Story of the 1912 White Model 30 Roadster

The White Motor Company was born in the corner of a Cleveland manufacturing company after the owner, Thomas White, bought a Locomobile steam car but found the boiler to be unreliable. His son, Rollin, determined to improve the design, eventually patenting his own steam generator that took advantage of superheated steam.

Even as the White steamers caught on, the age of the steam engine in automobiles was coming to an end as the easier to operate gas-powered engines gained popularity. White researched other manufacturers of the time and finally licensed a Delahaye design for a new “gas car”, creating a new chassis that debuted at an English auto show in 1908.

1912 was the third year for the production of White gasoline-based automobiles. The Model 30 was offered with two wheelbase lengths, 110 inches for the Touring and Roadster and 120 inches for the more formal Limousine and Landaulet versions.

This 1912 White Model 30 Roadster is an authentically original survivor. Its painted finishes, nickel plating, leather straps, and leather interior are worn but well-preserved. It is a testament to the Cleveland-based company’s quality workmanship and the care this automobile has received over the years.

The Model 30 harkens back to a time when Cleveland was the sixth largest city in the nation and strove to become the automobile capital of America. White Motor Company was an integral part of that history with the manufacture of tractors, trucks, semis, and buses.

The White Model 706 chassis was the winner of a four-way competition with Ford, REO, and GMC held by the National Park Service in 1935. Starting in 1936, White produced 500 of the Model 706, designed to carry passengers through major western National Parks.

Even today, Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks operate restored versions of the busses know as ‘Red Jammers’.