Manufactured in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, between 1919 and 1925, Cubitt automobiles were known for their robust construction, spacious bodies and competitive prices. Although the company had ambitions to become one of Britain’s major automobile manufacturers, it ultimately produced only about 3,000 vehicles before collapsing in 1925.

What makes Cubitt particularly interesting is its connection to one of Britain’s most prominent 19th-century construction businesses, and its ultimately unsuccessful attempt to challenge American manufacturers such as Ford.

Cubitt’s automotive origins can be traced to the famous Cubitt family of builders, whose businesses helped shape Victorian London.

The family’s construction enterprises were associated with major projects including Covent Garden Market, railway infrastructure, and additions to Buckingham Palace.

In 1883, the Cubitt building business was acquired by Holland & Hannen, eventually becoming Holland, Hannen & Cubitts.

During the First World War, the company became involved in munitions production and aviation-related industrial work. When the war ended in 1918, management faced a problem: what to do with its manufacturing equipment, factories and experienced workforce?

The solution was to enter the rapidly growing automobile industry.

On May 27, 1919, Cubitts’ Engineering Company was registered as a motor-manufacturing subsidiary. Its factory was established on Bicester Road in Aylesbury, using facilities previously associated with wartime manufacturing.

The company’s objective was ambitious: produce approximately 5,000 automobiles annually, using American-style production methods to compete with imported cars.

The first production car was the Cubitt 16/20 HP, a relatively large automobile designed to offer the comfort and durability of more expensive British cars at a lower price.

Its construction was deliberately conventional. Rather than introduce revolutionary engineering, Cubitt emphasized mechanical simplicity, durability, and economical mass production.

The car featured electric starting and lighting, unusual selling points for a relatively inexpensive British family automobile of the period.

Cubitt is also associated with a distinctive winged Cupid bonnet mascot holding a bow and arrow. Surviving examples feature the Cubitt name on the figure's base.

By 1922, Cubitt was struggling financially. Its initial investment in machinery and factory facilities had been substantial, while production volumes remained disappointing.

The death of managing director Eric May in a motoring accident in January 1922 further disrupted the company.

A prominent figure in the British automobile industry, Selwyn Francis Edge, became involved in rescuing the business. Edge was closely associated with Napier, AC Cars and British Anzani.

He brought in automobile engineer J. S. Napier, previously associated with Arrol-Johnston, to improve the Cubitt.

Cubitt’s failure were financial and structural. Output peaked at around 60 cars per week, well below the level needed to cover substantial manufacturing costs. By the time the company collapsed, accumulated net losses reportedly totaled £420,026, an enormous sum in the 1920s.

A compulsory winding-up order was made on June 23, 1925, bringing the automotive venture to an end.

(sources: The Society of Automotive Historians, Tringlocalhistory, Wikipedia)

Although the company survived only a few years, it produced an ambitious eight-cylinder touring automobile known as the Apple Eight, marketed as an affordable luxury car.

Its history is particularly interesting because the company was reportedly producing automobiles successfully when a devastating factory fire in October 1915 effectively ended its automotive ambitions.

William A. Apple had already established himself in Dayton’s automotive business before attempting to build complete cars.

In 1912, he founded the W. A. Apple Auto Top Company, manufacturing folding automobile tops, particularly for the Ford Model T.

The Apple family also had experience in the emerging automobile electrical industry. Members of the family were associated with the Apple Electric Company, which manufactured automotive batteries and electrical equipment in Dayton around 1908.

By 1915, William Apple decided to move beyond supplying components and enter the automobile manufacturing business. He reorganized his enterprise as the W. A. Apple Motor Car Company, operating at the address associated with the company, 343 Cincinnati Street.

Dayton was a natural place for this venture. During the early 20th century, the city was an important center for automotive engineering, home to manufacturers such as Stoddard-Dayton and Speedwell, and to pioneering automotive electrical inventions.

The Apple Eight was introduced in 1915 and marketed for the 1916 model year. It combined an eight-cylinder engine with a relatively affordable price.

