Gardner Four-Cylinder History

Russell E. Gardner Sr. had built his St. Louis fortune on Banner buggies and, from around 1915, on assembling Chevrolets for dealers west of the Mississippi. After he sold that Chevrolet franchise to General Motors and his three sons returned from World War I Navy service, the family launched its own automobile: a four-cylinder model on a 112-inch wheelbase, introduced in late 1919 as a 1920 model and aimed at the medium-price field between the mass-market Fords and the prestige brands.

Like every Gardner built, it was an assembled car — built from bought-in components, most importantly a Lycoming four-cylinder engine, the supplier Gardner would use throughout its entire twelve-year run. The formula produced fast growth: roughly 3,800 units in 1921 and approximately 9,000 in 1922, the marque's best annual total. Gardner applied varying body-style suffixes to these cars (touring 'T', roadster 'R', sedan 'S', coupe 'C') rather than a single consistent model designation.

In early 1924, Cannonball Baker established a new mid-winter transcontinental speed record from New York to Los Angeles — 4 days, 17 hours, and 8 minutes — driving a Gardner, giving the marque its most celebrated publicity. The fours were retired after the 1924 model year as Gardner upgraded to six- and eight-cylinder power in pursuit of a more upscale position.