The Davis Motorcar Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

, in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

region of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, which produced three-wheeled automobiles from 1947 to 1948. In total the company produced 13 vehicles.Phil Patton, "A Dreamer's Machine, More Promise Than Reality", ''New York Times'' (September 24, 2009)
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History

Founder Glenn Gordon "Gary" Davis (d. 1973) acquired a prototype called "The Californian" from designer

Frank Kurtis Frank Peter Kurtis (born Kuretich; January 25, 1908 – February 17, 1987) was an American racing car designer. He designed and built midget cars, quarter-midgets, sports cars, sprint cars, Indy cars, and Formula One cars. He was the founder of ...

, who built it for millionaire racecar driver Joel Thorne. Davis operated in a 57,000 sq. ft. former aircraft assembly building in Van Nuys, where a prototype three-wheeler named "Baby" was built. Baby was powered by a 47

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

Hercules 4-cylinder engine coupled to a

Borg-Warner BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive and e-mobility supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. As of 2023, the company maintains production facilities and sites at 92 locations in 24 countries, and generates revenues of US$14.2 bi ...

3-speed transmission and Spicer rear end. Baby was unique in that it featured four-across seating. It was planned that production, beginning in 1948, would start at a minimum of 50 cars a day later increasing to 1,000. A second prototype called "Delta" was built, and a third prototype, the model 482, was completed later. The third model, the "

Divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

", established standards for the production Davis cars.

Bankruptcy and Wind-Down

While the Company excelled at marketing its business to customers and investors, Davis, like many other auto manufacturers at the time, encountered extreme difficulties with getting its vehicles through production. The company faced mounting tensions as dealerships and customers who ordered Divans waited through successive missed delivery deadlines while receiving no updates from the Company. By 1948, the Company was

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

and began to wind down its operations. Workers and engineers cited unpaid funds, and lawsuits were threatened by investors and dealers. Former employees then filed suit for back pay, and the company was investigated on allegations of fraud. Soon after the Davis plant was shut down, Gary Davis was convicted on 20 of 28 counts of theft (he was acquitted on four counts of theft and four of fraud) and was sentenced to 8 months to two years of labor in a work farm prison camp. Davis developed a variant for military use. The Model 494 was a

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

-like version of the Divan with an open body. Arrangements were ongoing with

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

to run tests at the

Aberdeen Proving Grounds Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at APG. There are 11 major commands among the tenant units, ...

in Maryland. Ultimately three 494s were built in less than a week, two of which were shipped to the Army for testing. The assets of Davis were sold for back taxes in May 1950. The remainder of the company now belongs to Wayne Miller who resides in Arizona.

Delta Motor Car Company

Sixteen out of 300 franchise holders formed Delta Motor Car Company in an effort to salvage the car and their investments. Delta tried to have Reliant Engineering Company in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, manufacture the car in 1953, but investor funds ran out and the enterprise folded.

References

Bibliography

*David Burgess Wise, ''The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles'' *Michael Lamm, Special-Interest Autos magazine, Vol.1, No. 1, Sept.-Oct. 1970

External links

Davis Registry
{{Automotive industry in the United States Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle manufacturers based in California Three-wheeled motor vehicles Automotive companies established in 1947 1947 establishments in California