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The Elcar was an American
This first car was the 30/35 hp Elkhart, which began production in 1905 and remained on the market until 1909. In 1909 the 4·2 liter Sterling appeared (it ceased production in 1911), followed in 1911 by the Komet.
The Elcar appeared in 1915, and was first offered in two models, a Lycoming-
The Elcar was an American automobile
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 ...
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 its first car.
Production
This first car was the 30/35 hp Elkhart, which began production in 1905 and remained on the market until 1909. In 1909 the 4·2 liter Sterling appeared (it ceased production in 1911), followed in 1911 by the Komet.
The Elcar appeared in 1915, and was first offered in two models, a Lycoming-engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
d four and a Continental-engined six. A straight-eight, again with a Continental engine, was produced beginning in 1925. In 1930, the company began to use the complex Lever engine produced by Alvah Leigh Powell
Alvah Leigh Powell (April 10, 1863 – October 7, 1924) was an American inventor and creator of the Powell Lever Motor.
Life
Alvah Leigh Powell was born to Madison S. Powell and Sarah Ann Cummings in Vicksburg, MS. He first married Ada B. Cook i ...
, although only four Elcar-Levers were completed.
New York City contract
It next entered a lucrative contract withinNew York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, under which it would supply "El-Fay" taxis to Larry Fay, a prominent businessman and clubowner.
Production model specifications
* Elcar Seven Passenger Sedan-8-80Company demise
Fay's resources were badly hit by theGreat Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and Fay himself was eventually shot dead in 1933 by a disgruntled employee. Bankruptcy trustee and interim president Arthur Martin Graffis Arthur Martin Graffis ("Mike")(October 13, 1885 in Logansport, Indiana – November 4, 1933) was an automotive engineer, serving as Chief Engineer of Auburn Automobile (1915–1922) and as Chief Engineer (1922–1932) and Interim President (1930) of ...
led a two-year campaign to attract investors and save the company including a project to market the 1930 Elcar as a 1931 Mercer. The company was dissolved in 1931, after only two prototypes had been constructed.Locke, William S. Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History. 2000, page 316
References
*David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles'' Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana Defunct companies based in Indiana Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1915 American companies established in 1915 1915 establishments in Indiana Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1931 American companies disestablished in 1931 1931 disestablishments in Indiana {{classicprw-auto-stub