Westcott (automobile)

The Westcott was an automobile produced in Richmond, Indiana and Springfield, Ohio in the United States between 1909 and 1925 by the Westcott Motor Car Company. The car company was named for its founder, John Westcott.

The company originated from John Westcott's Westcott Carriage Company which was founded in Richmond, Indiana in 1896. It was reorganized as the Westcott Motor Car Company in 1909. John Westcott sold his interest to Burton J. Westcott in 1916 and production moved to Springfield. In 1917 output reached 2,000 cars with it peaking in 1920.

The last known advertisement for Westcott cars was April 5, 1925 and the same day a newspaper reported that the company had been sold the previous day to J. B. Cartmell, Arthur Hill, and George Cugley for $81,000. Production had stopped as the company was unable to pay debts of $825,000 owed to suppliers of parts used in the cars. Burton Westcott had been unable to save the company and died a year later in January 1926. Westcotts were hand built and the company had not adapted to the cost saving production line techniques being used by other manufacturers.

Burton Westcott was known as a client of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed a Prairie School style house for the Westcott Family in Springfield, Ohio in 1904. Restoration of the Westcott House began in 2004.

The Westcott was advertised as "the car with the longer life". Westcotts were powered by Continental engines, and rode at least two wheelbases, 125 in (3,175 mm) and 118 in (2,997 mm). In 1923, the company released a model named the Closure, which was a touring car with hard panels that could be removed from the sides of the car during the summer months. According to the company, the average lifespan of a Westcott car was 10 years, which was three and a half years higher than the national average.

Westcotts competed in the Gluden Endurance Race of 1910 and the first Indy 500 of 1911. The Westcott, driven by Harry Knight was running in third place in the Indy race when on lap 90 it crashed while avoiding a mechanic who had fallen from Joe Jagersberger's car. Knight's mechanic was injured in the crash.

...
Wikipedia