The history of motoring is full of spectacular failures. Countless innovative or industry-leading brands have been humbled by economic forces, management missteps, fierce competition, or a combination thereof. Students of vehicular history that we are, we ponder these ill-fated companies and their products all of the time, wondering what might’ve been. Fortunately, conscientious caretakers have preserved for posterity many of the cars, trucks, and motorcycles manufactured by now-defunct brands. We all have our favorite makes and models—some are common and attainable, others less so. Here are just a few vehicles from late- great makes that we’ve been dreaming about lately.
1920 STUTZ SERIES H ROADSTER
Price new: $3,250 • Average value today: $150,00-$250,000 • Collectability:
Corvettes and Porsches used this component, but Harry Stutz pioneered it: If you said the rear-mounted transmission/transaxle arrangement, you’d be correct. Way beyond that, modern sports cars owe much to the Stutz Motor Car Company as Stutz built the Corvettes and Porsches of the time. The famous Bearcat was a thinly disguised race car for the road, like today’s Z06 or GT3: lightweight, stripped-down, low-slung, with a big engine. Initially the Bearcat was powered by a Wisconsin four-cylinder but, in 1917, Stutz rolled out its own design: a 360.8-cu.in., T-head inline-four with 16 valves, dual camshafts, and twin-spark ignition. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the most advanced design, even back then, but it was rugged and, with a 6-inch stroke under a 3 3/8-inch bore, it made tectonic-plate-shifting torque. Those seeking a more civilized sports car experience might’ve opted for a Stutz Roadster like this beautiful 1920 Series H. It used the same engine, but rode on a longer wheelbase, the gearshift and handbrake
