1929 Roosevelt Eight

Sold for $10,450 at 2015 RM Sotheby's Hershey Auction.
The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company named the Roosevelt was in business for only a short time, lasting from 1929 through 1930. Their advertising catchline was 'Smart Transportation for the Thrifty.' It was named for the late President Theodore Roosevelt and bore his image and advertising and on its radiator. The Roosevelt was a 'junior marque' - a smaller, less expensive automobile for the Marmon marque. The Roosevelt had the same appearance as the Marmon, and it was the first U.S. car with a straight-eight engine to sell for under $1,000.

Sadly, the Roosevelt was produced during the era of the Great Depression and sales were slow.

This particular example is an original Haynes-bodied Roosevelt that was acquired by Mr. Richard Roy from John Schramm, of Rockland, Maine. A former owner was Leslie Brown of Merchantville, New Jersey, in the early 1980s.

The Roosevelt Sedan is powered by an L-head eight-cylinder engine displacing 201.9 cubic inches and offering 77 horsepower. There is a three-speed manual transmission and four-wheel Bendix mechanical duo-servo drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020