Beginning in 1875 with farm implements, the Stoddard Manufacturing Company refocused on automobiles following Charles Stoddard’s early automotive experiments in the late 1890s. Soon after the turn of the 20th century, a young British engineer, H.J. Edwards, joined the firm to lead development, and the first Stoddard-Dayton production automobile was announced in April of 1904. By December, the company’s name was the Dayton Motor Car Company, and farm equipment production had ended forever.

The Stoddard-Dayton was grand in stature, luxurious, and robust in its construction and specifications; its slogan, “As Good As It Looks,” was no mere bluster. The company’s four-cylinder, valve-in-head engine was a masterpiece of advanced engineering, compared even to the famed T-head engines of competing marques. The valves were inclined at 45 degrees within hemispherical combustion chambers, providing efficient breathing and carburetion. Pressure lubrication, enhanced by a camshaft-driven oil pump, greatly enhanced reliability.

Stoddard-Daytons were even successful in period competition. One won the first race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, and another served as the pace car of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. The latter was the personal car of Carl Fisher, who, in addition to being the Speedway’s co-founder, also happened to be the Stoddard-Dayton dealer in Indianapolis.

Despite all of this success and fanfare, Stoddard-Dayton was doomed by an ill-fated decision to join the United States Motor Company, an early conglomerate, in 1910. When the U.S. Motor Company collapsed in 1913, it took the fabled Dayton manufacturer with it.

The handsome Model A Touring offered here was formerly part of several distinguished private collections, including that of the late Bill Lassiter in West Palm Beach, Florida. Presented as a beautiful older restoration, it is finished in a period-correct deep red, with a black leather interior that shows a nice patina throughout, is very comfortable, and is either original or an extremely early replacement. Resplendent brass accessories appear throughout, including a Stoddard-Dayton Motometer, dual side lamps, correct brass gauges, and a proper Prest-O-Lite acetylene tank for the headlamps. Even the facings on the pedals are original with their “S-D” embossment.

A fine Brass Era tourer of excellent heritage, this beautiful automobile is ready for more HCCA and AACA Reliability Tour use with a new owner.