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Fred Chandler Motor Company
FRED CHANDLER CHANDLER MOTOR COMPANY//Supplied by John Lees
Frederick born in Cleveland in 1873 to an English father and Irish mother. Leaving school at sixteen he went to work for Lozier and Company makers of the Cleveland Bicycle and New Home Sewing machine. Fred Chandler was one of the best amateur bicycle racers; in 1892 he beat world champion Arthur Zimmerman. This put Chandler in good standing with his boss Henry Lozier. Chandler moved up to become vice President and general manager of Lozier before he left to form the Chandler Motor Car Company in 1913. Fred knew his company success was down to his employees in which he took every opportunity to support along with their families. Fred loved competition and publicity; he took every opportunity to indulge in both activities. Here are some examples of these attributes. Fred staged a publicity event on July 30th, 1913 to coincide with the factory opening, at 6pm the first driver was given a car for Boston, three hours later a backup car left followed by a car bound for New York. All cars were to be driven straight through only stopping for fuel and necessities, a delivery became a challenge. ! Advertising was paramount with early ads featuring – “Built by Men Who Know” All cars carried a 90-day guarantee. 1915 saw a Chandler drive from Mexico to Canada nonstop to generate publicity. A car with 2,000 miles on the clock had new Goodyear cord tires fitted, with two swivelling searchlights the springs were taped, a fabricated special funnel for refuelling was fitted; the car was ready. The wheels were never to stop rolling and the engine was never to be shut off. Seals were placed on the starter pedal and tires, ensuring the engine could not be stopped or the tires replaced with out detection. At 8.00am Sunday September 26th they left Tijuana, Mexico. Through Los Angeles they had another Chandler act as a pathfinder to not only clear the automobiles, but horse drawn vehicles as well. Clearing Los Angeles, they were on their own and took a wrong turn between Visalia and Fresno, on entering a farm and realising they could not turn around the driver did the only thing he could and drove through a grove of small orange trees to return to the road. The Chandler was ploughing down perfectly good orange trees, the two farmers who watched their potential profits being slashed stood wide eyed in disbelief. This was not to be the drivers last detour; they never gave up as they had two official observers and a cameraman from the Universal Motion Picture Corporation accompanying them. Days later they realised the only way from Portland to Vancouver were by Ferry or Railroad bridge. To suggest that a lone automobile be allowed to tie up five transcontinental railroads while crossing a five-million-dollar bridge was laughable. BUT – Trains were stopped, switches jumped, “frogs’ bypassed, and three miles of ties had to have boards laid down to accommodate the car driving over them. Boats on the river had to be stopped because the drawbridge could not be raised until the Chandler had crossed. By the time they approached the Canadian border on Friday October 1st while the drivers looked as though they had never slept or shaved, the Chandler looked considerably better and its engine purred like a kitten after more than eighteen hundred miles and five days of continuous running, its wheels never stopping. Fred loved the publicity. Also, in 1915 a Chandler Touring Car was chosen as the pathfinder car for the Master Drivers Contest, (sponsored by the Chicago Automobile Club). The Chandler completed the 470-mile run from Chicago to Peoria, Illinois, to Davenport, Iowa and back to Chicago with a perfect score. In 1916 at Christmas Fred organised the purchase of three truckloads of turkeys. Company employees using company cars delivered one to the family of each employee for their Christmas dinner. Fred upon hearing some staff were heading to
Cedar Point, Ohio an amusement area at Lake Erie. Financed the excursion with company funds and provided company cars for those who did not have transportation. Twelve Cars and 42 people had a day of frivolity which Fred ensured became an annual event. In 1918 a special dividend was declared and paid to the American Red Cross to support the War effort. During the War, Chandler purchased a large supply of Potatoes from Michigan and distributed them to employees at cost price. Company service trucks delivered the potatoes to each individual workers homes. In August 1919, a convoy of fourteen cars; Touring’s, Roadsters, and six unbodied chassis left Sydney headed for Brisbane 850 miles to the north. A maritime strike was not going to stop the deliveries. Once again good publicity. October 1919 Chandler agents staged a speed event on the Toll Bar Range ascending into Toowoomba, Australia. The transmission was sealed in high gear, the climb taking one minute, and 45 seconds shattering previous records. 1920 saw W.S.Miller of Khyber Pass Auckland drive a Chandler from Auckland to Wellington in 14 hours and 6 minutes a NZ record. Miller made his run nonstop and beat the train by 4 hours and 50 minutes. Days later Miller drove the same car from Picton to Bluff in 17 hours and 40 minutes running time, also nonstop. Distributor invites to the factory were lavish social events which Fred saw as essential to promote his cars, as were large Shows such as the Chicago and New York Shows. Events lasting three days included grand entertainment, gala banquets and plentiful liquid refreshments. Special trains laid on to take them to New York for more entertainment or the auto show at the Grand Central Palace were all designed to thank and encourage the distributors and dealers. The 1926 convention featured 52 acts, 45 of them by beautiful ladies, a full orchestra and plenty of singers ensured the attendees went home feeling enthusiastic about Chandlers. In July 1922 Fred distributed $200,000 as employee bonuses, as a result labour problems were never an issue at the Chandler Motor Car Company. In August 1922 ten cars were shipped to Colorado Springs and a large party of super salesmen were invited to climb Pikes Peak mountain where they encountered a severe snowstorm. Later they visited the local tourist attractions – such was Fred’s enjoyment of life and cars. In 1923 Ralph Munford drove a stock touring car to a world’s record on Mt. Washington the highest accessible peak east of the Rocky Mountains in the event known as “Climb to the Clouds”. Munford made the eight-mile run in 17 minutes flat, four minutes faster than any previous attempt. The 1924 bonus distribution of $200,000 was noted as the ninth consecutive year Chandler paid out to employees. 1,000 factory and office workers received a bonus amounting to a minimum of 10% of their annual wages. In 1926 a new touring car travelled the streets of New York without a driver. It was controlled by radio signals from another Chandler following closely behind. An example of Fred’s promotion. Mount St. Helena in California was conquered by a Chandler in a test to see if the mountain could be crossed in high gear. The Chandler not only succeeded but did so while carrying four passengers. ‘’ The Engine Built to Master a Mountain” ad slogans were here to stay. By 1926 Chandler held a total of 18 official records for racing, hill climbing and endurance. Fred always the competitor, never missed an opportunity to promote the Chandler Automobile while looking after his staff and distributors.
