The Red Bug, later marketed as the Auto Red Bug were a

vintage era Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

cyclecar A cyclecar was a microcar, type of small, lightweight and inexpensive Automobile, car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle ...

automobile manufactured by the Automotive Electric Service Corp. of

North Bergen, New Jersey North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

from 1924 to 1930. It is considered an early version of a

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are oft ...

History

A. O. Smith developed the Smith Flyer with a fifth wheel, called the Smith Motor Wheel, driven by a gas engine. Manufactured in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, Indiana, West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home t ...

, by the

American Motor Vehicle Company The American Motor Vehicle Company was founded in Lafayette, Indiana in 1916. It manufactured pedal cars and built the Auto Red Bug The Red Bug, later marketed as the Auto Red Bug were a vintage era cyclecar automobile manufactured by the A ...

, from 1916 to 1919, A. O. Smith sold the rights to

Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large facilit ...

who marketed the cyclecar as The Briggs & Stratton Flyer. Briggs & Stratton sold the rights to the Flyer and Briggs & Stratton Motor Wheel to Automotive Electric Service Corp. in 1924 who continued to build it as the Red Bug. When the supply of gasoline engines ran low, a 12 volt electric version was produced. The electric version was built with four wheels, with one rear wheel driven by a Northeast electric motor, the same motor used for starting on contemporary Dodge Brothers automobiles. Red Bugs and Auto Red Bugs were sold by

Abercrombie & Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle store, lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hick ...

and others in the United States, as well as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Priced at $150 () from 1924, the small automobiles sold mostly as a novelty for the wealthy, but also for transportation within resorts and at amusement parks. In 1930 there were reports that Indian Motorcycle Company would take over production of the Red Bug, but this did not occur since Indian itself was acquired by the duPonts.

External links

History of the Red Bug Car

Jekyll Island History - Red Bug

Silodrome.com Auto Red Bug article

Auto Red Bug at Heritage Museum and Gardens

1924 Red Bug sold at Sotheby's Auction

Unusual 1924 Red Bug at the Lane Museum

References

{{reflist Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in New Jersey Electric vehicles Vintage vehicles 1920s cars Cyclecars Microcars Cars introduced in 1924