Cleveland Classic Cars for Sale

The Cleveland was one of the first petrol engine cars of the early 1900s. There was the Model F, Model D, a roadster, and the Cleveland Six - all built in Cleveland, Ohio.

History of the Cleveland car

The first Cleveland was built by the Cleveland Motor Car Company, a company started in the early 1900s by E. J. Pennington. Though the exact year the first Cleveland was built and sold is conflicted, there was an advertisement in 1905 for an 18-horsepower, 4-cylinder model. It was described as a 'High grade, light weight touring car' and cost $2800. In 1906 the Cleveland Model F was on sale, dubbed 'The car without a weak spot'. It was another 4-cylinder model, but with a 30 to 35-horsepower engine, and cost between $3500 to $5000. Around the same time, the Model D was built, a 20-horsepower engine with another $2800 price tag. Both models were built on chassis made by the well-known Garford Motor Truck Co. In a 1907 book, listing all cars sold in America that year, there's a page about the 'Cleveland Speed Car' which shares the same spec as the Model F, though describes the body as a 'Special roadster', and is priced at $3750. In 1908 the company closed its Cleveland factory and planned to build another in Milwaukee, but they went out of business in 1909.

A new Cleveland

In 1919, Frederick Chandler (Chandler Motor Car Company) saw a need for producing an affordable car; the Cleveland Automobile Company was founded, and they built a new Cleveland car. Designed similarly to their other car, the Chandler automobile, the Cleveland was slightly smaller, but otherwise there was little to tell the two apart. The Cleveland was available as a 4-door touring car, and a sedan. It only came in two colours, two different shades of blue. The body was built by Fisher Brothers, but the rest of the parts were manufactured by themselves. Though the Chandler Motor Company and the Cleveland Automobile Company had separate factories, the similarities in manufacturing and design led to the two companies merging in 1925, they changed the name to the Chandler-Cleveland Motors Corporation. A new Cleveland car was built, the 'Cleveland six'. One magazine advertised it as a 'One ride revelation'. It was a 6-cylinder de luxe touring car and cost $1145.

The end of the Cleveland

Not long after the Chandler-Cleveland Motors Corporation formed, many car manufacturers in Cleveland were being pushed out by companies like Chevrolet, and Ford. By 1928 the Cleveland car was out of production, and the Chandler-Cleveland Motors Corporation was bought by the Hupp Motor Car Corp.