The Standard 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 ...
manufactured in
Butler, Pennsylvania
Butler is a city and the county seat of Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Pittsburgh and is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 13,502.
History
Butler was na ...
from 1914 until 1923 by the
Standard Steel Car Company
The Standard Steel Car Company (SSC) was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock in the United States that existed between 1902 and 1934.
Established in 1902 in Butler, Pennsylvania by John M. Hansen and "Diamond Jim" Brady, the company quic ...
.
History
Standard Steel Car Company, whose primary business was railroad
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
, announced in the summer of 1913 that a new $2,000,000 factory was nearing completion for the production of automobiles. The first Standard was a
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 ...
which began limited production in early 1914. This was joined by an
eight-cylinder in 1915. This was a 29-
hp engine of 4.6-liters and was joined by a 34-hp V-8 in 1917. In 1918 both engines were replaced by a larger 5.2-liter V-8 of 70-hp. "Monarch of the Mountains" became a company slogan, later replaced with the tagline "A Powerful Car".
From 1917, only the 70-hp eight-cylinder cars were produced. All cars were given a twenty-five mile road test in the Butler area before distribution.
In 1916 Standard Steel purchased the
Model Gas Engine Company factory and assets to expand production.
Standard's best year was 1917 when about 2,300 cars were built. The standard Eight was initially a mid-priced car growing annually until by 1920, the lowest priced Standard Eight
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 ...
was $3,000, () with the
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 prof ...
model
luxury car
A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
priced at $4,300, .
The
Post-World War I recession and
Depression of 1920-21
Depression may refer to:
Mental health
* Depression (mood), a state of low mood and aversion to activity
* Mood disorders characterized by depression are commonly referred to as simply ''depression'', including:
** Dysthymia, also known as pers ...
hurt Standard Steel Car Company and in January 1921, bankers from New York joined Standard Steel, which included Don C. McCurd, formerly with
American Mercedes,
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and
Willys
Willys (pronounced , "Willis" )
was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II era and later military jeeps (MBs ...
. In 1923 Standard Steel Car Company divested itself of any interest in the Standard automobile and McCurd reorganized the automobile division as the Standard Motor Car Company. McCurd announced the Standard Eight and a new lower priced four-cylinder model would be produced, but the four-cylinder never arrived, and the Standard Eight production ceased by year's end.
The factory in which Standard cars had been built was sold six years later and a new car called the
American Austin was built there.
Models Gallery
File:1917 Standard Eight Touring F in Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1917 Standard Eight Model F Touring Car
File:1918 Standard Eight Touring G in Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1918 Standard Eight Model G Touring Car
File:1919 Standard Eight Touring - Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1919 Standard Eight Model I Touring Car
File:1920-21 Standard Eight Coupe I - Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1920 and 1921 Standard Eight Model I Coupe
File:1920-21 Standard Eight Vestibule Sedan I - Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1920 and 1921 Standard Eight Model I Vestibule Sedan
File:1922-23 Standard Eight Touring Sterling Model - Official Handbook of Automobiles.jpg, 1922 and 1923 Standard Eight Touring - Sterling Model
Production
Annual automobile production
Advertisements
File:1915 Standard Eight advertisement in Automobile Trade Journal.jpg, 1915 Standard Eight and Six advertisement
File:1919 Standard Eight advertisement in Review of Reviews.jpg, 1919 Standard Eight advertisement
File:1920 Standard Eight advertisement Harpers Monthly.jpg, 1920 Standard Eight advertisement
File:1921 Standard Eight advertisement Harpers Monthly.jpg, 1921 Standard Eight advertisement
File:1922 Standard Eight advertisement Motor Age.jpg, 1922 Standard Eight advertisement
References
External links
1917 Standard Eight at ConceptCarz.com{{Commons category, Standard Steel Car Company
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Pennsylvania
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1914
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923
Cars introduced in 1914
Vintage vehicles
1910s cars
1920s cars
Luxury vehicles