OWEN

Owen Motor Car Co. (1910-1911) 
Detroit, Michigan 

This is an Owen radiator emblem (1910-1911)   ms
Size: Unknown   MM: None

The Owen Motor Car Company was established by Ralph R. Owen and others in January 1910. The Owen was a 50 hp four-cylinder motor car offered in touring, runabout, close-coupled and berline limousine body styles.

But, there were problems, particularly with the marketing of the Owen and, by October 1910, the Owen Motor Car Company had been sold to the Reo Motor Car Company, which was interested in a patented center shift control pioneered by the Owen Motor Car Company. 

Reo completed the manufacture of 35 Owen cars for which parts were already available and sold 31 of these cars through its sales organization. However, Reo found that it was not commercially viable to continue to produce the Owen and further production was halted in 1911. 

Ralph Owen then decided to market the few remaining Owen cars by himself using the "R-O" name based on his initials (see R-O).

Emblem

The following original photo taken in Detroit in 1910 shows an Owen car with a radiator emblem:

Owen motor car in Detroit (1910)     dpl

Close up showing radiator emblem (1910)

This is the blue, pale blue, red and white enamel Owen radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Owen radiator emblem is extremely rare.