The Family Car: Sometimes, you just can't tell

I also ways pride myself on being able to figure out the make model and year of a car - any car - built between 1920 and today.

Sometimes, I get a submission and its pretty damn impossible to figure it out, no matter what you do.

The picture above is one of those pictures.   And here's why.

Before 1913, American cars were pretty simple, and most, not all, looked rather alike.  One best example of the exception were the Ford Model T, cars made by the Franklin Motors Company which were air cooled and needed no radiator.

But most cars were "two box" design.  A large box for carrying passengers, and a small box up front for the engine.

In 1913 and through 1916, cars evolved as the transition between the two boxes became smoother, one flowing into the other.  

Now the car above is a larger, better finished automobile for the era, and its part of that transitional era of 1913-1916.  Let's take another look at what I am talking about.

The area in the red, in front of the door and behind the engine compartment is what is called the "cowl", and in the mid teens, this "cowl" is transitional.  It tapers toward the front, slopping down from the windshield, which if you'll note is a two piece - the lower pane tilting in for ventilation.  But the cowl doesn't make a graceful transition to the hood over the engine compartment.  In fact, it has lights built into the face of the cowl.

Now lets look at the radiation at the front of the car.  It's a black steel unit, and the highlight housings are made of black steel as well.  This tell us that that manufacturer is no longer using brass as the main trim metal.   There is, also, on the face of the radiator something light up toward the top, just under the filler cap.

The rest of the car is pretty nondescript, and based on my skills and know how, I simply don't have enough information to clearly state what the exact year is.   And that has value in its honesty.

But I will give it an educated guess.  Based on the cowl design, the radiator shape and the size of the car, I can safely say that this was car built in 1913 or 1914, and it was an expensive car in an era when most cars were expensive for most Americans.  Whoever bought this had money to buy something nicer than most, but didn't spend so much as to brag about their wealth.

My other guess is that this was built by General Motors and is either an Oldsmobile or a Cadillac product.  The car has at least a four cylinder engine, at most a small six, and that is based on the length of the hood - you couldn't shoehorn an eight into that space.   If it's a Cadillac four, it would be a 1913.   So I am leaning toward an Oldsmobile.

If not a GM, it could also be a Haynes or a 1914 Auburn, but I doubt it.  The family that owned the car was not located in a major city, and getting parts for this beast from a minor manufacturer would have been a headache

But I can say it is not a Reo, Hudson,Huppmobile, Cole, Chalmers, Studebaker, Packard, Peerless, Chevrolet, Oakland, Dodge, Velie, Westcott, White, Mitchell or even a Stevens Duryea.   You can rule out Stanley Steamer, too.  

Nash, Pontiac, LaSalle and Lincoln had yet to be invented; they are out too.

But remember, in 1913-14 there well over 100 minor makes being made, so it could be found there.

What I especially like about the picture is, its all women in the car.  I hope they left the old gentleman at home and enjoyed their day.