1912 Vauxhall Landaulet Overland Coach
edited by David Barth, 10 January 2009.
Courtesy The Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver,
Colorado. Photos were taken in January 2009.
This 7-passenger limousine Landaulet is the only one in existence. Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson chose the name, Vauxhall, in 1857 for the iron works company south of Thames in
London. Boats were the first products from Vauxhall.
In 1903 the Vauxhall motorcar was produced. It had a chain-drive with a horizontally-mounted, one-cylinder engine
with two forward speeds, but no reverse gear.
Because road bandits were common in England at that time, the company tried to make the car very reliable to prevent
breakdowns. It had independent dual ignition systems with two magnetos, and two coils. Each cylinder had two spark plugs.
The car also had two fuel pumps with separate fuel lines from the tank to the engine. Each headlight, sidelight, and
taillight was wired separately with each circuit having its own switch and fuse.
One family in England has owned Vauxhall since it purchased the company in 1912.
This car belonged to the Whitley estate of England. It was on exhibit at the Birmingham, England Museum of Science and
Industry, prior to its acquisition by the Forney Museum, the third owner, in the 1960's.
