Summary

One of a few known to exist. Restored and magnificent one cylinder high wheeler.

Details

Early automobiles were dubbed horseless carriages and it's easy to see why. Often converted buggies, there were several ventures into automobile manufacturing by individuals with the foresight to see that the automobile would change the world. One of these early ventures was Success Auto-Buggy Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, MO. Seeing a niche for a low priced automobile, John C. Higdon started the company and sold cars for as little as $250 and claimed over 100mpg. He advertised that 'The expense of operating the Success is lower than any other automobile or the keeping of a horse.' Higdon built his first automobile in 1896 under his own name. He was a patent lawyer by trade and he used the car for advertising purposes, boldly stating 'although we are patent lawyers, there is no patent on this vehicle and everyone is free to copy it.' He later changed his mind, started the Success Company and then subsequently started suing other manufacturers for patent design. This is one of few automobiles known to survive and comes with a binder of historical information including copies of advertisements, letters from customers and dealers, period articles and photographs. Beautifully restored, this early American motorcar is truly a piece of history.