1920 Lexington Series S

Before Kinzea Stone was a builder of automobiles, he was a Kentucky racehorse promoter from Georgetown, Kentucky. His Lexington Motor Company of Lexington, Kentucky, produced automobiles from 1909 through 1927. A year after its formation, a group of Connersville businessmen enticed the young company to relocate from Lexington to a new plant (800 West 18th Street) in the McFarlan industrial park, with headquarters at 1950 Columbia Avenue.

The company's chief engineer was John C. Moore, whose improvements to the Lexington automobile increased the engine's output by approximately thirty percent and reduced its fuel use. This was accomplished by a multiple exhaust system, with each cylinder using a separate exhaust.

Motorsports
Like many automakers, the Lexington Motor Company used motorsports as a method of promoting its products. To that end, they competed in two high-profile events in 1912 - the Glidden Tour and the Indianapolis 500. They competed in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb regularly from 1920 to 1926. In 1920, they won 1st and 2nd place and finished in one or more top three places every year thereafter. In total, 14 cars were entered during that period.

Lexington-Howard
The Lexington Motor Company was still in its infancy when financial difficulties forced its sale to E.W. Ansted in 1913. The newly acquired company, now called Lexington-Howard, was used to assemble the six-cylinder Howard for a contract with a Chicago distributor. The name was changed back to Lexington Motor Company in 1915, and a new factory building was built north of the office. Another assembly building was constructed four years later and located west of the office.

Just after World War I, Lexington shed its line of four-cylinder engines and began offering a light six and a supreme six. Initially using the new Ansted engines, Lexington was using the Continental engine by 1916. The following year, a new frame with a rigid box cross-section was introduced, along with an emergency brake affixed to the drive shaft.

Ansted Engineering Company
Frank B. Ansted created the Ansted Engineering Company, and in 1918, it acquired the Teetor-Harley Motor Corporation of Hagerstown, Indiana. A factory was built in 1919, north of the Lexington plant. On January 12, 1920, Mr. Ansted announced the formation of the United States Automotive Corporation, created by a $10 million merger of the Lexington and the Ansted Engineering Company, along with the Connersville Foundry Corporation.

Post-World War I Recession
The Lexington Motor Car Company and United States Automotive Corporation were severely affected by the post-World War I recession. Lexington had produced over 6,000 vehicles in 1920, but by 1922, that figure had been reduced significantly to just over 2,000 units. Alanson Partridge Brush, the designer of the Brush Runabout and a consulting engineer to General Motors, sued the United States Automotive Corporation in 1921, alleging the Ansted engine infringed a number of his patents. The Ansted Engine Company and Lexington Motor Car Company entered receivership in 1923. E.L. Cord's Auburn Automobile Company acquired the Ansted Engine Company in 1926, and the Lexington Motor Car Company a year later.

1920 Lexington
The Lexington Series S rested on a 120-inch wheelbase platform and was powered by a six-cylinder engine. Body styles included a five-passenger tourer, a Sedanette, coupe, sedan, and a four-passenger Thoroughbred.

by Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2024