At the age of 21, Joseph W. Moon moved to St. Louis to establish a buggy business. In the early 1900s, he was introduced to the automobile industry and by 1905, had built a five-passenger touring vehicle powered by a 30/35 horsepower Rutenberg engine. It had a three-speed sliding gear transmission, shaft drive, and was designed by Louis P. Mooers, whose resume included work with Peerless in Cleveland. At the time of its introduction, it had a price of around $3,000. Within a few years, these prices had decreased to as low as $1,500.

St. Louis, Missouri, was a popular location for the early automotive industry, as no fewer than 114 makes were built there.

The Moon was an 'assembled' auction, meaning parts were sourced from numerous suppliers. Production steadily increased, from 25 cars produced in 1905 to 176 examples in 1908. In 1913, they built 1,540 vehicles. That was the same year the company introduced a six-cylinder model. Most of the Moon automobiles were powered by L-head Continentals, the export Model 6-42 had an overhead valve Falls engine.

Joseph Moon passed away in 1919, and son-in-law Stewart MacDonald became the new president of the Moon Motor Car Company. Production of the Moon automobile would continue until 1929, albeit with some drama at the end - including the ill-fated Ruxton. The company's best production years were 1924 and 1925 when over 7,500 examples were built each year. Nearly 7,000 examples were built in 1926. Among their many accomplishments over the years was being at the forefront of four-wheel hydraulic braking.

by Dan Vaughan