1918 Chalmers Model Six-30

In 1906, Erwin Ross Thomas, engineer Hugh Coffin, and salesman Roy Chapin began production of a small 40-horsepower four-cylinder car in Detroit called the Thomas-Detroit. The vehicles were built in Michigan and then marketed by Thomas in New York. Although this arrangement was successful, it was not without its complications. Chapin and Coffin eventually persuaded Hugh Chalmers, vice president of the National Cash Register Company to buy out president E.R. Thomas, and the Thomas-Detroit became the Chalmers-Detroit in July of 1908.

The first Chalmers-Detroit arrived in 1908, known as the Model F and Model E. The Model F had a 110-inch wheelbase and was powered by a 24-horsepower, four-cylinder engine. The Model E rested on a 112-inch platform and was powered by a 40-horsepower engine. Two of the new cars captured a one-two victory of the Jericho Sweepstakes on Long Island in 1908. The following year, a three-car team called the 'Chalmers Bluebirds' achieved great racing success. Chalmers earned a trophy on the 1909 Glidden Tour and won the event outright in 1910.

The Chalmers-Detroit sold in the $1,500 - $2,800 range. Coffin, however, envisioned building a car for under a thousand dollars. So Coffin and Chapin approached J.L. Hudson and convinced him to finance the automobile in exchange for having his surname on the vehicle. During the first year of production, over 4,000 Hudsons had been sold which earned it the biggest first-year of production yet recorded in the automobile industry. The Hudson Company continued until the outbreak of World War II.

The Chalmers-Detroit Company continued to produce vehicles, and near the close of 1910, the company was reorganized into the Chalmers Motor Car Company. In 1912, a six-cylinder model was introduced, and after 1914, the company would solely produce six-cylinder models. For 1916, the company sold approximately 21,000 vehicles, which would turn out to be a highlight, as the Chalmers suffered in the aftermath of World War I. Despite a flurry of speed-record activity in 1917, production fell to approximately 12,000 units and 6,700 a year later. By 1921, they produced just 3,000 vehicles. The company was absorbed by Maxwell in 1922 and survived just one year before Walter Percy Chrysler rescued them in 1924, becoming president of the Maxwell-Chalmers organization in 1924. The new Chrysler vehicles soon followed and the last Maxwell was built in 1924.

The 1918 Chalmers lineup consisted of the Model Six-30 which had a 117-inch wheelbase and a six-cylinder, 30-horsepower engine. Body styles included a five-passenger touring car, a duplex, a cabriolet, and a roadster. Additionally, there were seven-passenger body styles which included the limousine tourer, and touring sedan.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020