Marmon Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile manufacturer founded in 1902 by Howard Carpenter Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company. They began with limited production of experimental automobiles featuring air-cooled V-twin, V4, V6 and V8 engines before settling on more conventional straight engine designs. Marmon cars were known for their speed and reliability. The Marmon Model 32, which spawned the Wasp, won the first Indianapolis 500 motor race in 1911 and featured the world's first automobile rear-view mirror. The 1913 Model 48 was a left-hand steering tourer with a cast aluminum engine and electric lights. The 1916 Model 34 used aluminum in the body and chassis to reduce overall weight. In 1927, the Little Marmon series was introduced and in 1929, Marmon introduced an under-$1,000 straight-eight car, the Roosevelt. Marmon is credited with pioneering the V16 engine, the use of aluminum in auto manufacturing, and the introduction of the rear-view mirror. The historic Marmon Wasp race car of the early 20th century was the world's first car to use a single-seater "monoposto" construction layout. The company faced financial difficulties and was reorganized as the Marmon Motor Car Co. in 1926, and in 1933 it was succeeded by Marmon-Herrington.
