| Murray Motor Car Company | |
| Founded: | 1916 |
| Founder: | William M. Murray |
| Defunct: | 1920 |
| Products: | automobiles |
| Industry: | Automobile |
| Hq Location: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Murray Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Pennsylvania.
William N. Murray, who worked for a Packard distributor, founded the company in Pittsburgh in 1916.[1] His goal was to create powerful, distinctive "prestige" cars.[2] Murray was an automotive enthusiast and was said to have driven the first motorized vehicle, a De Dion-Bouton tricycle, on the streets of Pittsburgh.[3] The company was located at 3727 Webster Avenue in Pittsburgh with the manufacturing facility at 3700 Grand Boulevard.[4] [5] The same year, automobile production began. In December 1916, the first vehicles were on display at the New York Show. Production ended in 1920.[6] [7] In 1917 James Radcliffe Murray, president of the company's other office in Baltimore was killed in an automobile accident while test driving a new car.[8] [9] The company made 269 vehicles in total: 121 vehicles in 1917; 87 in 1918; and 61 in 1919. Their sales manager resigned in 1920.[10]
In 1920 the company went into receivership and was purchased and moved production to Newark, New Jersey and Murray was said to still be involved.[11] [12] [13] The company opened up a service station in New York City.[14] The company was then reorganized in Boston, Massachusetts under the leadership of John J. McCarthy as the Murray-Mac Car Company and operated until 1929, though it still issued stock under the name "Murray Motor Car Company".[15] [16] [17]
The company made one basic model in 1917. The Eight had a V8 engine from Herschell-Spillman with Westinghouse starters and lighting. It was rated at 34 horsepower. The aluminum chassis, with "colors optional" had a 128-inch wheelbase.[18] The 1917 models had electric clocks and slanted windshields. In 1918, a touring car with seven seats and a roadster with two seats were available. Both new cars had radiators "of the Rolls Royce type."[19] In 1918 the price of the seven-passenger touring car was raised from $2550 to $2800.[20] [21]
In 1918, the roadster remained unchanged. The 1918 touring car had four seats. The touring car was described at the New York Auto show.[22]
The "cubist motor car" description caught on. Their stock car was described that way in Vogue magazine in 1918, pointing out the square mud-guards and saying the car was "entirely individual and distinctive."[23] A limousine with five seats was also added. The 1918 models came with shock absorbers as standard equipment.[24] When production moved from Pittsburgh to Newark, the company planned "only a few minor changes" to their models.
Very few Murray-Mac cars were ever built. They came on to the market "one or two at a time" and "none of them were exactly alike."[25] [26] The company produced specifications for a car called the Murray-Mac 70-T, a six-cylinder car, but it's unclear if any were ever built.[27] [28] The Boston company came out with a new car, the Murray Six, in 1926 which was shown at the Boston Automobile Show.[29]
| Year | Model | Cylinder (engine) | Horsepower | Wheelbase (in) | Construction | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Eight | 8 | 34 | 128 | Touring wagon 7-seat, Roadster 2-seat | |
| 1918 | Eight | 8 | 34 | 128 | Touring wagon 4-seat, Roadster 2-seat, Limousine 5-seat | |
| 1921 | Six | 6 | 52 | 128 | ||
| 1922 | 70-T | 6 | 131 |