Help identifying this early 1920s car

[drue]

I have a photo of my great aunt behind the wheel of a large automobile (with her mother in the back seat). The license plate is dated 1923, and the photo was most likely taken in Pittsburgh PA. I'd love to know more about the car -- any info is much appreciated!

[Craig Gillingham]

It looks very much like a Nash.

[Leif Holmberg]

Yes,it looks to be a 1923 Nash.

Leif in sweden.

[drue]

Thank you both for the replies! I don't know anything about antique vehicles -- was this a relatively common car?

[TerryB]

The most common car in that timeframe was the Ford model “T”.  A Nash would be a step up from that. Nash automobiles were made into the mid 1950s.

[John_S_in_Penna]

2 hours ago, drue said:

Thank you both for the replies! I don't know anything about antique vehicles -- was this a relatively common car?

 

In 1923, there were at least a few dozen car manufacturers.

Nash was probably a well-known name, not overly large but

not all that small either, as a company.  So the car wasn't

all that common, but it wasn't obscure either.   There is a Nash Club

today whose members appreciate its cars.

 

In the 1950's, Hudson and Nash combined to form American Motors.

The last car branded "Nash" was made in 1957.  The last Hudson

was made that same year.  After that, the company focused on

its Rambler brand, which in the 1960's was superseded by the

AMC brand of cars (the initials standing for American Motors Corp.).

You might remember AMC for its AMC Pacer, AMC Gremlin, and

AMC Eagle--the last being a prescient 4-wheel-drive crossover vehicle.

American Motors was purchased by Chrysler Corporation in the early

1980's, primarily for its Jeep brand, and AMC-branded vehicles were discontinued.

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[lump]

The Nash in the 1920's was a well-built, solid mid-sized car. It was similar to several other cars of that time like my own Hupmobile, some Studebakers, Chryslers, and certain Hudson models.  I tend to think of these middle-of-the pack cars as being bigger, heavier, and higher-priced than "light" cars like the Model T Ford, Chevrolet, Whippet, Star, etc, but smaller, cheaper, and lighter than the more-famous big cars of the time, like Packard, Cadillac, Lincoln, Pierce Arrow, Locomobile, Peerless, Franklin, etc. 

[Rusty_OToole]

That is right, the Nash was a substantial middle class car comparable to Buick Studebaker or Hudson. They were known for their overhead valve six cylinder engine.

 

The most unusual thing about them is that they were made in Kenosha Wisconsin. Far from Detroit and Indianapolis, the major car centers of the day.

 

They were one of the most successful independents (that is , not associated with GM Ford or Chrysler) and continued in business until the 1980s although not always under the Nash name.

Edited September 10, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[nzcarnerd]

5 hours ago, drue said:

Thank you both for the replies! I don't know anything about antique vehicles -- was this a relatively common car?

 

In answer to how common was the Nash. in 1923 Nash had only been going a few years - first year 1918 - and was still becoming known. In 1923 they sold about 40,000 cars. The contemporary Buick six - remember Buick had been going a lot longer - was slightly cheaper, and Buick sold over 100,000 cars. The year 1923 was a boom year for sales and some sources quote nearer 200,000 for Buick. By comparison Ford sold about two million cars in 1923, although they were only about one third the price of the Buick and Nash. There were a lot of other makes in the Buick/Nash price range but many of them fell by the wayside in the early 1920s as the major makers gained superiority.

[wayne sheldon]

How long "Nash" had been around in the early '20s is debatable. They had only been sold under the Nash name since the very late '10s. However, the company's history goes back more than two decades before that. Charles Nash had helped save General Motors when the board of directors ousted William Durant who had founded the company, but ran it recklessly close to financial collapse.  As General Motors continued to grow and change, and William Durant fought to take it back, Mr Nash left that company and bought out the Jeffery automobile company. The family of that company had no desire to continue running the business anymore. The Jeffery was a well known and respected automobile with a reputation for power and reliability.  They had used the Jeffery name on the cars for only a few years, having changed it from the company's original marketing name of "Rambler" in about 1913. The Thomas B Jeffery Manufacturing Company had used the name "Rambler" on automobiles beginning about 1900. They were an early company to manufacture a significant number of automobiles, and developed an excellent reputation from the very beginning. Before the Rambler automobile, Thomas B Jeffery built some of the best bicycles in the world beginning about 1878 (I had to ask google for that detail). Over those decades, the company's ownership and partnerships changed somewhat, as nearly all companies had to. However, as their administration and products changed through those years, they maintained a good reputation from one to the next (a rare accomplishment). The name changes from Rambler to Jeffery to Nash were nearly seamless as far as the automotive buying public was concerned. They knew who they were dealing with and hardly considered the new name to be an unknown product.

[Frantz]

I always thought the story of Charles Jeffery on the Lusitania causing him to lose interest in the company was quite interesting, which of course lead to the option of Nash getting hold of the company and changing the name to Nash. The early auto pioneers where so interwoven it makes for a fascinating story in itself.