Royal Motor Car Company was a Brass Era 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 put ...

automobiles in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

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

straight-twin A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. Straight-twin engines are primarily used in motorcycles; o ...

, situated at the front of the car and producing 16 hp (11.9 kW). A three-speed sliding

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual 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 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 ...

. Later that same year a

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

32/35-hp Model K was introduced on the same

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

, priced at $3,000, and for 1904 total production was 100 cars. Robert Jardine, a Frenchman 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 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, New York, Nassa ...

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 Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange fell almost 50% from ...

, the company went into receivership. 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 Bostonian, 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 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