2,300, . The Model O has a vertically mounted

water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...

straight-twin, situated at the front of the car and producing 16 hp (11.9 kW). A three-speed sliding transmission was fitted and the pressed steel-framed car weighed 1700 lb (771 kg). A modern cellular radiator was used, and the car rivaled the offerings of cross-town rival, Peerless. Later that same year a 4-cylinder 32/35-hp Model K was introduced on the same chassis, priced at $3,000, and for 1904 total production was 100 cars. Robert Jardine, a

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with extensive European experience was hired as the chief engineer. The twin-cylinder was dropped and the company built successively larger motor cars, increasing to 40 and 45-hp and priced from $3,500 to $4,000. In 1907 a $5,000 ()

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a pr ...

was introduced. In 1905 a factory Royal Tourist participated in the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

trials but was not selected for the race. The Royal Tourist was extensively advertised as the car that placed third in the trials. Royal Tourists were known as big, luxurious and reliable cars and used the slogan "The Pink of Perfection” in early advertising. The roundness of radiator, hood and cowl was a distinguishing design of the Royal Tourist for all of its production. In 1906, the first reorganization occurred and the company was renamed the Royal Motor Car & Manufacturing Company. In September 1907 the Royal Tourist moved into a new factory. In November 1907, with the effects of the Panic of 1907, the company went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

. In December 1908, a court judge authorized the sale of the company's assets to a new corporation named the Royal Tourist Car Company, headed by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

ian, George Dunham. Robert Jardine had developed a six-cylinder motor for the Royal Tourist but the financial issues resulted in its cancellation. A novel idea for 1909 Royal Tourist's was Its horn placed under the hood, with only the bulb for sounding it at the center of the steering wheel hub. This was claimed as a first. In March, 1911 Royal Tourist Car Company merged with Croxton Motor Car Company of Cleveland and the Acme Body & Veneer Company of

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

to form the Consolidated Motor Car Company. Herbert Croxton was president and Edward Schurmer was treasurer. Robert Jardine left and joined the engineering department of Jeffery in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Within a few months the merger fell apart and the Royal Tourist was discontinued. The F. B. Stearns Company of Cleveland purchased many of the assets.

File:1904 Royal Tourist ad McClures Magazine.jpg, 1904 Royal Tourist advertisement File:1906 Royal Tourist ad Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1906 Royal Tourist advertisement File:1907 Royal Tourist ad Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1907 Royal Tourist advertisement File:1910 Royal Tourist ad Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1910 Royal Tourist advertisement

Model Gallery

File:1905 Royal Tourist Hand-out - Mailer.jpg, 1905 Model F 32/38 hp 4-cylinder Touring Car File:1907 Royal Tourist Brochure 03.jpg, 1907 Model G 45 hp Tulip Body Touring Car File:1907 Royal Tourist Brochure 02.jpg, 1907 Model G 45 hp 'King of Belgians' Body Touring Car

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct companies based in Cleveland Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1904 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1911 Luxury vehicles Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars Cars introduced in 1904

History

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Model Gallery

See also

References