1918 Kissel Kar Model 6-38

The Kissel Kar was manufactured in Hartford, WI, between 1906 and 1931 with approximately 35,000 high-quality examples built during that time. Their list of vehicles included sedans, hearses, taxicabs, trucks, and fire trucks. The 'Kar' portion of Kissel Kar would be used for over a decade but was later dropped for 1919, in the wake of World War I, as it was deemed too 'German.'

The Kissels were farmers who immigrated from Germany to Wisconsin. They later expanded into several other markets including hardware, groceries, lumber, real estate, home construction, sandpits, and quarries. Their parent company was L. Kissel & Sons, under which was the Kissel Motor Car Company of 1906 and spearheaded by sons George and Will. They had built their first experimental car in 1905 which employed a shaft-driven four-cylinder engine and wore a runabout body style. The production bodies were initially built by the Zimmerman Brothers in Waupun, and the engines were by Beaver. Rather quickly, all of the components were built by the Kissel Motor Car Company.

By 1909, the Kissel Kars were offered in several sizes, and models were priced from $1,350 to $3,000. A six-cylinder model soon joined the lineup offering 60 horsepower and resting on a 132-inch wheelbase platform. Despite their conservative nature, the brothers set about building very progressive and stylish automobiles, including a rakish speedster first introduced in 1917. Between 1918 and 1930, the company produced nearly 2,100 speedsters, with early examples powered by six-cylinder engines while later models were equipped with eight-cylinder power. In the early 1920s, a contest was held to name a yellow speedster. 'Gold Bug' was the winning name and it became the moniker by which all Kissel Speedsters are known today.

Production struggled until Kissel entered receivership in 1930, but not before attracting a rather formidable clientele that included Al Jolson, Amelia Earhart, Fatty Arbuckle, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Rudy Vallee, amongst others. Just prior to its receivership, the company presented its largest, most powerful, and most impressive model series yet, the so-called White Eagle. It wore new, flat radiator shells, modern styling, and was powered by a choice of Lycoming eight-cylinder engines. Among the list of body styles was the speedster - an updated variant of the 'Gold Bug' design that had been Kissel's most famous offering. Its torpedo-shaped body accommodated two adults and came with tie-downs for its owner's golf bags on the fenders. Total Kissel production during its entire lifespan was approximately 35,000 units.

The Kissel Kar lineup for 1918 included the straight-6 cylinder powered Custom Silver Special and Model 6-38, and the twelve-cylinder Model Double Six. The Model 6-38 was powered by a 248.8 cubic-inch straight-6 offering approximately 25 horsepower. Its manual tranmsission used a leather cone clutch and rode on 12-spoke wooden wheels.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2021