Doctors’ Cars

If you were playing a word association game and someone said the phrase “doctor’s car,” what would be your response?  BMW? Range Rover?  In the early twentieth century, that term had a completely different connotation.

In the 1800s, doctors made house calls and needed a fast, safe and reliable  method of travel and so “doctor’s buggies” that met those requirements were common.  At the turn of the century, doctors were still making house calls and Maxwell continued the tradition by offering a “doctor’s car” option.  I wondered how many other companies offered a version designed for docs, and the answer is, “Just about everyone!”  Here are just a few:

This 1907 advertisement offered the “Dr. Mitchell” for $1000.
In 1906, Compound claimed to have the best doctor’s runabout on the market.
According to this 1905 advertisement, Oldsmobile’s doctor’s runabouts were “going like hot cakes”.
In 1906, $650 could get you Wayne’s doctor’s runabout with a 2-cylinder 14-hp engine.

Old Dealership Building in Wilsonville

I obviously inherited my love for old dealership buildings from my parents, because they snapped this photo the other day while passing through the village of Wilsonville, Nebraska:

Above that amazing arched doorway it reads, J.B. Andre ’07”

I did a little research, and it looks like J. B. Andre moved to Wilsonville from Marshalltown, Iowa in 1903 and opened a blacksmith shop.  This 1907 building would have been ideal for that, and you can almost see the carriages rolling in under that beautiful arch.

It wasn’t long before Andre became interested in automobiles.  One 1908 story noted that Andre was driving a new Mitchell, which, by the way, made a grand total of five automobiles in town.  By 1912, Andre was selling Mitchells.  He then moved on to selling Oaklands, Briscoes and Maxwells.  By 1930, Andre was a Mopar man, advertising Dodge Brothers trucks in the 1930s and new Plymouths and Chryslers into the 1950s:

Finally, Andre signed off on this interesting bit of history that was published November 1, 1929, just days after the great stock market crash:

1952 Chrysler Imperial