AutoPuzzles - The Internet's Museum of Rare Cars!
Puzzles, Games and Name That Car => Solved AutoPuzzles => 2018 => Topic started by: ftg3plus4 on March 02, 2018, 11:54:49 AM
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Things aren't always what they seem...
This needs more than just a make name. What's the (strange) story behind this picture?
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It looks like an early 1920s Ruston Hornsby 16/20. Is the story you refer to the one about the company's chairman visiting Melbourne in 1952, spotting the car still in use as a taxi, and having it shipped back to England for restoration?
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Nope, that's not it. The correct story does involve England though.
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Pros?
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So was the car made in UK ?
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The only way I can answer that is that it was said to have been made in the UK.
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Was it produced in another country, except England?
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The car as seen in the picture was not actually produced.
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Was the car made in USA ?
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The car as seen in the picture was not actually made.
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Was it a scam ?
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I wouldn't call it a "scam" because the person involved didn't scam anyone out of anything. A better word would be "fake."
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Is the name Lord Montagu de Beaulieu?
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Nope.
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So it's a fake British car imagined by a US citizen ?
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No, the person involved was British.
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Was it an April's Fool ?
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No, the only motivation seems to have been wishful thinking.
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Was this fake car imagined between 1920 and 1925 ?
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Yes.
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Was it published in a British car magazine of that era ?
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The information I have says it was published in the "Buyers' Guide." If that's a magazine, then yes.
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Well, it looks like I need to throw a hint out there to try to get this one going again.
Hint: The picture of the one car isn't the whole story. It represents a much longer story, in which the existence of any related photo is notable.
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1921 Owen Eight
"The granddaddy of the “shadowy” makes was the Owen, a make with at least six different names, listed on and off for 36 years, no press descriptions after 1902, no road tests, advertisements or even a photo to show that even just one Owen was built."
"The car was actually illustrated in the “Buyers’ Guide”, (picture below) but the side view is suspiciously like the American Kenworthy, with slight retouching. The Kenworthy was never offered for sale in Great Britain and would be thus sufficiently obscure to be unknown to most British readers – another example of Owen’s cunning."
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That's it, but can you elaborate on the story?
EDIT: Thanks.
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I've edited my answer by adding excerpts from the source. Shall I paste the whole text ?
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No, that's OK. A point for you!
Georgano's encyclopedia (at least in the edition I have) has an entry for the Owen, a "fantasy" make (among several from the same guy, E.H. Owen) listed in legitimate car publications for some 35 years. Illustrations of supposed Owen cars were rare. Besides mentioning the suspicious "Kenworthy" (?) photo shown here, the Georgano entry also mentions a line drawing of an early "voiturette" and two supposedly different models illustrated "by the same car" (whether by drawing or photo isn't made clear).
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Well, it looks like I need to throw a hint out there to try to get this one going again.
I had forgotten about this puzzle but actually the "Buyers' Guide" hint was enough to find the online source. Luckily the other pros were apparently asleep as well !
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One of my favourite stories in the old car world. Mike Worthing-Williams wrote it up in The Automobile many years ago - highly recommended read if you can track down a copy
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Actually there was a true car brand "Owen" were produced by the "Owen Motor Car Company", located at 1632 East Grand Bouleuvard in Detroit, Michigan. The "Owen Motor Car Company" was founded in 1910 by Ralph Owen, Angus Smith and Frank Robson with a capital of $ 500,000. They only produced 35 cars in a year that they were unable to sell. Ralph had to contact his brother Robert, who owned the "R.M. Owen & Company " dealer of " Reo " cars . As a result," Reo " bought the " Owen Motor Car Company " in October of that year in exchange for shares for the owners of " Owen ". Later in 1914 Ralph and another brother Frank created the much more well-known brand Owen Magnetic.