The Ace was an American-assembled

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

made in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

by the Apex Motor Car Company, which was reorganized as the Apex Motor Corporation in 1921. The initial batch of cars assembled were sent to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

dealer FE Earnest, who had the idea for the Ace after he was unable to secure a steady supply of new cars for his dealership. The most interesting feature of the Ace was the Guy Disc-Valve motor, created by engineer Fred M Guy, and Otto W. Heinz. Initially, it was prepared as a four-cylinder engine for production in the Hackett, but the company folded before it was ready. In April, 1921, Guy and Heinz left the Apex Motor Corporation, obviously with the support of Apex, to found the ''Guy Disc Valve Motor Co.'' in Ypsilanti. In mid-1921, a Model H

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 ...

with a conventional

Herschell-Spillman The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the ...

straight-6 The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...

was added, with a selling price $2,000. The man at the helm at Apex was by now Harry T. Hanover. For 1922, the Guy engine was gone. The Model F "Pup" was added to the range, fitted with a conventional

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

Gray-Bell engine, and priced at $1295. It was sold beside the Model L "Scout" with a smaller than previous Hershell-Spillmann straight-six engine, and the new top-of-the-line Model C "Combat" with a 340 c.i.

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

Six engine. The sixes ranged in price from $2260 to $3150. Most Ace cars were tourings, with a few roadsters, and a 4/5 passenger "Coupe-Sedan" with a custom-built look. The "Combat" line also included an attractive speedster in the

Kissel Kissel or kisel ( et, kissell, fi, kiisseli, Livonian: ''kīsõl'', ltg, keiseļs, lv, ķīselis, lt, kisielius, pl, kisiel, rus, кисель, r=kiselʼ, uk, кисiль, , , ) is a cold-solidified dish with the consistency of a thick ge ...

Gold Bug pattern. Apex was initially involved in the ''Diamond Cab'' project, which also included Gray Motor Corp., and Guy Disc Valve Motor Co. Within a few months, these plans became obsolete as ''Diamond Cab'' got new owners, resulting in the cab built by

Elcar The Elcar was an American automobile manufactured from 1915 until 1931. The car was produced by the Elkhart Carriage Company, owned by William and George Pratt, of Elkhart, Indiana, which had been in business for over 30 years before producing i ...

, and another cab built by the Driggs Ordnance & Manufacturing Corp.coachbuilt.com: ''Driggs Ordnance & Manufacturing Corp.''
/ref> Ace automobile production ended with the 1922 model year. Total production was 256 cars. Apex Corp. was sold to the American Motor Truck Company in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city serving as the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, which makes it the 15th largest city in ...

, in 1922. For a short time, Apex built bus bodies here, but soon closed forever.

Ace model overview

The 1921 ''Model L'' and 1922 ''35-70'' are mentioned by a single source. While the ''L'' appears a smaller companion to the ''Model H'', the ''35-70'' possibly was nothing more than a renamed 1920 ''Model H'' Coupe-Sedan.carfolio.com: ''Specifications: 1921 Ace H ''
/ref> There is no existing Ace automobile known,american-automobiles.com: ''The Ace Automobile & The Apex Motor Corporation'' however the ''Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum'' offered a $5000 reward for evidence that directs to such a car.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org: ''History / Ace Automobile - 1920-1922'' Although the museum continues to search for a surviving Ace, the reward expired in 2003 with the death of museum co-founder Skip Ungrodt.

References

External links

Line drawing of 1921 Model G coupe

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140903054420/http://www.ypsiautoheritage.org/apex.htm ypsiautoheritage.org: ''Apex Motors''
ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org: ''History / Ace Automobile - 1920-19''

carfolio.com: ''Ace car specifications''

carfolio.com: ''Specifications: 1921 Ace H ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ace (1920 Automobile) Cars introduced in 1920 Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Washtenaw County, Michigan Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1920 American companies established in 1920 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1923 1920 establishments in Michigan 1923 disestablishments in Michigan Ypsilanti, Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan

Ace model overview

See also

References

External links