Premier Motor Manufacturing Company

Premier Motor Manufacturing Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Established in 1903 by George A. Weidely and Harold O. Smith, the company entered the market with technically ambitious cars, initially emphasizing air-cooled engineering and later adopting water-cooled engines. Premier operated during the brass era and vintage era of American motoring, a period when manufacturers were experimenting with engine layouts, transmissions, materials, and body styles while automobiles were still positioned primarily as expensive luxury products. The company’s early cars included two-cylinder and four-cylinder models, followed by larger and more powerful six-cylinder automobiles. Premier’s vehicles were generally marketed as premium touring cars, with substantial pricing, large engines, formal bodies, and comparatively luxurious interiors. Its radiator badge featured a prominent green oak leaf, an emblem often associated with one of the early uses of a recognizable automotive trademark. Production expanded from a small initial volume to approximately 1,000 cars annually by 1910. Premier also built a reputation through reliability events, completing three Glidden Tours with perfect scores. Premier’s engineering program included several notable developments. George Weidely designed an unusually large air-cooled racing prototype for Carl G. Fisher in 1905, although the car was disqualified from the Vanderbilt Cup because it exceeded the weight limit. After 1907, Premier moved to water-cooled engines, and by 1913 its range consisted entirely of six-cylinder cars. During the First World War, the company supplemented its passenger-car activity by producing licensed FWD Model B all-wheel-drive trucks. Premier assembled a demonstration vehicle from interchangeable components supplied by multiple manufacturers and built 500 trucks for the British Army in 1916. Financial instability became a recurring problem. Premier entered receivership in 1914, after which Weidely and Smith left the automobile company and acquired its engine works, forming Weidely Motors Company. A reorganization led by banker F. W. Woodruff created the Premier Motor Car Company. The firm continued to introduce technically distinctive products, including the 1918 Model 6C, promoted as an aluminum six and equipped with an electrically operated transmission supplied by Cutler-Hammer. It also entered three factory-prepared cars in the 1916 Indianapolis 500, with one finishing seventh. The postwar market proved difficult. Prices returned to the high end of the market while production slowed, and Premier never regained its earlier output. Oil entrepreneur L. S. Skelton reorganized the business as Premier Motor Corporation in 1920, but his death in 1921 was followed by further financial and organizational difficulties. In 1923 Frederick L. Barrows reorganized the company as Premier Motors, Inc. and acquired the Monroe automobile business, adapting the Monroe as the Premier Model B. A contract to build 1,000 taxicabs shifted the company’s focus toward commercial transportation. From 1924, taxis were reportedly Premier’s only product. In October 1926 Premier Motors, Inc. was sold to the National Cab & Truck Company of Indianapolis, which soon failed. The Premier brand is now defunct, and surviving automobiles are mainly preserved in museums and private collections.

