Marquette 30-37

The Rainier Motor Company came into being in 1904, manufacturing conventional high quality 4-cylinder cars until 1909 when they were taken over by General Motors. By 1911 the firm had been re-named Marquette and were struggling to the point that the venture was abandoned in 1912. 

General Motors' policy of offering a car in all sectors of the market meant that during the '20s and '30s they introduced several new brands to fill in the gaps left between Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, La Salle and Cadillac. The biggest gap was between Oldsmobile and Buick and they introduced the Viking brand and re-introduced Marquette to fill the gap. Viking lasted for a very short time, with Marquette surviving from mid 1929 to late 1930. During this time over 35,000 had been produced, a further 6,500 being made by GM of Canada before the Buick management pulled the plug, the Great Depression, sluggish sales and escalating costs being the principal reasons for its demise.

The Marquette followed a one model policy – the model 30. The car came on a 114” wheelbase and used a rugged 6-cylinder engine of 3.5-litres which produced 67bhp. Six body styles were offered, with the distinctive herringbone radiator grille coming in for much positive comment when it was unveiled.

This 1930 example was originally a sedan, having been converted into a Landaulette some time ago. Originally sold new by Haines and Strange of Cheltenham, this Canadian built example was delivered to right-hand drive specification and was purchased by the vendor in 1997 from Key Garage near London. He engaged Cooks of Wigston to give the car a thorough overhaul, at which point the engine was linered back to standard with new alloy pistons. The starter and carburettor were renovated and a stainless steel exhaust and manifold fabricated. The track rod ends were also replaced at this time and the interior was re-trimmed in leatherette. It has covered no more than 5,000 miles since and comes with an MOT until 2012.

Complete with six wheel equipment and rear trunk, this impressive, genuine UK supplied car shows just four former keepers in the logbook and comes with a copy of the correct Marquette reference book. Just the job for weddings, picnics, family outings or as something a bit different for VSCC trials.