American Motors Incorporated

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See also American Motors (AMC)

American Motors Incorporated (AMI) designed, manufactured, and sold a mini-van for commercial delivery use.

Note: this company had no relationship with AMC, a major automaker formed in 1954 by the merger of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and the Hudson Motor Car Company. American Motors was purchased by Chrysler in 1987.

Contents 1 History 2 Product 3 Lack of success 4 Sources

[edit] History

American Motors Incorporated was established around 1946. It was very short-lived because it does not seem to have been in operation after 1949. It had executive offices on Park Avenue in New York City, as well as a factory and service facility upstate in Troy, New York.

[edit] Product

The company manufactured a mini-van designed for business delivery use. It was called the Delcar. The wheelbase was only 60 inches (1,524 mm) with a 25 hp (18.6 kW) engine, and it was priced at US$890 (suggested retail price). The Delcar was the first American vehicle with independent suspension on all four wheels, though the suspension used airplane landing gear-like rubber tension cords.^[1]

As well as the Delcar van, one or more station wagons were produced using the same chassis. The station wagon could seat six.^[2] A model was built for export, the Amco.

[edit] Lack of success

Small delivery vehicles such as the Delcar did not succeed. Purchasers would be limited by their carrying capacity. A larger truck can haul more cargo resulting in less cost per mile traveled. Few niche market customers demand a such a specialized service vehicle.^[3]

[edit] Sources

• Original Delcar retail sales brochure (four pages) printed by AMI - see images.
• Mechanix Illustrated, August 1949 — brief article and picture depicting the Delcar.
• Special Interest Auto (SIA) magazine (Hemmings Motor News), October 1978 — brief article about the Delcar.