R. H. Long Motors Company
A short-lived Framingham, Massachusetts automobile manufacturer best known for the Bay State six-cylinder car.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
R. H. Long Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Framingham, Massachusetts, that produced cars from 1922 until 1926. The company was founded by Richard H. Long, a Framingham shoe manufacturer whose industrial facilities had acquired experience making high-grade automobile bodies during the First World War. After the war, Long used that manufacturing background to enter the growing American automobile industry. The company’s principal and apparently only automobile marque was Bay State, named after Massachusetts’s official nickname. Bay State cars were positioned as relatively small-production, conventionally engineered automobiles. They used a six-cylinder engine supplied by Continental Motors Company and were built on a 121-inch wheelbase. The cars incorporated standard, proven components rather than attempting to introduce a radically new technical concept. One version was designed by a former Winton Motor Carriage Company engineer, a connection that may help explain the Bay State’s visual resemblance to Winton automobiles, particularly in the radiator treatment. R. H. Long Motors offered a broad body range for a manufacturer of its scale. Its catalog included both open and closed automobiles, among them a sports phaeton. The model program was intended to cover several common body styles and customer preferences, allowing the company to compete in the crowded American market for six-cylinder passenger cars. The Bay State achieved a degree of commercial success for a small independent manufacturer: approximately 2,500 cars were sold during its roughly three- to four-year production period. Contemporary prices reportedly ranged from $1,800 to $2,850, depending on model and body configuration; these figures should be understood in the context of the 1920s and are not modern-equivalent values. The company ceased automobile production in 1926. Its commercial legacy continued through the Long Automotive Group, an automobile dealership established in 1927 from the remains of the manufacturing business. The dealership operation later became associated with Long Cadillac in Southborough, Massachusetts, described in reference material as the world’s oldest continually owned Cadillac dealership, and Long Subaru in Webster, Massachusetts. This later dealership business was separate from the defunct automobile manufacturing operation, although it preserved the Long name and its automotive connection. Only two surviving Bay State automobiles are identified in the available reference material: a 1925 roadster and a 1924 Model One sedan. Their survival gives the marque continuing relevance among collectors and historians of American independent automobile manufacturers. R. H. Long Motors remains a regional example of the many small American automakers that entered the market during the 1920s but could not sustain long-term production.
History
Richard H. Long entered automobile manufacturing from the shoe industry in Framingham, Massachusetts. During the First World War, his factory was converted to war-related production and made high-grade automobile bodies. That experience provided a manufacturing base for a postwar automotive venture. In 1922, Long founded R. H. Long Motors Company and began producing the Bay State automobile. The marque took its name from Massachusetts’s familiar nickname and was developed as a small-production American car rather than as an experimental or luxury engineering project. Its basic specification included a Continental Motors Company six-cylinder engine and a 121-inch wheelbase. The use of a widely supplied Continental engine and other standard components allowed the company to assemble a competitive automobile without developing a complete proprietary mechanical system. The Bay State’s design had a connection to the earlier Winton Motor Carriage Company. A former Winton designer was involved in creating the car, and the Bay State’s radiator shape was sufficiently similar to Winton styling to attract comparison. The company offered several body configurations, including open cars, closed cars, and a sports phaeton, indicating an effort to serve more than one segment of the contemporary passenger-car market. Although R. H. Long Motors was never a high-volume producer, the Bay State achieved meaningful sales for an independent regional manufacturer. Reference material attributes approximately 2,500 units to the company’s three or four years of production, with listed prices between $1,800 and $2,850. Production ended in 1926, as the company could not continue as an automobile manufacturer in an increasingly competitive industry dominated by larger firms with greater manufacturing scale and distribution resources. The Long automotive name did not disappear when car production stopped. In 1927, the Long Automotive Group was established as a dealership business from the remains of the manufacturing operation. The later enterprise operated Long Cadillac in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Long Subaru in Webster, Massachusetts. The Cadillac dealership has been described as the world’s oldest continually owned Cadillac dealership. This dealership history represents a continuation of the family automotive business, not a continuation of Bay State vehicle production. The surviving physical record of the marque is limited. Two Bay State cars are identified in the available reference material: a 1925 roadster and a 1924 Model One sedan. These vehicles preserve evidence of a brief Massachusetts manufacturing venture that otherwise lasted only four years and produced a modest number of cars.
- 1927
Long Automotive Group is established
[1]A dealership business was founded from the remains of the manufacturing enterprise, continuing the Long family’s involvement in the automotive trade.
- 1926
Automobile production ends
[1]R. H. Long Motors ceased manufacturing automobiles after approximately three or four years of Bay State production.
- 1925
Bay State roadster survives
[1]A 1925 Bay State roadster is identified among the two known surviving cars.
- 1924
Bay State Model One sedan
[1]A surviving 1924 Bay State Model One sedan is identified as one of the two known remaining examples of the marque.
- 1922
R. H. Long Motors begins automobile production
[1]Richard H. Long founded the company and began producing the Bay State automobile in Framingham, Massachusetts.
- 1914
Factory contributes to wartime production
[1]Richard H. Long’s Framingham factory shifted to war-related manufacturing during the First World War, including production of high-grade automobile bodies.
Products and positioning
A regional, small-production American automobile manufacturer offering conventionally engineered six-cylinder cars in multiple open and closed body styles.
Passenger automobile · 1922
Bay State
The Bay State was R. H. Long Motors Company’s principal automobile and the defining product of the brand. It was a small-production American car built on a 121-inch wheelbase and powered by a six-cylinder engine from Continental Motors Company. The design used standard, established components and was associated with a former Winton Motor Carriage Company designer. Bay State cars were offered in both open and closed body styles, including a sports phaeton, and were sold during the company’s 1922–1926 production period.
Brand decisions
1926
Exit from automobile manufacturingStrategyBackground
The company operated as a small independent manufacturer in a market increasingly shaped by larger automobile producers.
Action taken
R. H. Long Motors ended production of the Bay State and left automobile manufacturing.
Aftermath
The Long automotive name continued through a dealership enterprise established in 1927.
1922
Launch of the Bay State automobileProduct launchBackground
After wartime production experience in automobile bodies, Richard H. Long established an automobile manufacturing company in Framingham and entered the postwar American passenger-car market.
Action taken
The company introduced the Bay State, using a Continental six-cylinder engine, a 121-inch wheelbase, and a range of open and closed body styles.
Aftermath
The Bay State reached approximately 2,500 sales during its short production run, but manufacturing ended in 1926.
Reported Bay State sales and listed prices. Approximately 2,500 cars sold; reported prices ranged from $1,800 to $2,850 (Approximately 1922–1926)
Sources1 sources
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