- Iconic Autocar truck
- Capable two-cylinder power
- Perfect for vintage truck rallies
Although best known since the early twentieth century as a
manufacturer of trucks, Autocar began its career with passenger
cars. Manufacture of tricycles and quadricycles began in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1897, under the auspices of the
Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company. In April 1900 the operation moved
to nearby Ardmore and was reorganized as the Autocar Company. Some
27 cars were built by the end of 1901, and in 1902 a shaft-drive
car was introduced, believed to be the first multi-cylinder
American car so equipped.
In 1907, Autocar began building trucks, which completely took over
production in 1912. The first truck was a one-ton model on an
85-inch wheelbase, with a horizontally opposed 18 hp twin-cylinder
engine. A two-ton model on a 97-inch wheelbase followed and
continued into 1926. By this time, some 30,000 had been built, many
of them bodied as buses.
Previously owned by Herb Livingston in Mount Pleasant, South
Carolina, this Autocar was purchased by the Merrick Auto Museum in
1995. The very epitome of the word truck in 1910, it stands tall
and rides on 35 � 5 Non Skid solid rubber tires. Devoid of all but
essentials, it has a perch-high driver's seat and a cargo bed. The
seat, however, is all but palatial, upholstered richly in black
buttoned leather. Lighting is rudimentary�a C.M. Hall Solar
headlight high on the dashboard, and kerosene lamps at the sides. A
kerosene taillamp hangs below the bed at the rear. It has a flatbed
cargo body with wood racks in the forward section.
In a time when strength was measured in mass rather than
metallurgy, this Autocar was the ideal of the industry.To view this
car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit
the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.
