The Anderson was a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

; considered the most successful automobile ever built in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, it was manufactured by a

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

works from 1916 to 1925 in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

. Started by John Gary Anderson, the company sold cars through a national dealer network. The company used

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

7R flathead six engines in its vehicles, which were noted for their attractive body styles and color combinations. Andersons were the first cars to be built with headlight foot dimmers and powered convertible tops. Production reached nearly 2,000 units in 1923 and in all 7,000 vehicles were produced during the life of the company. There are a number of reasons why the Anderson Automobile Co. failed. According to Edward Lee, who wrote the 2007 book ''John Gary Anderson and His Maverick Motor Company: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Rock Hill Rival,'' the vehicle suffered from a defective engine. ock 'Detroit' Hill?; Visionary Help Build Tons of Cars Here and Mold Young City, ''Charlotte Observer,'' July 25, 2005/ref> Anderson bought most of the components from other manufacturers. During the later years of production, Anderson used a Continental engine with an aluminum head and it warped at high temperatures. Price was also an issue, Lee believes. Model T Fords were selling for as little as $290 in the 1920s, making the cars affordable to the majority of Americans. Andersons cost about $1,650 for a five-passenger touring car and $2,550 for a sedan. Anderson's slogan was a "A little Higher in Price but made in Dixie." Anderson's strategy was to invest in the opulence of his vehicles, hoping that consumers would be willing to pay a higher price in return. The strategy failed because customers were more price-sensitive than Anderson anticipated. In addition, by the early 1920s, the economy of South Carolina and other Southern states were already declining, well ahead of the Great Depression, because of plummeting cotton prices following World War I. The Anderson Automobile Co. was liquidated in 1926. Later in life, John Gary Anderson criticized the city of Rock Hill for failing to give his company financial assistance. Today, there are just 13 remaining examples of Anderson vehicles in existence. Of those Anderson cars known to exist, four are owned by the Anderson family, one is at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia and one is in the possession of the Museum of York County, where Rock Hill is located.Rare 1921 car returns to Rock Hill,

The State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

, April 19, 2008 Svedinos 05 - Anderson

Notes

References

The Anderson AutomobileJohn Gary Anderson and His Maverick Motor Company: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Rock Hill Rival, J. Edward Lee, The History Press, February 27, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson (Automobile) Vintage vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in South Carolina