Elcar

{{short description|Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer}}

{{About|the car manufactured by Elkhart|the electric microcar manufactured by Zagato|Zagato Zele 1000|the former carriage workshops in Australia|Electric Carriage Workshops}}

{{Infobox automobile

| name = Elcar

| image = 1916Elcar.jpg

| caption =1916 Elcar

| manufacturer = Elkhart Carriage Company

| model_code = {{ubl |L-4 |8-80 |91}}

| production = 1915–1931

| assembly = United States: Elkhart, Indiana

| body_style = {{ubl

|3-passenger coupé roadster

|4-passenger open roadster

|5-passenger touring

|5-passenger sedan

|5-passenger brougham

|7-passenger touring

|7-passenger sedan

}}

| layout = Hotchkiss

| engine = {{cvt|261|cuin|L|0|order=flip}}

| transmission = Selective sliding

| wheelbase = {{cvt|127|in|mm|0|order=flip}}

| predecessor = Komet

| sp = us

}}

File:Elkhart Carriage & Motor Car Company 1921.jpg

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,{{cite book|last=Kimes|first=Beverly|title=standard catalog of American Cars 1805-1942|year=1996|publisher=Krause publications|isbn=0-87341-428-4}}{{page needed|date=September 2024}} 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-engined 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, although only four Elcar-Levers were completed.

New York City contract

It next entered a lucrative contract within New York City, under which it would supply "El-Fay" taxis to Larry Fay, a prominent businessman and club owner with known mob ties.{{cite book |last=Locke |first=William S. |date=2007 |title=Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6yimFa9WcwC |location=North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=74 |isbn=9780786432547}}

Production model specifications

Elcar Seven Passenger Sedan-8-80

Company demise

Fay's resources were badly hit by the Great Depression, and Fay himself was eventually shot dead in 1933 by a disgruntled employee. Bankruptcy trustee and interim president Arthur Martin Graffis 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.{{cite book |last=Locke |first=William S. |title=Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History |year=2000 |page=316}}

References

David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles{{incomplete citation|date=September 2024}}

Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States

Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana

Category:Defunct companies based in Indiana

Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1915

Category:American companies established in 1915

Category:1915 establishments in Indiana

Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1931

Category:American companies disestablished in 1931

Category:1931 disestablishments in Indiana