Its most recognizable design feature was a distinctive pointed, V-shaped radiator, which gave the car a more individual appearance than many competing touring cars.

Apple marketed the car with the slogan: “No hills too steep. No roads too rough.”

Production reportedly began in May 1915. By September, the company was said to have assembled approximately 40 automobiles.

However, on October 11, 1915, a fire destroyed the company’s manufacturing facility. The fire proved disastrous to the venture. Apple subsequently entered a legal dispute with his insurance company over the losses.

On January 25, 1917, The Dayton Herald reported that William A. Apple had been awarded $28,014.31 through the courts. Although the company is commonly listed as operating from 1915 to 1917, its meaningful automobile production appears to have been concentrated in 1915. After the automobile venture collapsed, Apple returned to making automobile tops and upholstery.

(sources: Wikipedia)

The 1919 Slaby-Beringer Elektrowagen is one of the most fascinating forgotten automobiles of the early 20th century. Built in Berlin immediately after World War I, this extraordinarily small electric vehicle was designed to provide affordable personal transportation at a time when automobiles remained expensive luxuries.

What makes the Slaby-Beringer particularly interesting is that it was not only an early electric microcar. It also helped lay the foundations for DKW’s automobile business, which eventually became part of Audi.

The origins: Berlin, 1919.

The story begins with German engineer Dr. Rudolf Slaby (1887–1963), the son of Adolf Slaby, a prominent electrical engineer and co-founder of Telefunken.

Rudolf Slaby had worked in the aircraft industry, but following Germany’s defeat in World War I, restrictions on aircraft manufacturing pushed him toward a different engineering challenge.

In 1918–1919, Slaby developed an exceptionally lightweight, electrically powered vehicle for individual transportation. The car was conceived as an economical urban runabout and was also intended to provide mobility for disabled veterans returning from the war.

The original prototype attracted enough attention that Slaby joined forces with his cousin, Hermann Beringer, who owned a paint factory in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

Together they established SB-Automobil-Gesellschaft m.b.H. in 1919, using part of Beringer’s factory for production.

An electric car more than 100 years ahead of its time.

The Slaby-Beringer was remarkably minimalist, even by the standards of 1919.

Rather than constructing a conventional automobile with a separate metal chassis, Slaby developed a self-supporting wooden body, integrating the structure and bodywork into a single lightweight assembly.

Its bicycle-like wire wheels, narrow rectangular body, exposed suspension and simple controls reflected an engineering philosophy of eliminating unnecessary weight and complexity.

Unlike most cars, the Slaby-Beringer had no conventional steering wheel. Instead, the driver controlled the vehicle using a hand-operated steering lever. The electric motor was mounted toward the rear, with the batteries positioned toward the front to improve weight distribution.

The connection to DKW and Audi.

Perhaps the most consequential chapter in the Slaby-Beringer story began with an encounter in Berlin in 1919.

Industrialist Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, the founder of DKW, reportedly saw Rudolf Slaby driving his little electric automobile through the city.

Impressed by the design, Rasmussen placed an order for 100 vehicles. He subsequently acquired a one-third interest in the company.

During its first business year, November 1919 through October 1920, Slaby-Beringer manufactured 257 single-seat electric cars.

The business expanded, and by the early 1920s Japan had become an important export market. An initial order for 200 vehicles was followed by additional business, with some cars used by government organizations and larger models employed as taxis.

The unexpected collapse.

Despite its early promise, Slaby-Beringer faced two devastating problems.

Germany’s hyperinflation of 1923 created severe financial difficulties, making manufacturing and fulfilling foreign orders increasingly complicated.

Then came the Great Kantō earthquake of September 1, 1923, which devastated parts of Japan, destroyed vehicles and disrupted the company’s Japanese distribution network.

With its principal export market damaged, Slaby-Beringer’s financial situation became unsustainable.

The company experimented with gasoline-powered versions using DKW motorcycle engines, but the effort could not save the business.

