A Rich Mans Toy
black mamba
Registered Users Posts: 8,323 Major grins
That's what the Mercer line of autos was called.....a rich mans toy. And that they were. You could buy 5 or 6 Fords for the price of one of these.
The one you see here is a 1912 Mercer 35C Raceabout. That was a very apt name as virtually all of the Mercers would see track time at some point in their life.
The car was the inspiration of the Roebling family, headed up by Washington Roebling. They had made their money in industrial endeavors and cars were simply a passion of theirs. But they had to be great cars, and that they certainly were. They were named Mercer after Mercer County in NJ where the production plant was located.
All of their cars were sold on a special order basis only. And their production was sold out for years in advance. Notice in particular the huge, single headlight located right on top of the dashboard. Typical for the time, it was an acetylene light fed by the Prest-O-Lite tank on the running board. Note also the small, circular " windshield " mounted right in front of the steering wheel on the steering column. Quite interesting stuff.
Unfortunately, Washington Roebling went down with the Titanic and the rest of the family lost interest in producing the car.
The one you see here is a 1912 Mercer 35C Raceabout. That was a very apt name as virtually all of the Mercers would see track time at some point in their life.
The car was the inspiration of the Roebling family, headed up by Washington Roebling. They had made their money in industrial endeavors and cars were simply a passion of theirs. But they had to be great cars, and that they certainly were. They were named Mercer after Mercer County in NJ where the production plant was located.
All of their cars were sold on a special order basis only. And their production was sold out for years in advance. Notice in particular the huge, single headlight located right on top of the dashboard. Typical for the time, it was an acetylene light fed by the Prest-O-Lite tank on the running board. Note also the small, circular " windshield " mounted right in front of the steering wheel on the steering column. Quite interesting stuff.
Unfortunately, Washington Roebling went down with the Titanic and the rest of the family lost interest in producing the car.
I always wanted to lie naked on a bearskin rug in front of a fireplace. Cracker Barrel didn't take kindly to it.
0
Comments
-
Very cool car. Thanks for its interesting history..
I believe every book, calendar, etc. that was ever dedicated to historic autos has at least one Mercer highlighted. They were fabulous cars....sort of the Corvettes of their time. Thanks for looking in.
Tom
Tom
Thanks for the kind words. I've only seen one of these acetylene lights " in action " and you're right....they are bright. It was around 1914 - 1915 that they started giving way to electrics.
Tom
You're correct about the Roeblings and their involvement with the Brooklyn Bridge. I've often wondered what direction the Mercer cars would have taken if Washington had not died when he did. Thanks for the nice comment.
Take care,
Tom
Another great series on a beautiful and neat car, Love all the details about it's History.
Very Nicely Done.
Craig
Burleson, Texas
There seems to be less and less garden in this state.
It's not too hard to love these Mercers. They were a real class act. I'm glad you enjoyed this series.
Tom
Yes, it was the same group of Roeblings that was responsible for the car and the cables. Washington Roebling was the leader of the bunch. It was his dedication and desire that led to the development of the Mercer. A lot of Washington's character is evident in the car he created.
Thanks for looking in,
Tom
Link to my Smugmug site
Thanks for the kind words. It was typical in those days to have the driver placed on the right-hand side. The thinking was that the driver, from that position, would have a better view of obsticles along the side of the road. Eventually, the prospect of giving the driver a greater line-of-sight look down the road prompted the move of the driver over to the left side of the vehicle.This, of course, is in consideration of the fact that the U.S. drives on the right.
I'm with you on the placement of that big headlight. I can't imagine what prompted them to put it there. The little circular windshield, though odd, is a little more understandable.
Tom
I would definitely have to wear a nice scarf riding in that machine
www.Dogdotsphotography.com
This was certainly open-air riding at its best....or worst, depending on how many bugs and mud you could tolerate. It's no wonder that the folks who rode in these cars were covered head to foot with riding apparel. Hell, I'd buy all that garb just for a chance to hit the road in this thing.
Take care,
Tom
To snare one of these cars today would require a pretty sizable cache of gold. To get one in this condition, you need a really big cache. I've seen a few Mercers....none any better than this one.
Thanks for looking in,
Tom
got to extend into the reading. Always interesting and informative. I ended
up spending quite a bit of time on the Titanic too. Seems the last surviving
passenger has passed on and a new book revealed a possible steering issue
executed by the helm at the time.
As always, it's good to hear from your quarters. I, too, have read about that steering issue you mention relative to the Titanic. It's possible the collision with the iceberg could well have been avoided. Even a straight-on collision would have been preferable to what actually happened.
Take care,
Tom
But these are beautiful pics, Tom! Crispness and clarity are magnificent!
Speaking of toys (and I mentioned elsewhere my Renault), how bout this very toyable thing:
http://theage.drive.com.au/photogallery/renault-dezir-concept/20100706-zybl.html?selectedImage=0
Never seen a tractor like this!
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix