The Owen was a

brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915 ...

luxury automobile built in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

by the Owen Motor Car Company from 1910 to 1912.

History

The Owen designed by Ralph Owen was a luxury automobile with a 50-hp, four-cylinder engine. It had progressive features such as left-hand steering, a central gear change, and was placed on a lowered

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpa ...

with 42-inch tires, which gave it a similar appearance to the Oldsmobile Limited. The

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

style sold for $3,200 () while the

limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

cost $4,800, {{Inflation, US, 4800, 1910, fmt=eq. Ralph Owen contracted with his brothers Raymond M. Owen to market the car through the R. M. Owen & Company. The company were dealers for the Reo Motor Car, and Reo decided to purchase the Owen Motor Car Company. Reo finished constructing 35 Owen automobiles and then closed the company. The Owen factory was sold to the Krit Motor Car Company. In 1912, Ralph Owen began work on a new car that would become the Owen Magnetic.

File:1910 Owen Advertisement in Horseless Age.jpg, 1910 Owen Motor Car Advertisement in the Horseless Age Magazine File:1911 Owen Advertisement - Cycle and Auto Trade Journal.jpg, 1910 Owen Motor Car advertisement in the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal File:1911 Owen Advertisement - McClures Magazine.jpg, 1911 Owen Motor Car advertisement in McClure's Magazine

References

Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Brass Era vehicles 1910s cars Luxury vehicles Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers

History

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References