In 1924, Slaby-Beringer entered bankruptcy. Rasmussen acquired its remaining assets, incorporating them into his expanding DKW operations. Rudolf Slaby remained involved as an engineer and subsequently contributed to the development of DKW’s first production automobiles.

Approximately 2,000 Slaby-Beringer vehicles are generally reported to have been manufactured, although historical sources disagree on the exact figure.

Historical records reproduce at least two early variations of their identity: an oval design dated 1919–1920 and a circular design dated 1921. The circular mark is particularly close in composition to the emblem shown on the vehicle.

(sources: Audi, Axel Oskar, Museumsportal Berlin)

The brand experienced both commercial and sporting success. Its flattering sales were accompanied by convincing success in different international competitions on road or circuit. Its connection with Minerva, another Belgian make, also enabled it to occupy the prestige cars niche with models that were the benchmark of elegance and distinction.

Adrien Piedboeuf came from a family associated with Belgium’s iron and steel industries. After working in the automobile business in Aachen, Germany, he established his own motorcycle manufacturing operation in Liège around 1903–1904.

His ambition was to manufacture automobiles, and with German engineer Paul Henze he developed the first Piedboeuf-Impéria cars, appearing around 1905–1906.

In 1908 the company established production at the former Pieper factory in Nessonvaux, near Liège. This became Impéria’s principal manufacturing location for the remainder of its history.

In 1912, Impéria combined with Springuel, another Belgian automobile manufacturer, strengthening the company's engineering and manufacturing capabilities.

After World War I, businessman Mathieu van Roggen took control of the company and began rebuilding its operations.

Impéria developed an important relationship with Spanish automobile entrepreneur Francisco Abadal, producing sporting automobiles associated with the Impéria-Abadal name.

During the 1920s, engineer Arnold Couchard developed an unusual small-displacement engine using sliding valves rather than conventional poppet valves. This powered the Impéria-Tili and subsequent small sporting models.

Van Roggen also pursued a consolidation strategy, acquiring competing Belgian manufacturers including Métallurgique, Excelsior and Nagant, as well as coachbuilding operations. His ambition was to create a Belgian automotive group capable of competing with the much larger American manufacturers.

In 1928, Impéria constructed one of Europe’s most extraordinary automobile testing facilities.

The company’s factory was constrained by its location alongside a river and road, so engineers incorporated a banked test circuit into the existing factory grounds and rooftops.

The facility allowed vehicles to be tested without driving on public roads. It was inspired by Fiat’s Lingotto facility in Turin and remains one of the most interesting architectural features associated with Belgian automobile manufacturing.

The Depression and competition from larger manufacturers forced Impéria to reconsider its strategy.

In 1933, the company negotiated an agreement with Germany’s Adler to manufacture front-wheel-drive vehicles derived from the Adler Trumpf.

These cars combined German mechanical engineering with Belgian-built chassis and coachwork.

In 1935, Impéria acquired the remains of luxury manufacturer Minerva, forming the Minerva-Impéria group. Although this created a powerful Belgian industrial organization, financial difficulties and the outbreak of World War II ultimately undermined its ambitions.

After World War II, Impéria resumed limited production of its own automobiles.

Its final major model was the TA-8, a front-wheel-drive vehicle using a 1,340 cc Hotchkiss engine derived from the Amilcar Compound. Production ended around 1949.

To remain economically viable, the Nessonvaux works increasingly assembled vehicles for other manufacturers, particularly the British Standard Vanguard and Triumph sports cars. The factory also handled limited Alfa Romeo assembly and other industrial activities.

When Standard-Triumph transferred production to its own Belgian facilities, Impéria lost a crucial source of business.

In 1958, the historic Nessonvaux automobile factory closed, ending one of Belgium’s most significant automotive enterprises.

The Impéria logo and emblem.

Impéria used a crown as its principal visual symbol. The design referenced the crown of Charlemagne and the imperial heritage of Aachen, Germany, where Piedboeuf had worked.

