This video – produced and directed by Ellen Greenleaf with videography and editing by Tom MacKnight – chronicles the history of the Marmon Motor Car Company. First organized in Indianapolis by brothers Walter and Howard Marmon in 1902, over the next 30 years they made some of the finest automobiles in the USA.
A Mechanical Masterpiece
In the first Indianapolis 500 race held in 1911, Ray Harroun won in 6 hours, 42 minutes and took home $10,000. Driving a Marmon “Wasp,” he beat Fiats, Mercedes, and Buicks that are still with us today. Others like Simplex, National, Pope Hartford, Cole, Case, Westcott and more have faded from the scene.
In 2011, Indianapolis Motor Speedway celebrated the 100th running of the 500 mile race. Because Ray Harroun, in a Marmon, won that race, the Marmon and Stutz clubs were invited as special guests. About 50 Marmons showed up – more than were seen in one place since the factory closed in 1933.
The Marmon Automobile
From 1903 to 1933, the Marmon company manufactured more than 110,000 cars. One was the Marmon Wasp, which won the first Indianapolis 500 race in 1911. In 1916, they introduced their mostly-aluminum Model 34, which after a number of modifications was, in the early 1920s, the fastest production car made in the United States, making it a very popular ride if you wanted to move contraband liquor.
Marmons were not just fast but also highly reliable, taking advantage of in-house innovations created by Marmon engineers, and incorporating the latest advances available to them from anywhere. As a result, Marmon was a premium brand, competing with Packard, Cadillac, Pierce-Arrow and Lincoln. Continue »
The Marmon Club
The Marmon Club is the largest organization of its kind with more than 200 members around the world. We invite to the club anyone who has a love of the Marmon and all those who are interested in discovering the joys and ingenuity of this special antique automobile. The only time required is the time you choose to give.
Our only club event is our annual “Marmon Muster.” This is strictly a social meeting and a time when we can get together and drive our cars. Events
Our main purpose is to maintain a current list of all Marmons still in existence and help in any way to keep them up and running by finding parts and people who are skilled in the mechanics of this fine automobile.