The Carroll Six automobile was built by the Carroll Automobile Company of Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

, from 1920 to 1922.

Beginnings of the Carroll Six

Charles F. Carroll, the company's founder, was an advertising mogul who had success in an account with Fisk Tires through an agency he operated in nearby Cleveland. He attempted to purchase the Moon Automobile Company

Moon Motor Car

Moon Motor Car was a United States automobile company that was based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company had a venerable reputation among the buying public, as it was known for fully assembled, easily affordable mid-level cars using high-quality parts...

 of St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, following the death of Joseph W. Moon in 1918 but did not succeed (believed to be historically accurate). Carroll's earnings made in the advertising business financed his new car-building venture, and Carroll built automobiles in a factory located on Washington Avenue in Lorain, Ohio

Lorain, Ohio

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....

.

About the car

The Carroll Six or 'Carroll Car' as they were commonly called was offered as both a two-door roadster and as a four-door open touring sedan. The four-door had a distinctive black leather over steel California top, which was a non-folding hardtop with a 'porthole' style window in the C-pillar. The car also was also unusual in that the radiator was placed ahead of the front axle. Only two paint colors were available, Carroll Green and Carroll Red, in attractive two-tone finishes.

It sold for US$3985 FOB and offered many items as standard, such as a leather interior, at a time when options were becoming popular among car buyers.

The cars were assembled from parts purchased from various manufacturers. Carroll Cars were fitted with a Buda six-cylinder engine, but there are records showing that Beaver sixes and Rochester sixes may have been used. The 66 hp engine's top speed was 62 mph/100 km/h.

Production

Actual production figures vary. Approximately 600 cars were built, however some sources state about 400 cars, mostly touring sedans; other sources state 183 cars. Only one confirmed survivor, a Carroll Green touring sedan, is on display at The William E. Swigart, Jr. Automobile Museum located in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. This car was purchased directly from Mr. Carroll in 1967 and had been his personal car for many years.

End of the line

Although accounts vary, it has been said that a number of cars were assembled and placed on a train bound for California to fill dealer orders. The cars were then shipped either without radiator fluid or with inadequate fluid and the train was held over during a blizzard in Chicago. When the cars arrived in California, none of them would start or could be driven; all had damaged engine blocks. They were scrapped and were a total loss, costing the company its business. This, along with a national economic downturn, brought a halt to assembly of the Carroll Six in 1922.

External links

• Swigart Auto Museum
• Rochester Engine Company
• http://www.s363.com/BTCo/index.html
• Fisk Tire Company