Premier Motor Manufacturing Company was organized in Indianapolis in 1903 by George A. Weidely and Harold O. Smith. Its first automobiles reflected Weidely’s interest in advanced engine design, including an early air-cooled configuration. The company soon offered a range of technically distinctive and expensive cars aimed at affluent buyers seeking large touring automobiles. The 1904 range included a four-cylinder touring car with seating for six and a smaller two-cylinder model. Premier later introduced additional four-cylinder models and standardized its range around a single four-cylinder car for 1907. The company enlarged its engines and chassis over time, and in 1908 introduced the six-cylinder Model 45. Weidely developed a water-cooled engine in 1907, and Premier’s cars used water cooling from 1908 onward. Production grew from roughly 25 cars in 1903 to approximately 250 in 1907 and about 1,000 annually by 1910. The company’s green oak-leaf radiator emblem became a notable part of its identity. Premier also strengthened its reputation through endurance competition, recording perfect results in three Glidden Tours. In 1905, an exceptionally large air-cooled racing car designed by Weidely for Carl G. Fisher was prepared for Vanderbilt Cup competition. Although it demonstrated considerable speed, the car was excluded because it exceeded the event’s weight limit. By 1913, Premier had moved entirely to six-cylinder automobiles. Its range included roadsters and highly priced deluxe touring models. Despite its premium reputation, the company’s finances deteriorated, and it entered receivership in 1914. Weidely and Smith departed and acquired the engine factory, establishing Weidely Motors Company. A syndicate headed by F. W. Woodruff paid Premier’s debts and established the Premier Motor Car Company. The First World War provided an opportunity to diversify. Because FWD could not meet demand for its Model B all-wheel-drive truck, Premier and several other manufacturers were licensed to build the vehicle. Premier assembled an interchangeability demonstration truck and produced 500 examples for the British Army in 1916. That same year it entered three cars in the Indianapolis 500, with mixed results. Premier continued pursuing engineering differentiation after the war. The 1918 Model 6C used a 65-horsepower aluminum-block six-cylinder engine designed by Weidely Motors and an electric transmission supplied by Cutler-Hammer. The model was marketed with the phrase “The Aluminum Six with Magnetic Gear Shift.” However, Premier’s prices rose while output weakened. The company did not recover its earlier production scale. In 1920, L. S. Skelton paid the company’s debts and reorganized it as Premier Motor Corporation. Skelton died in January 1921, and the business later passed through a friendly receivership. In 1923, Frederick L. Barrows took control and reorganized it as Premier Motors, Inc. Barrows also purchased the Monroe automobile company, adapting its product into the Premier Model B. A contract for 1,000 taxicabs shifted the company toward commercial vehicles, and taxis reportedly became its sole product from 1924. The company was sold in October 1926 to National Cab & Truck Company of Indianapolis. That business quickly failed, bringing Premier’s manufacturing story to an end. Surviving Premier automobiles are scarce and are preserved in museums and collections, including examples associated with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Space Farms Zoo and Museum, and the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.

• 1926

  Business sold and brand disappears

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Premier Motors, Inc. was sold to National Cab & Truck Company, which soon failed.

• 1923

  Barrows reorganization and Monroe acquisition

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Frederick L. Barrows reorganized Premier Motors, Inc., acquired Monroe, and secured a major taxicab contract.

• 1920

  Premier Motor Corporation formed

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  L. S. Skelton paid Premier’s debts and reorganized the business as Premier Motor Corporation.

• 1918

  Model 6C launched

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Model 6C combined an aluminum six-cylinder engine with an electrically operated transmission.

• 1916

  Wartime truck production and Indianapolis 500 entry

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Premier built licensed FWD Model B trucks for wartime customers and entered three factory cars in the Indianapolis 500.

• 1914

  Receivership and reorganization

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Financial difficulties led to receivership, the departure of the founders, and the creation of a reorganized Premier company.

• 1913

  Range becomes six-cylinder only

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Premier’s passenger-car lineup consisted entirely of six-cylinder models, including roadsters and deluxe touring cars.

• 1910

  Annual output reaches approximately 1,000 cars

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Following production growth and successful Glidden Tour results, Premier reached roughly 1,000 vehicles per year.

• 1908

  Six-cylinder Model 45 introduced

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Premier launched the 55-horsepower Model 45 and adopted water-cooled engines across its automobile range.

• 1905

  Large racing prototype developed

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  George Weidely built a very large air-cooled racing prototype for Carl G. Fisher’s Vanderbilt Cup ambitions.

• 1904

  Four-cylinder touring car introduced

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Premier offered a six-passenger four-cylinder touring car alongside a smaller two-cylinder model.

• 1903

  Company organized in Indianapolis

  [1]Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org

  George A. Weidely and Harold O. Smith established Premier Motor Manufacturing Company and began automobile production.

Premium and luxury American automobiles, later supplemented by military trucks and taxicabs.

• Automobile · 1904

  Early Premier two-cylinder automobiles

  Premier’s early range included a two-cylinder automobile using a two-stroke straight-twin engine. It represented the company’s initial experimentation with compact power units before the business concentrated more heavily on larger four-cylinder and six-cylinder luxury cars.

• Luxury automobile · 1904

  Premier four-cylinder touring cars

  The four-cylinder touring cars were among Premier’s principal early products. The 1904 version was a six-passenger touring car with a front-mounted, water-cooled straight-four engine, a three-speed sliding transmission, a pressed-steel frame, and semi-elliptic springs. Later four-cylinder models were progressively enlarged and positioned as premium touring vehicles.

