Name/Title
Alco 7 Passenger Touring Car 1912Description
1912 Alco 7 Passenger Touring Car
1912 Alco Four - 4-cyl., 40 hp, 126" wheel base Touring
On loan, courtesy the Oldman collection, Belmont, MA.
ALCO - Providence, Rode Island - (1909-1913)
Having produced the American Berliet under license from France for three years, the American Locomotive Company felt sure it could build a better car - and one that would be as financially lucrative as the steam locomotives for which the firm was renowned. The result was the Alco which, the company said, combined "power, strength, weight and simple construction… to give it perfect balance and fitness for conquest of all roads." It was available in a welter of factory body styles, and any custom-built variations desired. William K Vanderbilt "designed" his own rakish sportster, and Harry Grant won both the 1909 and 1910 Vanderbilt Cups in an Alco. By the latter year the company had branched into the taxicab and truck manufacture as well, but it was the production of the Alco in which the most pride, and most absurdly painstaking care, was taken. Alco boasted that one year and seven months were required to build a single motorcar, six months alone to build the rear axle. Doubtless it was the firm's locomotive-building background which made it adamant on building so well. Early Alco catalogs made only passing reference to anything other than the vehicle's chassis, drivetrain and engine. The engines were huge: 453 cubic inches for the four in 1911, 579 cubic inches for the six. By 1912 however, convinced that the Alco could not be made better, efforts turned to making it more beautiful. Body styling was given careful attention, and Alco became as noteworthy for its elegant coachwork as its sterling engineering qualities. A single white stripe around the body at the top of the doors became a feature of distinction. American Locomotive also proudly claimed that its cars, in the $6000-$7000-plus range, were the most expensive in America. Then, on August 22nd, 1913, The New York Times reported rumors that the Alco was to be discontinued. The industry was aghast. The Alco plant was among the best equipped in America, the Alco product was among the most respected in the nation, the American Locomotive Company had just revealed gross earnings for the fiscal year of $34 million, and unfortunately, none of the profit accruing from the automobile division. The Alco people apparently had been unaware that while locomotives are bought, automobiles have to be sold. When the time was taken to total up and analyze the figures, they revealed that thus far 5000 Alcos in 54 different models had been built, and the company had lost an average of $456 on each one of them. Almost immediately, American Locomotive announced its desire "to sever as completely and as soon as possible all connections with the automobile branch of the business." Fortunately, a handful of Alco cars survive today as testimony to how a motorcar can be built too well for its own good.