Coal scuttle bonnets after 1906

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Makes with coal scuttle bonnets were very common during the early years of the 20th century (and often difficult to identify!). After 1906 this number dropped drastically, and of the remaining makes Renault was of course the dominant one. It was certainly not the only one, so here I show some of the others in Europe:

In France Charron with its horizontal top, Clément-Bayard with its continuous rim around the top, Th. Schneider (or just Schneider) with its high bonnet and its wire net fencing bonnet side and Corre with its tilted louvres are among the more familiar  makes. Less familiar were Hurtu and SCAR and rarely seen makes like La Ponette, Ampère or Mildé-Gaillardet. Unusual were Alda with its sharp pointed bonnet and Werner.

On the other side of the Channel Arrol-Johston turned to this bonnet-type in 1910 (with the characteristic hand grip at the front). Lesser known are the (very Renault-like, but only locally distributed) Dodson, the Cheswold, the Crowdy, the Phoenix and the Pilgrim. Unusual was the Ariel-Simplex with its sharp edges and the bulb on the right side of the bonnet for the steering column.

Makes having these bonnets in other countries were scarce: Komnick was the most prominent, but was rarely seen west of Germany, for the rest they seem to be mainly restricted to electric cars like NAG (Germany), STAE (Italy) or Tribelhorn (Switzerland).

All of the (non-electric) makes had dash-mounted radiators, having often distinguishable shapes, which sometimes changed in time. Normally identification is not too difficult, if you check all the details. Leaves the lead picture up to your expertise! Only clue is that it is a well-known make in an unusual appearance.

All images from contemporary magazines and personal archive

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