1929 Marmon Model 68 “Roosevelt” Sedan (more photos 👇)
The first American automobile with a straight-eight engine priced under $1,000, the Marmon Roosevelt arrived in 1929 as the Indianapolis manufacturer’s push into the mass market.
The sedan and basic coupe were both offered at $995, a deliberate entry point designed to compete in a segment well below Marmon’s traditional luxury positioning.
A clever detail unique to the Roosevelt was its combination horn button, which also functioned as the starter control, and a cameo of Theodore Roosevelt appeared on the radiator badge.
Hayes Body Corporation of Grand Rapids, Michigan supplied the four-door sedan body, mounted on a chassis powered by a 200.3ci L-head inline eight producing 70 horsepower, fed by a single carburetor and backed by a three-speed manual gearbox. Wood-spoke artillery wheels carried whitewall tires.
Despite selling approximately 22,500 units in 1929, a strong debut for a new nameplate, the Roosevelt lasted only through the 1930 model year before being folded back into the Marmon line as the Model 70.
The stock market crash accelerated the collapse of the market it had been built to capture, and Marmon itself closed in 1933. Survivors are uncommon today across any body style.
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