The Davis Motorcar Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in
Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
, in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, which produced
three-wheeled automobiles from 1947 to 1948. In total the company produced 13 vehicles.
[Phil Patton, "A Dreamer's Machine, More Promise Than Reality", ''New York Times'' (September 24, 2009)]
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History
Founder Glenn Gordon "Gary" Davis (d. 1973) acquired a prototype called "The Californian" from designer Frank Kurtis Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of Kurt ...
, who built it for millionaire racecar driver Joel Thorne
Joel W. Thorne (16 October 1914 New York City – 17 October 1955 North Hollywood, California) was an American racecar driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting", into ...
.[
Davis operated in a 57,000 sq. ft. former aircraft assembly building in Van Nuys, where a prototype three-wheeler named "Baby" was built. Baby was powered by a 47 hp Hercules 4-cylinder engine coupled to a Borg-Warner 3-speed transmission and Spicer rear end. Baby was unique in that it featured four-across seating. It was planned that production, beginning in 1948, would start at a minimum of 50 cars a day later increasing to 1,000. A second prototype called "Delta" was built, and a third prototype, the model 482, was completed later. The third model, the "]Divan
A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
", established standards for the production Davis cars.
The company closed down in 1948, as workers and engineers were not being paid, and lawsuits were threatened by investors and dealers. Former employees then filed suit for back pay, and the company was investigated on allegations of fraud. Soon after the Davis plant was shut down, Gary Davis was convicted on 20 of 28 counts of theft (he was acquitted on four counts of theft and four of fraud) and was sentenced to 8 months to two years in jail.
Davis developed a variant for military use. The Model 494 was a Jeep
Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
-like version of the Divan with an open body. Arrangements were ongoing with the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
to run tests at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
in Maryland. Ultimately three 494s were built in less than a week, two of which were shipped to the Army for testing.
The assets of Davis were sold for back taxes in May 1950. The remainder of the company now belongs to Wayne Miller who resides in Arizona.
Delta Motor Car Company
Sixteen out of 300 franchise holders formed Delta Motor Car Company in an effort to salvage the car and their investments. Delta tried to have Reliant Engineering Company in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, manufacture the car in 1953, but investor funds ran out and the enterprise folded.
References
Bibliography
*David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles''
*Michael Lamm, Special-Interest Autos magazine, Vol.1, No. 1, Sept.-Oct. 1970
External links
Davis Registry
{{Automotive industry in the United States
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in California
Three-wheeled motor vehicles
Automotive companies established in 1947
1947 establishments in California