As we mentioned before, Fred I. Tone had competition in his blood, and he put American Motor Car products on the track to test their mettle. As we see in this episode, Tone must have realized that he needed to step it up, and so he had a speedster model developed.
Fred Tone in 1908 American at Savannah race. image courtesy Eastman Museum, Stanley register.net
The American Roadster Gets a Sibling
Competition often breeds success, but in automobiles, it also demands that special cars attuned to competitive success be developed. Results from competitive events in 1908 indicated that offering a Roadster Special (late 1908), which was a mildly more powerful (and lighter) version of the standard Roadster, just wouldn’t do it.
1909 American Roadster. image courtesy New York Public Library, StanleyRegister.net
Although it was aesthetically a homerun, the Roadster had tipped the scales at 2900 pounds, and the lighter Roadster Special weighed 2600 pounds. Both were too heavy and underpowered.
The American Speedster 1909-1911
So Tone created the Speedster for 1909, a special stripper model that would be produced until 1911. This would be part of the seven-car lineup for American.
1909 American Cars as seen in their brochure. image courtesy HCFI.org library
1909 American Car Family magazine ad. Image courtesy HCFI.org library
The Speedster was based on the 1909 Model 50 Roadster, with a 110-inch wheelbase, 34-inch wheels, and stripped of fenders and other road necessities, which trimmed its weight to 2400 lbs. It offered a four-speed transmission, which in turn would be used in the other models by 1910.
1909 American Speedster as seen in the 1909 brochure. The engine was an F-head design, which meant that both intake and exhaust valves were on one side, one group stacked above the other. More on this follows.
1909 American Speedster Specs from the same brochure. Although the Speedster was produced from 1909-1911, scant mention is made of the Speedster in subsequent year brochures; it was probably sold as a special track-based model, and those that needed one knew whom to ask and for what.
The American Speedster was a hopped-up version of the Roadster and a step further than the Roadster Special; in other words, it embodied the classic concept of a speedster.
The Speedster’s four-cylinder engine was bored out to 5.75 X 5.50 inches, which gave it a displacement of 571 cubic inches and a horsepower bump from 60 to a roaring 70. The exhaust stubs jutted straight out the side of the hood and no doubt gave a machine gun-like report when revved up!
Traveler-Roadster Engine Intake side, from the 1910 brochure. Note the placement of the valves; this was an L-head engine, with the valves placed parallel to the cylinders and on one side. Regular models produced 50 horsepower. The Speedster engine reportedly had a special F-head configuration and would pump 70!
Traveler-Roadster engine, magneto side, 1910 brochure. The Speedster (and the Specials ) engine was an over-bored version of this power plant with a special valve configuration that leads experts to believe that it had an F-head for more power. The F-head had the intake valves stacked above the exhaust; with this head, the Speedster engine developed 60-70 horsepower.
American Speedsters, with a larger engine and carrying less overall weight, became the track car for this company. Despite not often making it to the leaderboard, American Speedsters were nevertheless piloted at tracks around the country by leading competitors such as Herb Lytle, and they did make their mark.
An American Speedster made an appearance at the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup with Willie Haupt as pilot. This car did not appear to have the F-head, as no exhaust ports are present on the driver’s side. Library of Congress image
This crash in 1909 at Fairmont Park illustrates just how stable the American Speedster was in competition, as it was customary for the cars to overturn when a puncture or wheel collapse occurred.
This is another angle and a close-up of that crash. The exhaust stubs identify this as an American Speedster. Note how the left-front tire puncture has put the car up on two wheels, but the driver has straightened out the steering and it hasn’t flipped!
This image is from a race in Mexico City in 1913. Image courtesy of the National Institute of Anthropology and History; racing images posted on the StanleyRegistry.net.
Although the Speedster was a purpose-built sporting vehicle for two that would compete well in sporting events, Tone realized that something more was needed to fill out his line of sport models.
The Traveler
Thus was born the American Traveler, perhaps the most iconic four-seat sport model of its time. In effect, it predicted the four-seat speedsters that other companies would offer in the 1920s and 30s as they realized that fitting more people into a fun car often resulted in more sales.
1909 Traveler from the Advance Announcement brochure. HCFI.org library
Traveler newspaper ad from the Pittsburgh Daily Post, October 18, 1908 to announce the 1909 Traveler. image courtesy StanleyRegfister.org
The Traveler was a lot more than just two additional seats. It likely became the open sport model of choice for several endurance events that often required a driver, a mechanician, and at least one official observer. It was low, open, and fast!
An American Underslung Traveler in the 1911 Glidden. image courtesy Detroit Public Library, Skillman Branch
An American Underslung Traveler on the IAMA Transcontinental Tour. Detroit Public Library, Skillman Branch
1910 and 1911 models exhibited mere refinements of the original Speedster, Traveler, and Roadster models. Other than scalloping the hood and increasing wheel diameters up to 40 inches, most people would not recognize any outward difference; mechanical improvements were made to the drivetrain and wheelbases were increased to 112 inches to make what was already excellent even better….
Under Tone’s leadership, American Motor Car steadily increased its production from 200 cars and seven models in 1909, to 300 cars in 1910, and then, to 400 cars and nine models in 1911. American Motor Car was a small firm that catered to the well-heeled; their cars were always crafted, never constructed. Fit and finish were top drawer. All models save the Speedster displayed more polished brass and nickel than most of their competitors. Americans were also the most pinstriped car of their era, and body contours sported gold stripes accented with black. Everywhere.
