Paths Diverge
Making cars seemed to be D. M. Parry’s fanciful sideshow, while his more industrious brothers built an empire making horse-driven conveyances at their Indianapolis factory complex.
Parry Mfg. Co. Indianapolis. Note that D.M. was president at this point.
As covered in the previous journal post on the Parry Auto Company, D.M. first bought control of Overland in 1906, got submerged in debt, and then relinquished it to the more experienced John North Willys in 1907. Undaunted, D.M. formed Parry Auto Co. in 1909, produced the Parry for 1910, and then the New Parry in late 1910, about the time when his debts would once again overwhelm him.
Two lucky events happened to backstop D.M.’s plight:
1. four experienced industrialists bought D.M. out and continued manufacturing the New Parry while firming up their ideas for their own car, and
2. D.M. could go back to work at his parent firm, the Parry Mfg. Co. Parry Mfg. would phase out carriage construction and next focus on bespoke truck bodies for leading manufacturers like Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge. And flourish.
By 1912, Parry Mfg. Co. was filling the need of truck bodies for businesses. They first started with the Ford Model T chassis, the most mass-produced vehicle of the period.
A New Path: 1912-1914
Motor Car Mfg. Co. soon came up with a four-cylinder evolution of the New Parry to appeal to a similar market, the mid-priced consumer vehicle. Their goal was to continue Parry’s emphasis on durability, continuing the Parry slogan of “known for reliability”, but also with a focus on style and quality. Pathfinder became known for applying bright colors to its bodies, a technique that others such as Moon and Auburn would later use with some success. Stealing ideas? Why not?
For 1912 Motor Car offered four models with a 40-horsepower engine powering a 118-inch wheelbase. One of the models offered was the Model C Armored Roadster, a creative name attached to a fetching two-seater body. Certainly this distinguished the brand at the annual auto salons!
1912 Pathfinder Armored Roadster
To test its durability, Motor Car Mfg. entered a 1912 Pathfinder in the London to Edinburgh Trial in that year and earned a certificate of performance from the Royal Automobile Club (of England) for enduring the 799-mile round trip. Fancy that!
1913 saw Motor Car produce six models for its New Series XIII line, one of which was a speedster called “The Cruiser.”
1913 Pathfinder Cruiser, probably out for a shakedown run. Note the fin/sail on the back. This model had not yet gone to wire wheels.
Offered in popular journals was a four-page spread that pretty much detailed the Pathfinder’s features:
• a 40-horsepower monobloc-cast engine with plenty of hill-climbing torque
• a Gray and Davis electric starter so that anyone could start and drive it
• a double drop frame with pads to quell squeaking body parts
• leather seats with 10 inches of horsehair padding in the cushions
• chariot-style wood wheels, except for the sporty Cruiser, which later used wires.
• Endorsed by the U.S. government as part of the Good Roads initiative, which employed the AAA to survey and map three future east-west highway routes.
First page of the extensive ad spread.
Note the fin/sail on the 1913 Cruiser. For 1913, wood wheels were standard.
To offer both a roadster and a speedster in the same year was ambitious!
Specifications
All in all, the Pathfinder was setting a high standard for the mid-priced car.
Aside from its innovative electric starter, the Pathfinder was actually pretty conventional. The Continental monobloc engine was a long-stoke L-head with splash lubrication and thermo siphon cooling. Transmission was by Brown-Lipe. Gas was supplied via air pressure. The clutch was a cone-type. The chassis was standard ladder frame.
Many manufacturers, including Auburn and Kissel, purchased Continentals.
1916 Brown-Lipe ad shows that they were a very trusted name in drivetrains.
1912-1913 Pathfinder (Series XII-XIII) chassis. Note the four-cylinder monobloc engine.
At this point in time, manufacturers made it a point of pride to boast that all parts were fabricated at their own facilities. Even though Pathfinders were “assembled” cars and made up of outsourced parts, where they stood apart was attention to details and build quality.
The Pathfinder Cruiser was probably a loss-leader, but its distinct body styling using a “vestigial fin” above the trunk with the Pathfinder arrow marking it received favorable press in several journals, and it was a handsome speedster. In a way, this model was looking forward to the trend in sport-bodied speedsters that surged later in the decade.
1913 Pathfinder Cruiser. The fin/sail on the rear deck made for quite a distinctive profile!
To dispel thoughts about its impracticality, the Cruiser was even fitted with a top, which was antithetical to a speedster.
1913 Pathfinder Cruiser fitted with a top.
However, this was not the first speedster to wear a hat. Indeed, the Cruiser’s semi-enclosed body design would inspire others, such as New York auto dealer Conover Silver, to design prototype speedsters for several auto manufactures that he represented, such as Overland, Apperson, and Kissel. One design influenced another, a not uncommon occurrence in car design that continues to this day.
1915 Silver Overland Speedster. photo courtesy Skillman Archives, Detroit Public Library
After all, a speedster in the showroom guaranteed floor traffic!
Further Developments: 1914-1916
In 1914 Pathfinder continued their line of four-cylinder cars, which included the Cruiser Speedster, but now with a 120-inch wheelbase. In addition, a six-cylinder Pathfinder was introduced and featured a touring body on a 134-inch wheelbase.
1915 found the Motor Car Co. dropping the Pathfinder four-cylinder line and adopting two lines of six-cylinder cars. It was in this year that the speedster trail grows cold. No more Pathfinder Speedsters would be built.
For 1916, only one line of Pathfinder sixes was carried and on a 120-inch wheelbase. Motor Car introduced a twelve-cylinder model called Pathfinder the Great and advertised it as “King of Twelves.”. Oh, and for 1916, Motor Car renamed itself the Pathfinder Manufacturing Company.
1916 Pathfinder the Great, King of Twelves
1917 – Full Stop
Although it was a boom time for some auto companies, Pathfinder Mfg. found itself struggling for market share. Despite setbacks, they once again introduced a sporty vehicle called a Touring Roadster. This seven-passenger conveyance had a cloverleaf rear seat to arrange four friends in a circular (cloverleaf) pattern that had a center step-through from the front seat, which was an innovative seating arrangement for sunny days driving in the park or down at the shore. Also referred to as a “chummy”, this seating arrangement was – well, close quarters!
1917 Pathfinder Roadster with cloverleaf seating in the back for a cozy fit! Note the bobbed tail in deference to speedster styling.
Unfortunately for Pathfinder, it could not sustain its business model, which had included exporting automobiles to Russia. With WWI looming, trade routes curtailed or cut off, and anticipated redirection of materials for war production, Pathfinder folded its tent in 1917. So much for a car of great promise!
Another promising vehicle, lost to Time…