Moon Six History

The six-cylinder Moon was the car that made the company's reputation. From 1916 Moon built sixes exclusively, selling them by horsepower-based designations — the 6-40, 6-48, 6-58, 6-66 and similar — all assembled around bought-in Continental engines and other proprietary components. Buyers knew Moon as a maker of solidly built, easily affordable mid-level cars that used high-quality parts, and the brand earned a venerable standing on that basis.

In 1919 Moon adopted a distinctive 'Parthenon' radiator shell, an upright classical grille that became the marque's signature styling cue and aped the fashionable look of far costlier cars. The sixes carried Moon through its most successful years: peak production came in 1925 at 10,271 vehicles, with prices then ranging from $1,195 to $2,540, and the company reported exporting to dozens of countries during the 1920s.

As the decade wore on, Moon added eights and reshuffled its names, and from April 1929 the entire output was rebranded as the Windsor — so the Moon-badged six effectively ended as the company entered its final, troubled phase.