• Luxury automobile · 1908

  Premier Model 45

  Introduced in 1908, the Model 45 was a large six-cylinder Premier built on a 124-inch wheelbase. Its 55-horsepower engine and high price placed it near the upper end of the American automobile market. The model illustrated Premier’s shift from early air-cooled experimentation toward substantial water-cooled luxury cars.

• Luxury automobile · 1918

  Premier Model 6C

  The 1918 Model 6C was promoted as an aluminum six. It used a 65-horsepower aluminum-block engine designed by Weidely Motors and an electrically operated transmission made by Cutler-Hammer. The car was one of Premier’s most distinctive attempts to differentiate itself through materials and drivetrain technology during the late brass-era and early vintage-car period.

• Military truck · 1916

  FWD Model B

  Premier was one of several manufacturers licensed to build the FWD Model B all-wheel-drive truck during the First World War. The company assembled an interchangeability demonstration vehicle and produced 500 trucks for the British Army in 1916, extending its manufacturing role beyond passenger automobiles.

• Taxicab and automobile · 1923

  Premier Model B

  After Frederick L. Barrows acquired the Monroe automobile company in 1923, Monroe vehicles were adapted and sold as the Premier Model B. The model formed part of Premier’s late attempt to move away from expensive private cars and toward standardized commercial transportation products.

• Taxicab · 1923

  Premier taxicabs

  Premier received a contract in 1923 to build 1,000 taxicabs. From 1924, taxicabs were reportedly the company’s only product. This final product strategy reflected the company’s effort to find a more commercially focused market after its luxury-car production had declined.

• 1916Indianapolis 500 factory racing program

  United States

  Premier entered three factory-prepared cars in the Indianapolis 500 at the request of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, whose organizers were seeking racing participation during the disruption caused by war in Europe.

  Outcome. One car finished seventh, one crashed, and the third retired because of a broken oil line.

  Source
• 1910Glidden Tour reliability participation

  United States

  Premier used participation in the Glidden Tours to demonstrate vehicle durability and reliability. The company completed three tours with perfect scores, supporting its reputation as a maker of dependable premium touring cars.

  Outcome. The results strengthened Premier’s engineering reputation and helped support its premium positioning.

  Source

• 1923

  Move toward taxicabs and commercial vehiclesStrategy

  Background

  Production of Premier’s expensive passenger cars had slowed and the company had passed through repeated financial reorganizations.

  Action taken

  Frederick L. Barrows acquired Monroe, adapted its vehicles as the Premier Model B, and obtained a contract for 1,000 taxicabs.

  Aftermath

  Taxicabs became Premier’s reported sole product from 1924, but the strategy did not prevent the company’s 1926 sale and eventual disappearance.

  Source

• 1918

  Launch of the aluminum Model 6CProduct launch

  Background

  Premier sought to maintain a technically advanced image while operating in a difficult premium-car market.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the Model 6C with an aluminum-block six-cylinder engine and an electric transmission.

  Aftermath

  The product was technologically distinctive, but it did not reverse Premier’s longer-term production decline.

  Source

• 1916

  Diversification into licensed military trucksStrategy

  Background

  FWD could not produce enough Model B all-wheel-drive trucks to meet wartime demand.

  Action taken

  Premier joined other manufacturers in licensed production and built 500 FWD Model B trucks for the British Army.

  Aftermath

  The program gave Premier additional wartime manufacturing work beyond its luxury-car business.

  Source

• 1914

  Reorganization after receivershipStrategy

  Background

  Financial difficulties placed Premier in receivership and separated the founders from the automobile business.

  Action taken

  A syndicate led by F. W. Woodruff arranged to pay the company’s debts and establish the Premier Motor Car Company, while Weidely and Smith acquired the engine factory.

  Aftermath

  Premier continued operating, but its financial vulnerability remained a central problem.

  Source

• 1907

  Shift from air-cooled to water-cooled enginesStrategy

  Background

  Premier began with an advanced air-cooled design but continued developing larger and more conventional power units as its automobile range expanded.

  Action taken

  George Weidely developed a water-cooled engine, and Premier used water-cooled engines across its automobiles from 1908.

  Aftermath

  The change supported Premier’s move toward larger six-cylinder luxury automobiles.

  Source

1. 1Premier Motor Manufacturing Companyen.wikipedia.org