Moon Diana History

The Diana was a wholly owned companion marque of the Moon Motor Car Company, built in St. Louis from 1925 to 1928 by the Diana Motors Company. The name was apt: in Roman mythology Diana is goddess of the moon. It was Moon's bid to move upmarket with a smoother, more prestigious car than the bread-and-butter sixes.

Power came from a 240-cubic-inch Continental straight-eight rated at just over 70 horsepower, with four-wheel hydraulic brakes and a Lancaster vibration damper — advanced touches for a mid-priced car. Diana's marketing leaned hard on ease of use, billing it as 'the easiest steering car in America,' 'the only car built entirely for balloon tires,' and explicitly 'a car for women drivers.'

The venture did not pay off. Warranty/repair claims and lingering obligations contributed to a near-million-dollar loss in 1926, and the Diana was discontinued after 1928 — one of the financial strains that left Moon overextended heading into its final reorganization.