Argo automobile, Natural History Museum - Washington, D

The Argo was a short-lived United States automobile manufactured by the Argo Motor Co in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...

, between 1914 and 1918. Previously, the factory had been used by the

Standard Electric Car Co Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

to build an electric car. The company originally made the

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

"Motorvique" cyclecar based on the Ajax built by the Briscoe brothers in France. It had a 4-cylinder 12 hp engine and was different from the French market Ajax only in that it did not use friction drive. Few cyclecars sold well in America, and in 1916, it was replaced by a conventional 22 hp assembled touring car in an attempt to rival Ford at producing a "motor car for the millions". The 1916 model sold for $405 in two-seater form. In 1917 the company was sold to Mansell Hackett, and the name was changed to Hackett and moved its operations to Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company had an unknown connection with the Saginaw, Michigan, based Argo Electric vehicle company.

References

Vintage vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Cyclecars Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct companies based in Michigan {{Vintage-auto-stub