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Cortez Motorhome was a Class-A motor 
A four speed manual
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
made in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
between 1963 and 1979, with 3,211 units built.
The Clark Forklift Company began making these small motorhome
A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation.
Features
Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...
s in 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan, and are commonly referred to as Clark Cortez motorhomes. The entire body of a Class-A motor coaches is built as a recreational vehicle, whereas Class-B motorhome are built in a van body, and Class-C motorhomes add a recreational vehicle coach body to a truck chassis and cab.
A four speed manual front wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longi ...
transaxle
A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions.
Engine and drive at the s ...
was used to eliminate a driveshaft tunnel that would have increased height or diminished interior headroom.
Early units used a Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automot ...
225ci industrial slant-6 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 ...
. In 1969 a V-8 engine was introduced, using a Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
302ci engine but still using the 4-speed manual transaxle. In 1971, the Oldsmobile Toronado
The Oldsmobile Toronado is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992 over four generations. The Toronado was noted for its transaxle version of GM's Turbo-Hydramatic transmissio ...
front wheel transaxle with a 455ci engine in conjunction with a GM 3-speed automatic was used.
In 1970, Clark Forklift sold the Cortez Motorhome division to Alco-Standard's Kent Industries located in Kent, OH. The motorhomes produced from 1971 are commonly referred to as Kent Cortez motorhomes. In 1975, the company was acquired by 26 owners of Cortez coaches and production continued through 1978 when the company folded. A final batch of units were completed by a bank in 1979.
James Krantz purchased the tooling, spare parts, and a few unfinished units around 1980 and moved operations to Lafayette, La. There under the name Cortez Inc., he sold parts, performed service, and did robust drivetrain conversions to earlier model Clark Cortez units, converting them to the V8 automatic transaxle, similar to that found in 1970+ models. Operations ceased in Lafayette around 1990. Krantz still sells parts for the coaches.
Clark management had envisioned a variety of uses for the Cortez. They were made as mobile offices, classrooms, and ambulances.{{Cite web, title = How the Nation's First ALS Response Vehicle is Being Restored, accessdate = 2018-05-31, url = http://www.jems.com/articles/print/volume-40/issue-4/feature/how-the-nation-s-first-als-response-vehicle-is-being-restored.html NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...
used a Cortez to shuttle astronauts to the launch pad, which now resides in a museum at Cape Canaveral.
Cortez motorhome owners included Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wa ...
, a devoted fan of this early motorhome. Cortez Motorhomes still enjoy a devoted following. Aficionados prefer its all-steel body despite rust issues, its smooth ride, and its moderate size.
References