Cole Motor Car Company

Early years

Joseph J. Cole (1869–1925) made his first attempt to build a car in 1903 at Rockford, Illinois. Together with his son, he owned a shop where they sold wheels, automobiles, motor bikes, and even lawn mowers, and also performed mechanical repairs. Together they worked on a 4-cylinder touring car that was planned to be sold as the Rockford. The project went nowhere, and instead they opened a Rambler automobile dealership.

In 1904, Cole bought the Gates-Osborne Carriage Company and soon renamed it the Cole Carriage Company. There, he built his first automobile. It was a high-wheeled motor buggy with a two-cylinder engine. Legend goes that he forgot to fit brakes on this car and on his first trip, had to drive until the tank was empty.

In 1904, the Cole Carriage Company was building approximately 3,000 carriages annually. Production of this car started in the same year assisted by engineer Charles S. Crawford, who later worked for Stutz. The new car was marketed as the "Cole Solid Tire Automobile". Cole sold about 170 of these high wheelers before deciding that this type car had no future.

In June 1909, Cole Carriage Company was reorganized as the Cole Motor Car Company and developed a conventional small car, the Cole Model 30. Confusingly designated, it had a two-cylinder engine that only delivered 14 HP. It rode on a 90-inch (2,300 mm) wheelbase. The only body style was a runabout that he offered with 2, 2/4, or 4 seats at $725, $750, or $775, respectively. The Solid Tire Automobile was still available. About 100 cars were built.

Book on the history of Cole

In 1954, Howard Russell Delancy completed his college dissertation on the history of the Cole Motor Car Company. Howard was attending Indiana University and the dissertation was turned into a book that had limited publishing. This book is the definitive and very detailed history of the life of J.J. Cole and the entirety of the company. Delancy was given exclusive access to the surviving Cole family members, the Cole company archives, and he interviewed surviving workers from many facets of the company. Unfortunately, decades later, the Cole company history and archives were stored in the basement of the old Cole factory when the river adjacent to the factory flooded. The archives were destroyed, so this book is that much more important for a detailed history of the company.

The new kind of marketing became even more apparent in 1918. Advertising slogans were "There's a Touch of Tomorrow In All Cole Does Today" or "Did You Ever Go Ballooning in a Cole?", the latter referring to the adoption of balloon tires as an option that year (they became a standard feature finally in 1925). The car was advertised as the "Aero-Eight" (internally Model 870). There were only three body styles left, a roadster, a "Sportster" and the obligatory touring car. They cost $2,395 each and seated 2, 4, and 7 passengers, respectively. The cars also became more fashionably styled.

The 870 Aero-Eight was technically much the same in 1919 but there were now seven bodies to choose from at prices between $2,595 and $3,795 for the new town car and the "Tourcoupe". Some closed bodies got an octagonal rear quarter window as a "beauty" feature. That year, 6,225 Coles were built.

The "Aero-Eight" Model 880 for 1920 was boldly announced: "The Forecast of Future Fashions". The ad further bragged that there were 15,000 miles (24,000 km) possible on its tires. Available were only three body styles, all of them of an open type: A Roadster for 2 and a Speedster for 4 passengers at $2,750 plus a "Tourster" a.k.a. touring car for $2,850. But naming the product got even more creative. While "Sportsedan" and "Sportcoupe" might sound familiar in our ears, "Sportosine" and "Tourosine" for some closed cars definitely do not. These cars got adjustable, "storm-proofed" windshields that had an angled position. Cole switched to Johnson carburettors and introduced a one-piece rear axle and a brake adjuster. The gear ratio was 4.45 (until 1922). A new measure for power replaced the antiquated N.A.C.C. rating. Thus, the Cole V-8 came in with 80 bhp (60 kW) and stayed there until car production ceased. Prices were slightly up and were between $2,750 and $3995.

1921 Coles were only slightly altered. Most of the exalted terms vanished - but "Sportosine" and "Tourosine" remained. There were 8 body styles that were substantially more expensive: $3,250 for the three open cars and between $4,250 and $4,450 for closed.