Northern, a make worth to remember

Northern isn't a make, most of you will have heard of. Not amazing though, as the make existed only between 1902 and 1908. The people involved in the make, however, will stir memories in a stronger way: Northern was founded by long-time pioneer Charles B. King (he built a four-cylinder car in 1896!) and by Jonathan Maxwell. Both were former employees of the Olds Motor Works and with the Northern, they tried to compete with the successful curved-dash Oldsmobile.

Apart from the front their design very closely resembled this car. With a price of $800, it was, however, $150 over the price of the car they wanted to compete with. So it is not surprising that they only sold 300 cars during 1903, in which year Olds sold 4000 vehicles. In 1904 Jonathan Maxwell left the company to start the more famous make with his own name. King would remain responsible for the design until the end came in 1908. A two-cylinder model was introduced in 1904 and a four-cylinder in 1906. During these years King introduced several novel features like a self-adjusting air clutch and air-operated brakes, but sales did not meet expectations and in 1908 the company merged with Wayne. The man behind the Northern, William E. Metzger (successful salesman and former Cadillac employee), and the new managers of the Northern-Wayne company, Barney F. Everitt (successful bodybuilder) and Walter E. Flanders (former Ford production manager), almost immediately decided to create a new car, the well-known Everitt-Metzger-Flanders, shortened to E.M.F. and designed by the man who had been responsible for the design of the Wayne, William Kelly. Of course, makes disappear, but the people involved normally don't. Like Jonathan Maxwell Charles King would start to create a car with his own name too and when the E.M.F. was taken over by Studebaker in 1912, the three men responsible for the name would build the Rickenbacker in the 1920s.

But back to the first Northern: maybe not as successful as the curved-dash Oldsmobile, it was undoubtedly equal in quality. Known also as the Silent Northern, it was promoted as silent, strong, safe and speedy, thus being “the ideal runabout”. It had a remarkable road (or should I call it off-road) properties as the accompanying picture reveals. Of course, modesty normally is absent in car adverts, back then and now still, but that there was truth in it was proved by one of the few surviving Northern examples.

In 1994 a 1902 model covered 2,450 miles from coast to coast in the US at an impressive average speed of 112 miles a day. And becoming thus the oldest car ever having performed this. You can check the Guinness Book of Records! This now 117-year-old car, having a complete ownership history, is at present for sale in our online marketplace and is desperately longing for her country of birth … Who is willing to fulfil her last wish?

Words by Ariejan Bos.

On the images: the 1902 1 cyl. runabout; the 1905 2 cyl. touring car; the 1907 4 cyl. model, with all controls at the steering wheel (no side levers); the 1908 4 cyl. coupe; the off-road stability of the 1902 runabout.