Tag: roosevelt

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LaFayette

Some of the more intriguing radiator badges are the ones that feature portraits such as the one of Teddy Roosevelt found on the Marmon Roosevelt and this one, found on the LaFayette:

In October of 1919, it was announced that a motor company was being formed to start manufacturing a new automobile in Indianapolis. It was called LaFayette Motors Co. and Charles Nash was the president.

1919 LaFayette Advertisement

The new automobile was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought with American colonists against the British during the American Revolutionary War. Lafayette was a tremendous asset during the fight for American independence, providing tactical leadership and securing vital aid from France including troops and supplies. Lafayette spent that terrible winter at Valley Forge with George Washington, and they formed a lasting friendship. The Marquis even named his only son Georges Washington de Lafayette and famously said, “I gave my heart to the Americans and thought of nothing else but raising my banner and adding my colors to theirs.”

1921 LaFayette Advertisment

In light of the Marquis’ relationship with America, it is no surprise that someone in the automobile industry saw fit to honor his memory. One 1920 story states that the engineers and designers of the new automobile studied the memoirs of the “liberty-loving marquis” and that several refinements and appointments of the new V8-powered luxury car had a historic conception. The choice of materials such as silver and walnut woodwork were influenced by French art of the period. The radiator badge, like the one seen above, was a cameo of Lafayette. It featured onyx framed in silver and was said to resemble something made by 18th century craftsmen. The gracefully scrolled monogram used by Lafayette on his private stationary was used on the hub caps and hood ornament.

1936 LaFayette

The company moved to Wisconsin to cut costs but still struggled to make a profit and stopped production altogether in 1924. The name was revived by Nash during the ’30s, but no longer as a luxury car. It is a shame that the automobile didn’t experience greater success, because Lafayette certainly deserved the tribute.

When the government violates the people’s rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of the rights and the most indispensible of duties.

– Marquis de Lafayette

1924 LaFayette Advertisement

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The Marmon Roosevelt

Quick! How many cars can you think of that are named for a United States President? There is more than one (and no, Ford doesn’t count), but only one proudly features a picture of the man himself on the radiator badge. I am referring, of course, to the Roosevelt, named for President Theodore Roosevelt. The Roosevelt was built by the Marmon Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana in 1929 and 1930, and the radiator badge was a 1 3/4 x 1 3/8” oval that looked like this:

Regarding that famous radiator, Marmon bragged that “It not only has new lines – but new feeling, reflecting the staunchness, the energy, the character of the great name which it bears.”1 Everyone knows President Roosevelt was a vigorous man of action, but I like that they also invoked character. He often emphasized the importance of character, calling it “the chief factor in any man’s success,” and believing that, “all the laws that the wit of man can devise will never make a man a worthy citizen unless he has within himself the right stuff, unless he has self-reliance, energy, courage, the power of insisting on his own rights and the sympathy that makes him regardful of the rights of others.”2 Good advice then and now.

The Roosevelt automobile was available as a Five-Passenger Sedan, a Victoria Coupe, a Coupe with rumble seat and a Collapsible Coupe with rumble seat. It featured a straight-eight 70 hp engine and was the first 8 cylinder to be priced under $1,000. It was also the first automobile to come with a radio. By the end of the 1920s, three manufacturers (Transitone, Delco-Remy and American Bosch) were offering automobile radios. The Roosevelts were factory-equipped for radio installation, but dealers selected the brand at the buyer’s request.3  Like the automobile, the President was associated with many “firsts” as well. He was the first President to ride in an automobile (while in office). He was also the first President to own a car, to fly in an airplane and to be submerged in a submarine. How appropriate that Marmon described the president’s namesake as seeming “to invite motion – to be away quickly.”4

As you can see here, the Roosevelt was a beautiful automobile featuring clean, straight lines:

This is a picture of one housed at a local museum, Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska, but you do see the occasional Roosevelt for sale. Until I have the opportunity to own one, I will have to be content with remembering that President Roosevelt also said that self-respect is the most invaluable of all possessions, and I still have that (I just can’t drive it)!

 

  1. “The Roosevelt.” The Pittsburgh Press 21 4 1929: 79.
  2. Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography (Np: CreateSpace, 2016), 16.
  3.  Tad Burness, Cars of the Early Thirties (New York City: Galahad Books, 1970), 256-257.
  4. “The Roosevelt”, 79.