1913 Rambler Touring

edited by David Barth, 15 March 2009.
Courtesy Antique Car Museum of Iowa at 860 Quarry Road, Coralville, Iowa, 52241 USA.
Photos were taken in March 2009.

Rambler started as a turn-of-the-century bicycle company in Chicago, Illinois, that turned it attention to the automobile age. They moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1902 until 1913. They had experimented with gas-powered vehicles as early as 1897 but did not have a car in production until 1901.

The Rambler on display here sits on a 120 inch wheelbase, has four cylinders and a horsepower of 42. It was considered a big car and has the entrance door only on the left side. The steering is on the right. It uses 34 x 4 inch tires on wooden artillery wheels. The Rambler shifts with levers and pedals. It came equipped with lights, a windshield, and a choke in the front of the ar as it had to be started by cranking. The original cost was $1,700.

1913 was the last year of Rambler production and the name was not used again until the formation of a new marquee: the Nash-Rambler after World War II.