Moon Motor Car Company (1905 – 1930) was an American

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

company that was located in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. The company had a venerable reputation among the buying public, as it was known for fully assembled, easily affordable mid-level cars using high-quality parts. Often this meant the manufacturing process required more human intervention, leading to operating losses. The company was founded by carriage maker Joseph W. Moon.McConnell, Curt (1995). ''Great Cars of the Great Plains''. University of Nebraska Press. Moon produced both cars and trucks.

History

The first Moon, Model A was shown at the New York Automobile Show in January 1906. It was a four-cylinder Rutenber engined car. In 1906 former Peerless engineer Louis P. Mooers joined Moon. Mooers designed a 4-cylinder

overhead camshaft engine An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine in which the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustio ...

and with a four-speed transmission and aluminum bodywork, the Moon was a luxury car at $3,000 (). In 1908 Moons were sold in the eastern United States using the Hol-Tan name. By 1910 more mid-priced cars in the $1,500 to $2,000 range that were competitive with

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

and

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

, became more common. In 1916 Moon was using

six-cylinder A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...

engines exclusively and in 1919 introduced their

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

style

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

. Joseph Moon died in 1919 and was succeeded by his son-in-law and Vice President Stewart McDonald. The St. Louis management included officers Stewart McDonald; W.D. Hemenway; A.F. Moberly; Stanley Moon; E.F. Nelson; C.W.A. Voge. Moon automobiles could get custom coachwork from designers such as Pullman, Rubay and Murray. Moon exports increased in the 1920s when they reported they were delivering to 47 countries. Beginning in 1924, Moon was increasingly unable to meet dealership orders. Factory capacity would be an issue for the next several years. Moon Motor's peak production year was 1925 when the company produced 10,271 vehicles and the prices ranged from $1,195 to $2,540 (). Moon produced the Diana via its subsidiary the Diana Motors Company in 1925–1928. Diana motor repair claims and the need to refund government payments from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

caused a near million dollar loss in 1926.

Howard "Dutch" Darrin Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897–1982) was an American free-lance automotive stylist born in Cranford, New Jersey. Darrin had been a US pilot serving in France in the last years of World War I when he met fellow countryman Thomas Hibbard. They were ...

designed a new car for Moon which would become the Moon Aerotype. In 1928 Moon introduced its first eight-cylinder car. Another subsidiary produced the Windsor in 1929-1930, the last branded Moon became a Windsor in April 1929. Effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

hampered the company. The company decided to build the

Ruxton automobile The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York, New York, United States, during 1929 and 1930. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Board Machine plant in Philadelp ...

but boardroom troubles resulted in Windsor and Ruxton both ending production in 1930. The Moon Motor Car Company ceased trading in 1930, but resolving the finances of the moribund company would take more than two decades.

Models

Gallery

File:Moon Model A.jpg, alt=, 1906 Moon Model A Touring Car File:08 Moon Model C Touring (7750115824).jpg, alt=, 1908 Moon Model C Touring Car File:Concours d'Elegance (20452323158).jpg, alt=, 1917 Moon 6-45 Roadster File:MHV Moon 6-28 1920 01.jpg, alt=, 1920 Moon Model 6-28 Touring Car File:Mena November 2016 36 (1923 Moon 6-40).jpg, alt=, 1923 Moon Model 6-40 Touring Car File:Moon Roadster Typ 6-40.JPG, alt=, 1925 Moon Model 6-40 Roadster

References

{{StLouisCars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Manufacturing companies based in St. Louis Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1905 1905 establishments in Missouri 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Missouri Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1930 Cars introduced in 1905

History

Models

Gallery

See also

References