John Gary Anderson knew his automobiles could never compete against those produced by manufacturing giants like Ford on price. Instead, the South Carolina carriage builder focused on hand-crafted quality and Southern pride to sell Anderson automobiles, with some success, from 1916 until 1925. Of the roughly 6,000 examples built, a dozen survive today, and “several” will be on hand for the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance, taking place from November 4-6 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
As Ron Chepesiuk wrote in Automotive Quarterly Volume 34, Number 3, Anderson began his buggy manufacturing business from the back of his father-in-law’s furniture store in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in 1888. Just a year later, the startup’s success saw it move to a 45,000 square foot factory, with the business valued at roughly $25,000. Its success was spurred by innovation, as Anderson had devised an axle that required less oiling than competitive products, along with other components that could be lubricated without removing a buggy’s wheels.
By 1910, Anderson was ready to expand his manufacturing efforts to include automobiles, but his announced four-seat, 30-horsepower, easy-to-maneuver automobile never came to fruition. Instead, he continued to focus on the then-profitable buggy manufacturing business, a decision he’d come to regret when sales plummeted in 1914. Building commercial bodies for the Ford Model T hadn’t proven successful, either, so faced with no other viable path forward, Anderson once again began working on an automobile, this time with the help of experienced engineer Joseph Anglada, formerly the head of cycle car builder Liberty Motors.
The first Anderson automobile, the 6-40-6, was shown to the public in January of 1916. Available as a three-passenger roadster or a five passenger touring car, the model featured a 38-horsepower six-cylinder Continental-built engine; electrical components from Westinghouse; oversize tires for negotiating muddy southern roads; an on board air compressor (driven off the transmission); a comprehensive tool kit; and options such as a heater and a rumble seat. As was then a common practice among low-volume automakers, the Anderson was assembled using components from third party suppliers.
In addition to the locally grown ash, hickory and oak used to craft the bodies (and wheels), Anderson automobiles came in a wide variety of colors, including purple, blue and yellow, at a time when mainstream automakers were generally more conservative with their liveries. An early believer in the power of advertising, John Anderson played on the company’s South Carolina location to stir up pride among local and regional buyers, adopting the slogan, “A Little Bit Higher in Price, But Made in Dixie.”
World War I proved beneficial to Anderson’s business, as the company prospered building small trucks and cargo trailers for the military. Despite the shift in focus, Anderson still built over 800 automobiles during 1918, and a year later, in 1919, the company began building its first range of closed automobiles.
Business grew to 1,180 units in 1920, but in 1921 sales fell to just 481 automobiles, prompting John Anderson to launch an aggressive “buy local” marketing campaign. Playing off the fears of Rock Hill residents, Anderson asked the public to imagine what the city would look like if the Anderson Motor Company failed, going so far as to publish monthly production numbers in the local newspaper.
A lower-cost model, the Anderson Aluminum Six, was introduced in 1922, but priced from $1,195 it was nearly $900 more expensive than its Ford Model T equivalent and roughly on par with automobiles from Buick. Despite Ford’s cost-cutting efforts and easy payment plans, the Aluminum Six sold well enough, boosting Anderson’s sales to a record 1,875 automobiles in 1923.
The car that was to be Anderson’s salvation also contributed significantly to the automaker’s undoing. To cut production costs, the Aluminum Six used a smaller 3.2-liter Continental Model 6Y engine, which proved prone to engine block warpage, a result of insufficient curing time prior to machining. With the cylinder bores out of round, the engines would snap piston rings with alarming regularity, and at one point, a company historian observed that “several hundred” of the Aluminum Six models sat in the factory, awaiting new engines.
Production fell to 616 units in 1924, and fell again to 136 units in 1925. By September of that year it was no longer possible to keep creditors at bay, and the company closed its doors for good at the end of the month. The total production of Anderson Automobiles over a decade of production remains a topic for debate: some sources claim a rather specific 5,553 cars, while other say the total was between 6,300 and 10,000. Whatever the actual number achieved, Anderson proved to be the most successful Southern automaker, with distribution stretching from coast to coast and across the Atlantic to Great Britain.
One of the Anderson cars confirmed for the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance is the 1920 Anderson Six Convertible Roadster owned by Paul and Kathleen Ianuario of Duncan, South Carolina. Pictured here, the car is under consideration for addition to the Historic Vehicle Association’s National Historic Vehicle Register. The car was researched with the help of the College of Charleston’s Department of Historic Preservation and undergraduate students, a program recently covered by Daniel Strohl.
The 2016 Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival will kick off on October 28-30, with the Savannah Speed Classic, held at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Savannah, Georgia. The festivities continue the following weekend, culminated by the Hilton Head Island Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, November 6, at the Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club on Hilton Head Island.
For complete details on all the events, visit HHIConcours.com.
See original article at" https://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2016/10/06/the-2016-hilton-head-island-motoring-festival-to-honor-south-carolinas-own-anderson-motor-company/
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