The Shaw renamed the Colonial for 1921, was an American

luxury automobile A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the b ...

that was manufactured in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

from 1920 until 1921. At the end of 1921 the Colonial was rebranded the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

History

Walden W. Shaw and

John D. Hertz John Daniel Hertz, Sr. (April 10, 1879October 8, 1961) was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder, and philanthropist. Biography Born Sándor Herz to a Jewish family in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (today Sklabiňa, ...

, owners of the Walden W. Shaw Livery Corporation, decided they wanted to expand into the

production car Production vehicles or production cars are mass-produced identical models, offered for sale to the public, and able to be legally driven on public roads ( street legal). Legislation and other rules further define the production vehicle within part ...

market with a luxury car. Walden W. Shaw Livery Corporation owned the

Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was established in 1920 by John D. Hertz and was associated with the Yellow Cab Company which Hertz also owned. History The Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company was established in 1920 by John D. Hertz and was a ...

. The new luxury automobile was introduced as a Shaw at the Hotel Congress during Chicago Automobile Show week in February 1920. With Shaw taxicabs being so well known, using the Shaw name for a luxury car would not help sales so the name was changed to Colonial. This may have been no improvement, as several car makes had already been called Colonial. The Colonial was built on a 136-inch wheelbase and was offered as a 2, 4 or 7 passenger

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 ...

priced at $5,000, . Shaw and Hertz also change their mind about the engine. Initially it was a

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

Rochester-Duesenberg. By July 1920, that unit was replaced by a

Weidely Weidely Motors Company was an early motor company based in Indianapolis, IN. Weidely started in 1915. It made engines for Premier, Chalmers, Cletrac crawlers and Owen Magnetic cars. They also made a V-12 engine for the 1917 Pathfinder and 1920 ...

twelve-cylinder to boost sales using the cachet of more cylinders. By the time of the Chicago Automobile Show of 1921, John Hertz was in complete charge of the company and he reintroduced the same car with a new

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (a ...

engine and a new name, the

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Illinois Luxury vehicles Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Vintage vehicles Cars introduced in 1920 1920s cars