The crown appeared in several forms throughout the company’s existence. Its branding also included flowing Impéria script lettering, conventional uppercase wordmarks, decorative radiator badges, and carefully designed advertisements.

The crown was not simply an ornament: it connected the marque’s name to a recognizable historical symbol of imperial power and prestige.

In 2008, Belgian company Green Propulsion acquired rights to revive the Impéria name. A working prototype called the Impéria GP was demonstrated at Spa-Francorchamps in 2012. The project encountered financing difficulties and the revived company was declared bankrupt in 2016.

(sources: Impéria, RVCCB, Wikipedia)

The Jeep is one of the most recognizable vehicles ever produced. Its upright grille, circular headlights, flat fenders, and utilitarian proportions have become symbols of American ingenuity and automotive freedom. But despite its close association with Willys-Overland, the original Jeep was not the invention of a single manufacturer.

Its creation was the result of an extraordinary competition involving three American automobile companies, the U.S. Army, and a demanding development schedule that would be nearly impossible by modern automotive standards.

The story begins in 1940, before the United States entered World War II, when the military urgently needed a new kind of vehicle.

The Army’s Challenge: 135 Companies Invited.

In the summer of 1940, with war already raging in Europe, the U.S. Army sought a compact, lightweight, four-wheel-drive reconnaissance vehicle that could replace motorcycles with sidecars and other inadequate military transport.

The proposed vehicle had to carry soldiers and equipment, travel over difficult terrain, and be simple enough to manufacture and maintain in large numbers.

On July 11, 1940, the Army’s Quartermaster Corps invited 135 manufacturers to compete for the project.

The initial specifications were demanding: four-wheel drive, a folding windshield, a short wheelbase, a payload of approximately 600 pounds, and an extraordinarily low vehicle weight of 1,300 pounds. The vehicle also needed to achieve a road speed of at least 50 mph.

Manufacturers had just 11 days to submit their proposals. The winning bidder would then have 49 days to deliver a working pilot model and 75 days to deliver a total of 70 vehicles for testing.

Of the 135 companies invited, only two submitted bids: American Bantam and Willys-Overland. Ford Motor Company would join the development competition later.

American Bantam: The company that started it all.

The American Bantam Car Company, based in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a small automobile manufacturer descended from the American Austin Car Company.

Although financially troubled, Bantam had already been working with military officials on compact reconnaissance vehicles. Its engineers understood the Army’s requirements better than most established manufacturers.

With the bidding deadline approaching, Bantam recruited Detroit engineer Karl Probst to help develop the proposed vehicle. Working with Bantam chief engineer Harold Crist and the company’s technical team, Probst prepared the essential drawings in a remarkably short period.

Bantam submitted its proposal on July 22, 1940.

Although Willys offered a lower initial unit price, it required more time than the Army permitted. Once delivery penalties were considered, Bantam’s bid prevailed.

American Bantam received the first Jeep development contract.

On September 23, 1940, Bantam delivered its pioneering four-wheel-drive reconnaissance car to Camp Holabird, Maryland, for military evaluation.

The prototype was immediately recognizable as the ancestor of the Jeep: compact, open-bodied, four-wheel-drive, with a folding windshield and minimal bodywork.

The Army subjected it to rigorous testing, and its performance demonstrated the practicality of the concept.

Bantam had accomplished what the military needed. Unfortunately, success also attracted competition.

Willys and Ford enter the picture.

The Army understood that Bantam’s limited factory capacity might become a serious obstacle if thousands of vehicles were required.

Rather than depend on one small manufacturer, military officials encouraged additional companies to develop their own versions. Bantam’s early design and testing information were made available to the competing manufacturers.

Willys-Overland, based in Toledo, Ohio, produced the Willys Quad, developed under engineering vice president Delmar G. Roos. Delivered for testing in November 1940, the Quad used Willys’ powerful Go-Devil four-cylinder engine.

The engine became Willys’ greatest advantage. Although its vehicle exceeded the original weight limit, it offered substantially more power than its competitors.

