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I'm a big fan of "American Pickers" and they "picked" Harry and Sons Radiator Sop in Rosemead, California, twice.

After "American Pickers" first picked the shop, a year later they got a call from the owner's son saying his father had passed away and wanted to know if they wanted to "pick" the shop again, which they did.

Seventy-five years of phenomenal auto memorabilia and wonderful petroliana.

Sitting out front of Harry's was a "Moon" motor car, a company I had never heard of. Looks like the Moon Motor Car company was a victim of the Depression.

As always
Garrett Meadows

I think this is a website about Packards

You are correct. I didn't mean to offend you by going off topic. Many of the members have been most pleasant and kind to respond to my inquiries about other auto-related items. Besides, the first time I mentioned "Harry and Sons Radiator Shop" on American Pickers was because they had some Packard related materials in the shop.

My apologies,
Garrett Meadows

Garrett

I'm not as hard core as some others. I like discovering new things and depression era info is my favorite.

Stewart Ballard

In brief, the Moon Motor Car Company of St. Louis, MO was in business from 1905 to 1930. Mr. Joseph W. Moon, formerly a carriage maker, was President. I'm not absolutely sure about this, but I believe Moon Cars were what is called an assembled car, in other words Moon did not manufacture the car's components. Photos of the mid-1920's Moons show a radiator shape very similar to Rolls-Royce. Their highest production year, according to Wikipedia, was 1925 when 10,271 vehicles were assembled. Subsidiary marques Diana and Windsor were introduced starting in 1925. The firm went out of business in 1930, most probably yet another victim of the Great Depression. The plant, located at Main and Cornelia Streets in St. Louis, later became the home of the Ruxton Automobile Company

Hi Garrett

While this is a Packard site, no need to feel shy inquiring about other contemporary carmakers. Packard didn't exist in a vacuum. Moon, as Don summarized, was an assembled car built from propriety parts bought from outside suppliers. Every carmaker bought some parts and components from suppliers, especially bodies then. The main item that tagged a company as an assembler was if they bought their engines, in this case Continental, rather than manufactured engines themselves. Their heyday pretty much was over by the advent of the Depression.

In 1919, Moon management decided to capitalize on Rolls-Royce prestige by making their radiator shell a close copy, as did the expensive, pretentious Roamer. Their last restyle brought them into the LaSalle-influenced theme that swept the industry in 1928-'29. In an effort to cash-in on the rising late '20's prosperity, they also ventured off into an upmarket companion car segment with the Diana, wearing a copy of the Minerva radiator, which quickly morphed into their next try. It was decided the Moon and Diana names lacked marketability, a design was ginned-up by Dutch Darrin, the resulting car called Windsor, including even royal insignia. Needless to say, the Royals were not amused.

With Moon fortunes waning badly, ready for any avenue for survival, appears the promoter Archie Andrews, the driving force behind the Ruxton. In search of a company to produce his current fascination, he was in contact with increasingly desparate automakers; Moon and Kissel opened their doors to him, to their final dismay and demise. Moon was as much a victim of Andrews as it was the Depression. Others tell the story of the intrigue and general insanity that followed Andrews wherever he went. In the wake of the wreakage left by the Ruxton debacle, even Hupmobile was nearly killed off when Andrews muscled his way onto their board.

I'd recommend since you're interest in a auto history in general, to avail yourself a copy of the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942, edited by Kimes and Clark, by Krause Publications. Any edition will do. You'll spend hours developing a broad overview of that era and an understanding which puts much in perspective.

Steve

I grew up in St Louis and did public health investigations all over the city in my early career, so I used to know the neighborhoods and its significant (second only to Detroit) car manufacturing lore quite well. The Moon/Ruxton buildings were located one block away from the sprawling Procter and Gamble plant where most of the wrapped Ivory bar soap was produced for the U.S. Just by the familiar soap smell, you'd know if you were within a half mile of the soap plant. It made the soap long before Moon cars and for decades after. I wonder if a new Moon might still have a certain hard to place new car smell when delivered to its new owner a thousand miles away?

Hi Fred, still a little contentious, eh.

No, just trying to keep the site to its original stated purpose. Moon cars are interesting but so are MG's VW buses etc and they have their own sites,

Quote:

You DO realize that the TV show (whatever it is they are "picking") is all staged? They arrive in a tractor-trailer rig with crews and equipment, not a bare van... and "buys" are for the camera ...and they sometimes totally mis-identify stuff (like the "1939" Plymouth that was actually a very different 1940-41)?

As for the place in question, it was not at all discovered by the pickers, but rather was fairly well known to vintage car people in SoCal for many decades.

Also, since you were unaware of Moon cars...years later in the 1950s and 60s there was Moon (different Moon) speed equipment and their famous "Mooneyes" dragster car. They manufactured once-popular "Moon" and "Baby Moon" hubcaps. See? Now we are totally out of Packard territory...LOL.