Saxon Four History

The car that launched Saxon was a light, low-priced two-seat runabout introduced in 1913 at $395, aimed squarely at the cheap-volume market the Ford Model T had created. Its four-cylinder engine was sourced from Ferro (later Continental), driving through a two-speed transmission; later variants gained a three-speed gearbox and electric lighting as buyer expectations rose. The little car earned a reputation for outclimbing a Model T on hills and reportedly returning better than 35 miles per gallon in endurance trials.

Saxon leaned hard on stunts to sell the runabout's durability: the car was among the first to cross the Lincoln Highway in its early years, and suffragists used Saxons to promote women's voting rights during the mid-1910s campaigns. Early variants (Model A) were built in the old Demotcar factory and offered in right- or left-hand drive with a delivery-car option. Later 'Model B' iterations introduced curved door tops, a taller body, and enlarged trunks. Total four-cylinder production from 1914 through 1918 reached approximately 35,588 units, making it the foundation on which Saxon's peak years were built.

By 1919 the four-cylinder runabout's era was ending, superseded by the larger Saxon Duplex in 1920. Survivors — fewer than 150 total Saxon automobiles of all types remain today — are predominantly small roadster examples; examples reside in the Henry Ford Museum and the Seal Cove Auto Museum.