The Little Motor Car Company

[pkhammer]

  I was involved in a conversation recently about brass era automobiles and the Little Motor Car Company was mentioned. I looked it up and there is very Little (pun intended!) information out there. Wiki says it was founded by William Durant along with Chevrolet when he was ousted from GM and that the company was only in business a few years. There are also photos of a handful of cars that obviously survive. What else is known about this obscure automobile? Does anyone have any photos or know of others that exist?

[old car fan]

I think the lloyd young auction  had one,maybe 2017,nice car,do not know where  it went.Outside of Columbus  Ohio. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by old car fan (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

46 minutes ago, pkhammer said:

  I was involved in a conversation recently about brass era automobiles and the Little Motor Car Company was mentioned. I looked it up and there is very Little (pun intended!) information out there. Wiki says it was founded by William Durant along with Chevrolet when he was ousted from GM and that the company was only in business a few years. There are also photos of a handful of cars that obviously survive. What else is known about this obscure automobile? Does anyone have any photos or know of others that exist?

   My First Edition of The Encyclopedia of American Cars has has disappeared.  As soon as I find it, I'll look it up.

[1937hd45]

There was one at the first Hershey meet I went to in 1969, a maroon Roadster, it was there every year for a long time. I think it was about 3/4 the size of a Chevrolet. If I can find the photos I'll post one, nice car. Bob

[Walt G]

I think the late Pinky Randall of Michigan had one - he was a huge enthusiast of Chevrolets so had one as an early example of Chevrolets work.

[old car fan]

I stand corrected, mr. Young's  car was a monroe. Small car.

[Larry Schramm]

I would contact The Sloan Museum in Flint who has a lot of Flint history.  Another place would be GM Factory 1 In Flint.  They have quite extensive archives of GM and Flint history also.  Links below.

 

https://sloanlongway.org/automotive-research/

 

https://www.gmfactoryone.com/product/public/us/en/factory-one/archive-research.html

[TheMoneyPit]

Twenty years ago or better I was driving through New Hampshire and saw a sign advertising an antique metal lathe for sale. When I stopped by to look at it there was a Little in the same barn. A small car but nearly identical to the first Chevrolet cars to be sold. A runabout with a small oval tank behind the seat, it was an attractive car albeit a little small.

[Dave39MD]

Ken Kaufman brought one to a VCCA San Fernando Valley show and there have been a few interesting right ups in the VCCA magazine about them. Sadly Ken has passed, not sure where the car ended up.

 

Dave

[wayne sheldon]

30 minutes ago, TheMoneyPit said:

A small car but nearly identical to the first Chevrolet cars to be sold. A runabout with a small oval tank behind the seat, it was an attractive car albeit a little small.

 

Actually, the first Chevrolets sold were fairly large six cylinder powerhouse touring cars! Followed I "think" by the "Royal Mail" roadster (a four cylinder fine machine) before they went really small in about 1915.

An aside, That first six cylinder was a flathead engine! And if I recall correctly, the only Chevrolets for a very long  time that did not have overhead valves.

 

All that is off the top of my head.

 

I think I have seen two of the early sixes in museums. I never knew anybody that had one. So I don't have any first hand knowledge of their performance.

[TheMoneyPit]

31 minutes ago, wayne sheldon said:

 

Actually, the first Chevrolets sold were fairly large six cylinder powerhouse touring cars! Followed I "think" by the "Royal Mail" roadster (a four cylinder fine machine) before they went really small in about 1915.

An aside, That first six cylinder was a flathead engine! And if I recall correctly, the only Chevrolets for a very long  time that did not have overhead valves.

 

All that is off the top of my head.

 

I think I have seen two of the early sixes in museums. I never knew anybody that had one. So I don't have any first hand knowledge of their performance.

Good point! I was comparing it to the Royal Mail not the large series.

[5219]

A few years ago when Chevrolet was the feature car at Macungie, at least one Little car was on display. I believe that it was owned by a man whose last name was Little.

[dibarlaw]

There was a Little for sale at the 2016 BCA 50th anniversary meet at Allentown.