Following his resignation from the company bearing his name, Harry C. Stutz almost immediately announced a new company bearing his initials and located in the same town as the Stutz. First news of Harry Stutz's new venture arrived in late fall of 1919; the first 10 H.C.S cars were shipped to distributors in May 1920. Not surprisingly, the new H.C.S was rather akin to the old Stutz, an expensive car, with an accent on the sporting.
The first H.C.S cars were 50hp cars powered by a 4-cylinder Weidely engine, in 1923 an 80 hp car powered by a 6-cylinder Midwest engine was added to the line. The H.C.S Special that Tommy Milton drove to victory in the 1923 Indianapolis 500 was more Miller than Stutz - but it provided great publicity for the company. Slogans like "The Car Born With A Reputation" played on the celebrity that had come Harry's way with his Stutz, and taglines such as "We Know of No Better Motor Cars" provided a calculated dig at his old company.
H.C.S automobiles sold quite well in their early years. But in October of 1924 Harry Stutz announced the formation of his H.C.S Cab Manufacturing Company, which succeeded the H.C.S Motor Car Company. Now the emphasis would be placed on taxicabs, with manufacture of passenger cars to be relegated to the sidelines. This proved to be a disaster - passenger car manufacture ended at the end of 1924, and the H.C.S Cab Manufacturing Company went into receivership in 1927. Total H.C.S passenger car production was 2,175 vehicles.
Credit: Graham Clayton