Quiz Archive

About Quiz # 304: 1910 Parry 40

David Maclean Parry, optimist, recovered from 1907 bankruptcy, wrote "President Taft...has been telling the country...prosperity is here. In the automobile industry...there has been no such word as panic. In 1909...100,000 automobiles were manufactured and sold...In 1910 there will be 200,000.” Parry Auto Company produced only 900. There’s a small chance that you may have read about this particular car, as its history was published in local Horseless Carriage Club newsletter by Robb Stewart. This is a Perry 40, dating from 1910 and owned by Michael Sullivan posing here in the main picture. Only two Parry’s are known to exist and this one had been in the Harrah collection before Michael bought it. Several correct answers came in and from those it was not difficult to name Kaspars Dortāns as the winner. His answer told us all we wanted to know (see Read More). Congratulations Kaspars! See you all next week with a new quiz.

(with thanks to Robb Stewart for the quiz idea and the photos)

The answer from Kaspars Dortāns:

Parry Touring 1910, and about 900 units were made before David MacLean Parry decided to try the New Parry brand for the 1911 and 1912. He had been experimenting with cars for a while and had built an electric car in 1892 that wasn’t drivable (editor: maybe because the tires were made with bits of garden hose?). He gained control of the Overland Company in 1906, but just till 1908. His most successful automobile project was more luxury Pathfinder made till 1917. Despite Parry's failures in automobile business he and his brother owned a successful carriage business from the 1880's that even managed to build 1000 units in a single day.

Other correct answers came from:

Frank Bristing
Thomas Edfors
Peter Boerhof
And jury member James Helms for the quote from David Parry

Saturday, 06 August 2011