Description
Edited by Raymond A.Katzell, Hardbound, 392 Pages, ISBN: 0965470903, 1st Edition, 1996
It is indeed a thrill and one of the proudest events of my life to have the opportunity to write the Foreword to the first definitive book published about Harry Stutz and the automobiles he and his successors built. I cannot remember a time when I was not fascinated by old cars, and when I was first able to own an antique car, the opportunity arose to buy a 1934 Stutz Cabriolet Coupe in 1961. As of this publication date in 1996, I still have the car, have toured parts of twelve States and Canada with the car, and subsequently bought a garage- mate — a 1931 Stutz Sedan for touring whenever comfort and baggage requirements demanded a larger car.
Although Stutz is accepted as a full Classic by the Classic Car Club of America, one of the great frustrations of owning one was the difficulty of finding parts and information about the marque. Many of the more numerous Classics have volumes of information and pictures published about them, but there was no single source of information about Stutz. Here was a car recognized and mentioned in literature and fragmented articles found in mostly club and hobby magazines, but never before given comprehensive treatment.
After various attempts were made to form a Stutz club, the present club was launched in October 1987 at an antique car meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania with Bill Greer as its president. Two years later, again at Hershey, member Mike Holt from Scotland presented club members with a challenge, saying, "I feel that while it is a good idea to have social meetings and get- togethers, the club should set itself a challenge, a target, and that target should be the publishing of a high quality history of the marque." Mike further suggested that we set a five- year goal to accomplish this by gathering information from members and other sources wherever possible, and obtaining an experienced, qualified coordinator to develop the narrative and put it all together.
I believe we have succeeded admirably with the leadership of Dr. Ray Katzell, who has made this book possible, although not in the five years suggested, but in a mere seven years from the time Mike Holt voiced the challenge. We are sincerely indebted to all the members and friends who have made this volume possible.
We do not pretend to have said it all — there are other facets and tales that can be nd. but we had to limit this effort to the essential history and the people who made it. Research turned up many interesting stories and anecdotes that the reader might enjoy but that were not necessary to presenting the main characters and their accomplishments. So, come along and enjoy a journey back into the wan when Stutz cars burst onto the automotive scene. and captured the imagination of toccrei. hiorians, and writers.
