The Chandler Automobile: A History Including the Cleveland and Chandler-Cleveland Marques

Incorporated by veteran automakers in 1913, the Chandler Motor Car Company was initially successful in a fiercely competitive industry, manufacturing an array of quality automobiles at a range of prices. Yet by the late 1920s the company was floundering under mismanagement. Producing four lines of cars with numerous body styles, Chandler and its lower-priced companion marque, Cleveland, were unable to find markets for their numerous models and seemed in effect to be competing against themselves. Drawing on numerous automotive histories and two large private collections of memorabilia, this exhaustive study of the Chandler Motor Car Company covers the automobiles in detail, including all body styles, and their changes during production. The author chronicles the growth, expansion and later troubles of Chandler and Cleveland, providing fresh insight into the formative years of the auto industry and the personalities who made it go.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments deletevi Preface Introduction I. Chandler One. 1912–1913: Roots and Beginning Two. 1914–1916: Small Company, Big Success Three. 1917–1918: The War Years Four. 1919–1922: Postwar Recession and Recovery Five. 1923–1924: The Pikes Peak Motor and Traffic Transmission Six. 1925–1926: Racing Success, Internal Struggles and Merger Seven. 1927 Model Year: Too Many Models, Too Little Profit Eight. 1928 Model Year: Big Sixes, Big Eights, Big Trouble Nine. The End of Chandler Ten. Advertising, Personalities, Distributors and Dealers Between pages 118 and 119 are 16 color plates containing 46 photographs Eleven. Racing, Hill Climbing, Endurance and Other Competition Twelve. Chandler Specifications II. Cleveland Thirteen. The Cleveland Model 40, 1919–1921 Fourteen. Models 41 and 42, 1922–1924 Fifteen. Models 43 and 31 and the “Mileage Motor,” 1925–1926 Sixteen. Racing, Hill Climbing, Distributors, Dealers and Advertising Seventeen. Cleveland Specifications Appendix A. Press Release of 1915 Nonstop Mexico to Canada Run Appendix B. Chandler Dealer Contract, 1916 Chapter Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Retired construction electrician James H. Lackey is a charter member of the Jordan Register and has been its historian for many years. He lives in Huntington, West Virginia.

Review :
“The first truly definitive work on Chandler and its Cleveland companion marque...handsomely presented...the amount of detail in the text is noteworthy...enhanced by nearly 400 fascinating period images...will be a go-to reference in perpetuity”—Hemmings Classic Car “Writing about orphan cars takes a lot of time and research and luckily, for both collectors and historians, there are those who take on that challenge...fills in some gaps in automotive history. All Chandler and Cleveland owners will want to put a copy of this book on their shelf, plus it will make a great addition to the collection of anyone interested in automotive history.”—Antique Automobile “An exhaustive and comprehensive study of the Chandler Motor Car Company that covers the automobiles in detail… Aptly chronicles the growth, expansion and later troubles of Chandler and Cleveland, providing fresh insight into the formative years of the auto industry and the personalities who made it go. Profusely illustrated throughout, exceptionally well organized, and presented, The Chandler Automobile is an extraordinary and welcome addition to personal, community, and academic library 20th Century American Automotive History collections and supplemental studies reading lists.”—The Automotive Shelf