Who founded the Jordan Motor Car Company and when?
Edward S. "Ned" Jordan founded the Jordan Motor Car Company in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a former advertising executive from Thomas B. Jeffery Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Questions about Jordan Motor Car Company
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What made Jordan Motor Car Company advertising famous?
Jordan's advertising was celebrated for its lyrical, emotional prose rather than technical specifications. The most famous ad, published in the June 1923 Saturday Evening Post, promoted the Jordan Playboy with imagery of a flapper racing a cowboy west of Laramie. It was among the first automobile advertisements to sell a car purely as a feeling.
What were Jordan cars made of and how were they manufactured?
Jordan cars were assembled automobiles, built from components sourced from outside vendors. Engines came from Continental, axles from Timken, starters from Bijur, and ignitions from Bosch. Bodies were sourced from manufacturers in Ohio and Massachusetts and were made from aluminum in later production.
How many Jordan cars were produced in total?
Total production is disputed. The Standard Catalog of American Cars, third edition, records 78,780 units produced between 1917 and 1931. Other sources estimate the total as high as over 100,000 or as low as 30,000.
Why did the Jordan Motor Car Company go out of business?
The company's decline began in 1927 when the Little Custom, a luxury compact, failed commercially and drained company finances, leading bankers to take over operations. Intense competition among US automakers and personal problems affecting Ned Jordan contributed to the company ceasing production in 1931.
What color options did Jordan automobiles offer?
Jordan offered an unusually wide range of colors, including three shades of red: Apache Red, Mercedes Red, and Savage Red. Additional options included Ocean Sand Gray, Venetian Green, Briarcliff Green, Egyptian Bronze, Liberty Blue, and Chinese Blue. The Sport model could be ordered in Submarine Gray with a khaki top and orange wheels.