The American Automobile and Power Company was an American Brass Era car manufacturer, incorporated in

Sanford, Maine Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city ...

, in 1903.Kimes, Beverly Rae. ''The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805–1942'' (Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1989), p.30. They produced the American Populaire during 1904 and 1905.Kimes, p.42. Starting with a capital of $500,000, the company incorporated on December 9, 1903. There were eight officers, three from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, the rest locals; Bostonian Henry D. Long was treasurer, Sanfordian Ernest M. Goodall president. With a design from Edward O. Mosher, AEC produced a prototype in a shed in Lawrence, Massachusetts, debuting it at the Boston Automobile Show in March 1904. The company offered three models, all with Mosher's 12 hp (8 kW) two-cylinder engine, on the same 84 in (2134 mm) wheelbase: a $850 roadster, a $950

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car or truck open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. A tonneau cover in current automotive terminology is a hard or soft cover that spans the back of a pickup truck to protect the load or to improve ...

(which had an unusual swing-out split front seat), and a $1000 Cape Cod

Tourer Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

. By contrast, the

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

side-entrance tourer sold for $1000, the

Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-motor and rear-wheel drive l ...

$700, the high-volume

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

Runabout went for $650,Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925'' (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.32.

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

's Gale Model A was $500, a

Brush Runabout Brush Motor Car Company (1907-1909), later the Brush Runabout Company (1909-1913), was based in Highland Park, Michigan. History The company was founded by Alanson Partridge Brush (February 10, 1878, Michigan – March 6, 1952, Michigan). He ...

was $485,Clymer, p.104. the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

from $375, and the Success was $250. At the upper end of the AEC range, a Cole 30 or

Colt Runabout The Colt Runabout was an American brass era, Brass-era automobile, built in Yonkers, New York, in 1907.Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925'' (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.63. by William Mason Turner. It was a ...

was priced at $1500,Clymer, p.63 & p.104. while an Enger 40 was $2000. While Long bragged, "We could sell one thousand cars in three months if we could make them", by April 1905, production had ceased and the Maine Alpaca Company had taken over the factory.

Notes

Sources

*Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950. *Kimes, Beverly Rae. ''The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805–1942''. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1989. . {{DEFAULTSORT:American Automobile And Power Company Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1905 Companies based in Lawrence, Massachusetts 1904 establishments in Maine 1905 disestablishments in Maine History of Maine Defunct manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts

See also

Notes

Sources