Americans were never inexpensive, and despite selling in relatively low numbers, the company prospered.
In 1911 Tone, after shaping the American to be a distinctive vehicle for the discriminating few, would leave the firm in good financial shape to start his own car company, the Tone Car Corporation, which was also based in Indianapolis. Tone intended to develop a moderately-priced vehicle in a regional market that was already flush with other small (but growing) car firms.
However, being under-capitalized at $100,000, it didn’t help that the Tone firm was incorporated just as the U.S. fell into a recession in 1913. Tone Car Corporation never made it past developing a prototype.
James I. Handley: 1911-1913
James I. Handley in 1913. image from the 1913 Accessory and Garage Journal
Meanwhile, American Motor Car’s supervision had been handed over in its best year ever to an experienced automotive executive, J.I. Handley. Handley was president of Marion Motor Car Company, and immediately after (also) taking the helm of American Motor Car Company, it was reorganized to be the American Motors Company. Handley brought in new staff and executive leadership while also supervising Marion.
As part of his plan for growth, Handley expanded the company’s manufacturing capacity, and before long three buildings were housing two manufacturing plants and one for storing materials.
1912 3 American Plants, from the 1912 brochure. image courtesy StanleyRegister.org
Handley also trimmed the company’s offerings to four models: the Tourist, the Traveler, the Roadster were continued from prior years. Under Handley, however, a newer and less expensive model known as the Scout was produced for 1912.
The Scout
1912 American Scout profile from the 1912 sales brochure.
1912 Scout Chassis. Its 102-inch chassis is the same wheelbase as a Corvette!
The Scout was based on a 102-inch wheelbase and initially priced at $1250. The Scout was considerably smaller than its larger and more powerful siblings, a sporting runabout that was probably aimed for the medium-priced market.
The cast en bloc iron L-head engine was designed by American, dimensioned at 3.75 X 4.50 inches, displaced 198 cubic inches, and produced a whopping 22.4 A.L.A.M.-rated horsepower.
The Scout engine was built at the factory.
The 1912 Scout was the smallest sport model and also half the price of its siblings, a strategy probably meant to bring in the middle class market.
Times had changed, and so did American’s designs. The Traveler continued as the company’s premier model, but now with a more enclosed body, which was also true for the Roadster. The Traveler was now offered in two sizes, a four-passenger on a 124-inch wheelbase, and a six-passenger on a 140-inch wheelbase. These were big boulevardiers, and a promised downsized 118-inch model that would list at $2000 for the medium-priced market instead did not appear.
in 1912, All American models would adopt a more enclosed passenger compartment and doors.
Nevertheless, 1912 was American’s biggest sales year ever, with over 1000 units built and sold. New technologies, such as a starter-generator, were being incorporated. Dealers spanned the country and extended as far as Hawaii. Their model line and price brackets seemed attuned to the markets; American was on the move!
And then, disaster struck. A savage winter, followed by record-setting spring floods that sabotaged spring sales, gave rise to an economic slowdown and nation-wide recession for 1913. American Motors, over-extended from its expansion, and hurting from lack of sales, careened toward receivership.
As a last-chance effort, American did an early roll-out in May of 1913 of a new line of six-cylinder models, the 644 four-passenger and the 642 two-passenger, that they had planned for 1914. However, confusion in production lines, a lack of sales, and lawsuits from disgruntled dealers all combined to call in the flying monkeys.
It didn’t help that American was also tied to Marion through Handley’s affiliation, and Marion was also in receivership due to a claim from John North Willys. Creditors flew in to pick at what scraps they could grab, and production halted due to no orders. Handley left in late 1913 while the going was good, and in fact moved on to other automotive leadership opportunities.
It’s a Wrap: Off to Scrap
Unfortunately, with no sales in the order book, American Motor Company was bankrupt by December of 1913 and the courts stepped in. Its assets were then bought by the Winternitz Wrecking Company and sold, piece by piece, at public auction. And thus ended the story of one of the most impressive cars of its era—the American Underslung.
You knew that when you arrived in an American Underslung, you had arrived! image courtesy Detroit Public Library, Skillman Branch
Many thanks to Kelly Williams at the StanleyRegister.net for his meticulous records of the American Underslung: ads, newspaper clippings, and factory brochures. Images were also gathered from brochures available on the HCFI.org website, as well as images from the library of Congress and the Detroit Public Library.
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As I mentioned in our last post, Classic Speedsters is now on the shelves at Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California. For those of you who can’t possibly make it to the bookstore by Valentine’s Day, you can always grab a copy from https://ClassicSpeedsters.com. If you’re reading this blog piece, then you are already there—just a tab away!
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The concours season has finally commenced, and I’ll be attending The Amelia this coming March. I’ll be an ambassador for RPM, an organization near and dear to my heart—recruiting youth for the restoration arts and trades. I’ll be attending the Werks Reunion on Friday, Cars & Caffeine on Saturday, and of course the Concours on Sunday. If you are also attending and would like to say hi, please text me (919-475-9101) and maybe we can connect on Friday or Saturday. Sunday will be too clogged with people, and we want to look at all of the cars anyway. Maybe discover some speedsters, too! See you there….