conceptcarz.com

1904 Auburn Model A

After producing carriages for several years, Auburn began producing motor cars in 1903. Charles Eckhart founded Eckhart Carriage Company in 1874 in Auburn, Indiana, after working for the wagon-building Studebaker brothers of South Bend, Indiana. After he retired in 1893, the business was left to his sons Frank and Morris. After experimentation, the brothers entered the automobile business in earnest, acquiring two other local automakers and moving into a larger plant in 1909.

The earliest examples were built around 1900 and came equipped with a single-cylinder engine, tiller steering, and solid-tired wheels. These early vehicle experiments were priced at approximately $800. After the 1903 Chicago Automobile Show, the brothers decided to focus their complete attention on automobile production. The cars that followed now rode on pneumatic tires and could be purchased with a tonneau. The single-cylinder power was soon joined by a two-cylinder opposed, water-cooled engine with a 142.6 cubic-inch displacement and produced ten horsepower. The 83-inch angle-steel-framed wheelbase tourer had seating for two or four passengers, used a two-speed planetary transmission, and had a factory base price of approximately $1,000.

Approximately fifty examples of the Model A was produced in 1904, mostly in the Mid-Western states.

The Auburn Company was modestly successful during the 1900s and 1910s until materials shortages during World War I forced the plant to close. The Eckhart brothers sold the company in 1919 to a group of Chicago-based investors headed by Ralph Austin Bard. Although the new owners revived the company, it was not profitable. In 1924, Errett Lobban Cord was hired to stimulate sales. Cord secured what was essentially a leveraged buyout of Auburn, which the Chicago group accepted. The buyout was completed before the close of 1925.

Attractive styling, advanced engineering, and eye-catching paint schemes helped revitalize sales, but only briefly, as the 1930s brought the Depression-era market. Slow sales and Cord's stock manipulations eventually led to his loss of control of the automobile holding company (including Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg). Production of Auburn automobiles ceased in 1937.


by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021

1904 Auburn Model A Vehicle Profiles

Recent Vehicle Additions

Related Automotive News

Kia America reports February sales

Kia America reports February sales

Kia America closed February with sales of 59,059 units. Sales of Kias EV models continued to climb, up 65-percent year-over-year through February with the ongoing launch of the award winning EV9 3-row EV SUV. Kias rugged and capable SUVs were...
Auburn Is 'The Amelia's' Honored Classic In 2018

Auburn Is 'The Amelia's' Honored Classic In 2018

Auburns fabled boattail speedster is the car everyone pictures when the classic Indiana marque is mentioned. Only in the Jazz Age lubricated by the social privations of the Eighteenth Amendment could such an exquisitely and outrageously shaped automobile...
All-New 2017 Honda Ridgeline Arrives in the Windy City with Full Line of Honda Genuine Accessories for Everyday Adventurers

All-New 2017 Honda Ridgeline Arrives in the Windy City with Full Line of Honda Genuine Accessories for Everyday Adventurers

The 2017 Honda Ridgeline will amp up its personalization game with the addition of a long list of Honda Genuine Accessories at this years Chicago Auto Show. The list includes a variety of accessories to enhance the style and outdoor adventure versatility...
CHRYSLER GROUP LLC AND FIAT S.P.A. ANNOUNCE MOST ACCESSORIZED VEHICLES AND TOP-SELLING ACCESSORIES

CHRYSLER GROUP LLC AND FIAT S.P.A. ANNOUNCE MOST ACCESSORIZED VEHICLES AND TOP-SELLING ACCESSORIES

Mopar Offers More Than 25,000 Accessories Worldwide Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Challenger are most accessorized vehicles in North America Side steps, Jeep Wrangler tops and floor mats are best-selling accessories in North America ...
American Classics Top RM's $6.8 Million Michigan Sale

American Classics Top RM's $6.8 Million Michigan Sale

A majestic 1930 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Victoria, J272, formerly owned by noted band leader Paul Whiteman of Rhapsody in Blue fame, garnered top dollar at RMs Michigan sale yesterday, selling for a strong %24957,000 before a packed house. One...