Octagonal shapes were used by Locomobile to stand out from the competition and it is a feature that makes them distinguishable. One place this octagonal shape was seen was in the headlamps:
The Locomobile and General Pershing
According to a 1918 story in the New York Herald, Locomobile developed this model for the use of General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, and his staff, in Europe where Pershing was serving as the commander of the American forces during World War I.
According to the story, after observing British commanders using Rolls Royces and French commanders using Renaults, General Pershing requested a vehicle from Locomobile which would be representative of America and be able to meet the physical challenges of being driven 200-300 miles per day over war-torn roads at high speeds. Locomobile first shipped two of these automobiles and they were used simultaneously, one following the other, so that the General could change cars without losing any time in the event of a blown tire.
The Locomobiles successfully met the challenges, and then more units were supplied for the use of the General Staff. The automobile company wasted no time including this information in their advertising:
You can’t blame Locomobile for being proud of its association with General Pershing, a great general as well as a good and decent man. He still holds the distinction of being the only active-duty six-star general in American history. For more information on this man, I highly recommend a documentary created by University of Nebraska professor Barney McCoy called “Black Jack Pershing: Love and War,” which is available on Amazon Prime. If it doesn’t make you shed a tear, you better check your pulse.
Daredevil Joe Tracy
While reading up on some old race history, I kept seeing the name “Joe Tracy”. Since we share a last name, I was intrigued and had to know more. The Joe Tracy whose name is written in the annals of race history is this man:
He was born in Ireland in 1873 and eventually immigrated to the United States and became a citizen. He is best known for racing Locomobiles in the Vanderbilt Cup Races and, according to the Vanderbilt Cup Races website, is the only driver to compete in the first five Vanderbilt Cup Races. Many contemporary sources describe his temperament as being quiet, thoughtful and steady. He was said to use good judgment and to be extremely knowledgeable. On the race track, however, he earned the nickname “Daredevil” Joe Tracy. A 1906 Chicago newspaper called him “America’s Greatest Race Car Driver,” explaining that he was without peer as an expert and the equal of any foreigner as a driver. This was high praise at the time as Europe was far ahead of America in car building and racing.
The Vanderbilt Cup Races were held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910. In the 1905 race, Tracy drove a 90-hp Locomobile to a third place finish. He drove 283 miles in four hours, 58 minutes and 26 seconds. His average lap speed was 56.90 mph and his fastest lap speed was 61.38 mph. The day before the race the cylinders of his Locomobile had cracked, and Tracy stayed up most the night replacing them. There was no time to try them out before the race, but they did work, and Tracy didn’t have to stop at all during the race except for gasoline. He crossed the finish line behind two French drivers, proving that America could produce a race car that could hold its own against the Europeans.
The Locomobile was appropriately named for its likeness to a locomotive. Here is a picture of Tracy in a Locomobile in 1906:
Locomobile was established in 1899 and was steam-powered in its first years of existence but had converted to gasoline by 1905. They were well-made and expensive automobiles. An ad from 1905 describes the Model H as follows: “35 horse power Magneto, make and brake ignition, double chain drive. The finest car on the American market.” They were fine automobiles and Locomobile priced them accordingly by asking $5,000 for the Model H and $3,000 for the cheaper Model E. Locomobile celebrated the fact that they had created the first American automobile to threaten European racing supremacy:
Tracy’s next Vanderbilt Cup race was the Elimination Race in September of 1906. That race consisted of ten laps around a 29.7 mile course with nine turns, and Tracy completed the 297 miles in 5 hours, 27 minutes, 45 seconds. He and the Locomobile he was driving won big, beating the nearest competitors by more than 20 minutes.
This picture of the Locomobile appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
This great description of the car appeared in the Boston Globe:
These pictures of the car and driver appeared in the Los Angeles Times: