1903 Oldsmobile Model R Curved Dash Runabout

Engine: 95 cu. in. (1.6L) Cast-iron block
Cylinders: Horizontal-single
Output: 5 HP @ 600 RPM
Wheelbase: 66 in.
Top Speed: 20 MPH
No. Produced: 3,924
Original Price: $650
Manufacturer: Olds Motor Works

In 1896, Ransom E. Olds produced his first gasoline-powered vehicle. In 1899, the struggling automaker received financing from lumber millionaire Samuel L. Smith, putting his Olds Motor Works on solid financial footing. Output expanded to eleven different models (some electric), and then the unthinkable happened. A fire destroyed the plant, and the lone survivor was a gasoline-powered runabout, a curved dash Oldsmobile. Producing “one chug per telegraph pole,” the Curved Dash Runabout powered into the hearts of consumers.

The Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout was the first mass-produced automobile and America’s best-selling car from 1902 to 1905. Its success proved to other mechanically minded individuals that automobile manufacturing could be a profitable endeavor. In 1908, Olds Motor Works was sold to Billy Durant and became part of his General Motors company. In 1906, it was memorialized in a song by Billy Murray entitled “In My Merry Oldsmobile.”