The automobile featured in this photo article is the 1927 Nash Sedan. Nash Motors was having a fairly good year during 1927 having produced some 122,600 passenger vehicles for that model year.
Nash Motors had an excellent slogan they adopted in the late 1920’s. The slogan was simply “Give the customer more than he has paid for“. The Nash automobiles pretty much lived up to that slogan. They were quality automobiles. It was said that Nash sold their cars about as fast as they could be produced. As a side note, Nash Motors came out with an Advanced Six Cabriolet in 1927 that was received well.
A Car With Style
The 1927 Nash Advanced Six was not necessarily a car for the masses. Advertising for the 1927 Nash Advanced Six cars emphasized style and fashion. Walnut finished dashboards including a walnut finished steering wheel and mohair upholstery were touted.
Not to only highlight it’s fashionable attributes, Nash Motors also touted it’s seven bearing inline six cylinder engine which was advertised to be smooth and quiet. Steering was advertised to be smooth and easy at every turn.
The 1927 Nash Sedan was said by Nash Motors to be the kind of car that would stand out from the rest. The advertising essentially pushed the fact that the 1927 Nash was not only a great looking car that you’d impress people with but also a mechanically superior automobile. Nash Motors further stated that the car buying public could enjoy this type of quality at a moderate price.
As a side note, in the 1930’s Nash Motors acquired a reputation for innovation as opposed to Ford which made innovations much more slowly. An example of a unique Nash innovation was the 1936 Bed-In-A-Car offering. This Nash model allowed the car’s interior to be reconfigured into a sleeping compartment. Essentially, the back seats could be folded in such a way to produced a double bed. This was meant to be a custom feature in all Nash cars. Nash claimed that the interior reconfiguration would take only five minutes to complete.
The 1920’s Acquisitions that Made Nash Motors
Nash Motors was founded in 1916 by Charles W. Nash who had been president of General Motors. Nash took over the Thomas B. Jeffrey Company which had been struggling to survive. The Thomas B. Jeffrey Company was most noted for it’s Rambler automobile which was introduced as early as 1902. After the acquisition, the company’s name was changed to Nash Motors and it was able to do quite well as a niche automotive producer.
The Mitchell Motor Car Company of Racine Wisconsin was acquired by Nash in 1923. Mitchell had been producing cars for twenty years under the Mitchell brand. Nash Motors also went on to acquire Lafayette Motors in 1924. After beginning business in 1920 the company’s majority stock was picked up by Nash Motors in 1924.
The Lafayette car plants were converted to produce Ajax automobiles. Only about a year later it was determined that Ajax cars, although entry level cars, were not selling well. Nash felt that the car would have sold better if only it had the Nash name. As a result, conversion kits were sold to make the Ajax look like a Nash Light Six. The Ajax brand had a very short life. Interestingly, even when the Ajax was faltering,1925 would turn out to be a record year to date for Nash Motors. Nash Motors went on to reintroduce the Lafayette car brand in 1934.
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1927 Nash Light Six Sedan Specifications
The 1927 Nash Sedan came with an L-Head 170 cubic inch, six cylinder engine delivering 21.6 horsepower.
The car’s wheelbase was 108.0 inches. Suspension were semi-elliptic leaf springs.
This was a four door model seating five. The transmission was a three speed manual.
The base price of the 1927 Nash Light Six Sedan was just under $1,000.
(Article and photos copyright 2013 AutoMuseumOnline)