Ford Motor Company entered with its Ford Pygmy, delivered in November 1940. It used an engine derived from Ford’s agricultural tractor operations and introduced several design details that would influence the eventual production Jeep.

By the end of 1940, the Army was evaluating three competing designs:

• American Bantam BRC: The original prototype, notable for its lightweight construction, agility, fuel economy, and braking performance.

• Willys Quad: A powerful and robust design whose engine would become the foundation of the standardized Jeep.

• Ford Pygmy: A practical alternative that contributed important bodywork, controls, and manufacturing improvements.

The Army did not simply choose one prototype and discard the others. Instead, it continued development while examining the advantages of all three.

1941: Three companies receive production orders.

By late 1940, the military had authorized a new round of development contracts, with each manufacturer receiving an order for approximately 1,500 vehicles.

These became the American Bantam BRC-40, Willys MA, and Ford GP.

The purpose was to evaluate the vehicles in greater numbers under actual military conditions.

Testing revealed that each design possessed strengths and weaknesses. Bantam’s vehicle was comparatively light and economical. Ford offered advantages in driver controls and industrial production capability. Willys supplied the most desirable engine.

The Army also recognized that the original weight limits had been unrealistic and revised its requirements.

As the vehicles evolved, the military increasingly favored a standardized design that could be manufactured in enormous quantities, with interchangeable components and simplified field maintenance.

The decision was no longer simply about which company had built the best prototype.

It had become a question of engineering, price, production capacity, and wartime logistics.

The Final Competition: How Willys won.

In July 1941, the Army requested bids for a major order of 16,000 standardized vehicles.

An interesting detail frequently omitted from Jeep histories is that four companies submitted prices in this final round, not three.

The historical bidding records identify the following offers:

Checker Cab Company $736.53
Willys-Overland $748.74
Ford Motor Company $782.59
American Bantam $788.32

Checker Cab submitted the lowest price, but the company had not provided a prototype for the Army’s earlier tests. Consequently, its bid was not considered eligible for the contract.

Among the three qualified manufacturers, Willys was the lowest bidder.

Nevertheless, the Quartermaster Corps initially preferred Ford because of its extensive production resources, stronger delivery record, and ability to provide replacement parts reliably.

The Army’s recommendation to award the contract to Ford was rejected by the government’s Office of Production Management, which favored Willys as the lowest qualified bidder.

On August 1, 1941, Willys was notified that it had won the contract for 16,000 vehicles.

The decision combined Willys’ competitive pricing and superior engine with the government’s preference for a proven design.

Willys had won the mass-production contract, even though Bantam had produced the original prototype.

The Jeep’s design was a combination of three companies.

Following the contract award, the Army worked with Willys to finalize the standardized vehicle.

The resulting Willys MB incorporated engineering and design characteristics refined throughout the competition.

Bantam had established the fundamental concept of a compact, lightweight, four-wheel-drive reconnaissance vehicle. Its work with Spicer also helped establish critical drivetrain components.

Willys contributed its durable chassis design and the 134-cubic-inch Go-Devil engine, the most important mechanical advantage of the winning vehicle.

Ford’s contributions included bodywork and front-end design developments, as well as manufacturing refinements that helped make the Jeep easier to produce.

The standardized vehicle was therefore not identical to any single original prototype. It was the product of an extensive military evaluation program that combined and refined the best available ideas.

Ford’s contribution to the famous Jeep grille.

From an automotive design perspective, Ford’s influence is especially significant.

The original Bantam prototype featured a relatively conventional radiator opening and separate headlamps. Ford’s Pygmy introduced a flatter, more unified front-end treatment, with headlights incorporated into the grille assembly.

As the design evolved, Ford developed a stamped-steel grille that was lighter, simpler, and more economical to manufacture than the earlier fabricated assembly.

This manufacturing improvement was adopted for the standardized wartime Jeep.

The familiar vertical-slot grille subsequently became the vehicle’s most recognizable visual feature.

