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Oldsmobile Commercial Cars
by Olds Motor Works. 1905.
8 pages with photographs

At the time this page booklet was published (1905), Olds Motor Work believed that the commercial automobile was here to stay and that the development of electric railways had created a wider and more scattered suburban and urban population distribution. Horses were still the mode of commercial transportation and large retailers might have twenty to one hundred horse-drawn wagons, while small retailers were at a disadvantage due to the cost of large delivery equipment. An average horse could not travel over twenty miles a day under ordinary city conditions and many medium sized U.S. cities covered an area of over thirty square miles.

Many manufacturers were designing automobiles for passenger purposes; which meant that these automobiles were designed to travel on paved roads in favorable weather conditions and owners provided great care in maintaining their running and handling. Allowing for the heavy winter and rainy days, etc…, the pleasure automobile only averaged about twenty-five miles per day, which was not much more than the average horse.

On the other hand, commercial vehicles needed to run over all kinds of roads in all kinds of weather. Delivery automobiles needed to travel from forty to one hundred miles per day without the tender loving maintenance care passenger automobiles received.

Olds Motor Works, before going into the commercial field, carefully studied the conditions and requirements. They developed and produced delivery automobiles that were simple, heavy and strong enough to insure regular service.

This booklet features five delivery automobiles and includes an image, description and f.o.b. factory price for each commercial vehicle. They are as follows:

Light Delivery Car

Heavy Deliver Car

Oldsmobile Ten Passenger Coach

7 H.P. Standard Runabout

7 H.P. Touring Runabout

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