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Owen (automobile)

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Owen Motor Car Company
Company typeAutomobile manufacturer
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1910; 114 years ago (1910)
Defunct1912; 112 years ago (1912)
FateSold
SuccessorREO Motor Car Company
HeadquartersDetroit, Michigan,
Key people
Ralph R. Owen, Angus Smith, Frank E. Dodson
ProductsAutomobiles

The Owen was a brass era luxury automobile built in Detroit, Michigan by the Owen Motor Car Company from 1910 to 1912.[1]

History

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The Owen designed by Ralph Owen was a luxury automobile with a 50-hp, 425 cubic inches (6.96 L) four-cylinder engine. It had progressive features such as left-hand steering, a central gear change, and was placed on a lowered chassis with 42-inch tires, which gave it a similar appearance to the Oldsmobile Limited.[2] The touring car style sold for $3,200 (equivalent to $104,640 in 2023) while the limousine cost $4,800, equivalent to $156,960 in 2023.[1]

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.[1]

In 1912, Ralph Owen began work on a new car that would become the Owen Magnetic.[1][2]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Kimes, Beverly Rae; Clark Jr., Henry Austin (1996). Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 (3rd ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-428-9.
  2. ^ a b Georgano, Nick (2001). The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile (3 vol. ed.). Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.