1929 Graham-Paige Model 612 Roadster
Our most recent automobile is a stunning red and black 1929 Graham-Paige Model 612 Roadster. The Graham Brothers, Joseph and Robert, and Ray Austin had interests in a number of successful businesses including glass and building trucks. In 1925-1926 Dodge Brothers bought Graham Brothers, Inc., retaining the three founders in management positions. They left after half a year and set out in the automobile business on their own. In 1927 they bought the Paige-Detroit Motor Company which built Paige and Jewett cars. The team quickly built up the company, increasing production from 22,000 cars in 1927 to 73,000 in 1928 and employment from 2,840 to 7,200 people.
The early Graham-Paige cars were not innovative and generally didn't stand out from the crowd but they earned a reputation for quality and had racing success, both of which helped sales. The stock market crash of late 1929 was strongly felt by Graham-Paige. Their 1929 plan to expand and emphasize the larger models backfired in the early days of the Great Depression and in 1930 unit sales dropped by more than half to 33,560. During 1930 they also dropped "Paige" from the auto name and applied it to an independent line of commercial vehicles which sold poorly and ended in 1932. The public apparently didn't agree with the name change and persisted in calling Graham cars "Graham-Paige" to the end.
Much more information on Graham-Paige history is available through the Graham-Paige Owners Club and particularly in an article in Automobile Quarterly V13N1 by Jeffrey I. Godshall titled The Graham Brothers and Their Car.
Our 1929 Graham-Paige 612 Roadster uses an in-line six-cylinder L-head engine and has a 112" wheelbase. The self starter is controlled by a foot-operated button near the gas pedal. It has the optional rumble seat and an ornately decorated trunk. The dash panel is extraordinarily simple by today's standards and its centerpiece is a speedometer with the numbers on a rotating cylinder visible through a small window. The soft top is supported by a framework of metal tubing and hardwood. The badge on the radiator housing, the running boards and the taillight lenses is a shield with faces representing the three founders.
On a curious closing note, the company still exists today in the form of Madison Square Garden, Incorporated which owns and operates the arena of that name in New York City.
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