1914 Chevrolet roadster

Description:

The 1914 Chevrolet Royal Mail roadster represents the early years of a make that a decade later would become the low-priced, mass-market leader in General Motors Corporation's varied array of cars. In 1914, Chevrolet cars were redesigned to compete with Ford and other makes vying for the low-priced market, which comprised working class and middle-class Americans. The Royal Mail and its larger companion, the Baby Grand touring car, were the first Chevrolet cars priced under $1,000. The Royal Mail body was considered streamlined and attractive. Its four-cylinder engine featured an overhead valve design, a Buick innovation that increased power; the OHV design reappeared on other GM cars during the next several decades. Alton M. Costley, a businessman who owned a Chevrolet dealership near Atlanta, donated this car to the Smithsonian in 1978.

The 1914 Chevrolet Series H roadster, marketed as the Chevrolet Royal Mail, is an open car with a folding top and folding windshield. Like many "streamlined" cars of the day, its styling is smooth and uninterrupted and flows from front to back without projecting hardware or accessories. The gasoline tank is external, but it has a pleasing elliptical shape that complements the body. The hand-cranked engine has four cylinders and an overhead valve design.

Date Made: 1914

Maker: Chevrolet Motor Car Company

Location: Currently not on view

See more items in: Work and Industry: Transportation, Road, Automobiles, Transportation

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of Alton M. Costley

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: TR.336719Catalog Number: 336719Accession Number: 1978.1027Serial Number: 11505

Object Name: automobile

Physical Description: steel (overall material)wood (overall material)rubber (overall material)Measurements: overall: 80 in x 66 in x 144 in; 203.2 cm x 167.64 cm x 365.76 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-d90e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1299545

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