Topic: SOLVED: WTH # 360 - 1902 De Latón from France -oldest car in Philippines-

[Craig Gillingham]

Found it, -finally. It's a 1902 De Laton. It's said to be the oldest running car in the Philippines, and was built in France. It looks as though it has a few Model T Ford parts, the steering wheel is, and possibly the column, and I think the hubs as well. Those anti-kickback crank handles were an aftermarket Model T accessory as well.

[Wendax]

"De Latón" means made of copper in Spanish! 

[nicanary]

I can only assume that this was a French one-off, since it's not covered in the usual reference books. I've looked at every post on the internet, and there's nothing to reveal more about the car, apart from rubbish written by non-enthusiasts. (Possibly the first 4-cylinder car, at a time when most were steam-powered!).

I have a horrible feeling, and I think I'm not alone, that this is some kind of Phillipines-built car constructed from parts of several veteran cars, and maybe with some more modern internal parts to assist daily driving. Or maybe I'm being unkind - quite possible.

[Paul Jaray]

It's owner is been very lucky...it's hard to find spare parts for such a rare car and it is like brand new!
And that name, De Laton...how can it be fake...it's written in such big carachters!
(BTW: I don't buy it.)

[sixtee5cuda]

One point for Craig Gillingham for the correct answer.

When I read about a car being the oldest in the Philippines, I enjoyed watching the YouTube video of it driving down the freeway.  Then I noticed the presence of two brake levers, which seemed strange.  So I looked closer, and found the unique tank to the left of the engine.  And the frame rails seem to be from a newer car. (etc)

As Nicanary suggested, this car looks far too much like a 1909 Brush to be a coincidence.  Before this car appeared, the oldest car in the Philippines was a 1904 Richard-Brasier, also built in France.