The Pathfinder was a

Brass Era car 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 ...

built in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

from 1912 to 1917.

History

After the

Parry Auto Company The Parry (1910) and New Parry (1911–1912) were both Brass Era cars built in Indianapolis, Indiana by the Parry Auto Company. During that time, they produced 3500 vehicles. Two cars are known to exist. A Model 40 from 1910 and a Model 41 fro ...

passed into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

in 1910, the Motor Car Manufacturing Company was created by its creditors. That particular name was chosen as they had not decided what to name their new

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

. Indeed the New Parry continued to be produced until a little after the new Pathfinder was introduced in 1912. Board members included former or then-current officials from the Parry Auto Company,

Dayton Motor Car Company Stoddard-Dayton was a high quality car manufactured by Dayton Motor Car Company in Dayton, Ohio, US, between 1905 and 1913. John W. Stoddard and his son Charles G. Stoddard were the principals in the company. History In 1904, John Stoddar ...

, American Ball Bearing Company, and

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

.Kimes, Beverly Rae. ''Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942'' (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1996), p.1156. Great things were expected from such a strong group of businessmen. One of the advertising slogans of the Pathfinder was "known for reliability,"Kimes, p.1156. but an equally high emphasis was placed on the appearances of the vehicles themselves. Examples of the latter included a boattail speedster (nearly two decades before the more famous Auburn of the same layout), a paneled storage area for the roadster's top, and vibrant paint color combinations. The

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a ...

of England issued a certificate of performance to the Pathfinder for its strong performance in a

time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

in 1912 covering the breadth of the isle of

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, proving the cars were as durable as they were beautiful. Other long-distance outings of note included one man and his

chauffeur A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine. Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to specia ...

covering 10,000 miles in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

with no breakdowns, as well as a Pathfinder 12 driven by Walter Weidely (son of George Weidely, the designer of the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

under the

hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitoris * Hood, a flap of ...

) cross-country for a total of 4921 miles. Engines in Pathfinders started with four-

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infi ...

engines, proceeded to six-cylinders, before culminating in Weideley 12-cylinder engines in 1916. The V-12 engined cars were called "Pathfinder the Great, King of the Twelves." The main market for Pathfinder was producing cars for export to pre-war

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The beginning of World War I closed this market and Pathfinder was forced to refocus on the highly competitive US market. Wartime shortages of materials financially hindered the Pathfinder Company. At the beginning of 1917, it was rumored that Pathfinder would merge with

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. Instead, the company was gone by years end, and a new company moved into the factory to make shoe polish. The

San Diego Automotive Museum The San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California is a museum containing a collection of cars and motorcycles illustrating the history of the American automotive culture. The San Diego Automotive Museum is a non-profit corpo ...

has a 1912 Pathfinder Model E in their collection. All other surviving examples are in private collections.

History

References

See also