Early examples used different numbers of grille openings. The standardized wartime design eventually featured nine vertical slots, while postwar civilian Jeeps adopted the now-famous seven-slot arrangement.

Although the seven-slot grille became closely associated with the Jeep brand, an important part of its visual ancestry originated with Ford.

Ford's Secret Signature: The “F” Bolts of the WWII Jeep.

Ford left its identity on thousands of tiny components of the legendary military vehicle.

The small, stylized “F” stamped into the bolt head is known as the Ford script F, a distinctive manufacturer’s marking associated with the Ford GPW military Jeep produced during World War II.

It is one of the most fascinating details in the history of the Jeep, reflecting the unusual relationship between two competing American automobile manufacturers.

Why Ford eventually built so many Jeeps.

Winning the initial large-scale contract did not mean Willys would manufacture every wartime Jeep.

As military requirements expanded, it became clear that Willys alone could not meet the enormous demand.

In late 1941, the government brought Ford into the standardized production program.

Ford was instructed to manufacture vehicles using Willys’ drawings and specifications, enabling both companies to produce essentially interchangeable vehicles.

The Ford-built version received the designation GPW, while Willys continued manufacturing the MB.

Over the course of World War II, Willys and Ford together produced approximately 640,000 standardized Jeeps, making the vehicle one of the most successful military transportation designs of the twentieth century.

Bantam, meanwhile, was excluded from the main mass-production program because of concerns about its manufacturing capacity.

Although Bantam had created the first prototype and built approximately 2,600 early reconnaissance vehicles, the company spent much of the war producing military trailers rather than the vehicle it had helped originate.

The battle over who invented the Jeep.

The controversy did not end with the war. Willys-Overland began promoting itself as the creator of the Jeep, using its wartime manufacturing success to establish a civilian automobile brand.

American Bantam challenged these claims.

In 1948, following proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission, Willys was ordered to stop advertising itself as the original creator of the Jeep.

The commission found that the vehicle was the product of contributions by the Army and multiple manufacturers, rather than the exclusive invention of Willys-Overland.

The ruling recognized that although Willys had played an important role in developing and perfecting the vehicle, it could not claim sole credit for its origin.

That distinction remains central to understanding the Jeep’s history.

How the Jeep got its name.

The origins of the word Jeep are also disputed. One popular explanation is that it developed from the pronunciation of the initials GP, often interpreted as General Purpose.

However, Ford’s GP designation was an internal model code: G indicated a government-contract vehicle, while P referred to its 80-inch-wheelbase classification.

Other explanations connect the name to established military slang for unfamiliar equipment or to Eugene the Jeep, a small, extraordinary creature introduced in the Popeye comic strip in 1936.

By early 1941, soldiers and newspaper reporters were already using the term Jeep to describe the new four-wheel-drive military vehicle.

Whatever its precise origin, the nickname survived and eventually became one of the world’s most recognizable automotive brand names.

Three companies, one Automotive Icon.

The Jeep’s creation demonstrates how military necessity accelerated automotive design and industrial cooperation.

American Bantam deserves recognition for building the first functioning prototype and demonstrating that the concept could succeed.

Willys-Overland deserves credit for developing the powerful engine and successful standardized vehicle that won the principal production contract.

Ford deserves recognition for its engineering contributions, influential grille design, and the massive manufacturing capacity that helped supply Allied forces.

The U.S. Army, meanwhile, defined the requirements, coordinated development, evaluated the competing designs, and ultimately determined the production configuration.

No single company can legitimately claim every aspect of the Jeep’s invention.

The vehicle that emerged from this competition was more than a military utility truck. Its combination of simple construction, versatility, and four-wheel-drive capability established an entirely new category of automobile.

After the war, Willys introduced the civilian CJ series, beginning with the CJ-2A in 1945, transforming a military necessity into a lasting commercial success.

More than eight decades later, the Jeep’s fundamental visual identity remains remarkably recognizable.

The original Jeep began with Bantam, was perfected for production by Willys and the Army, and was manufactured on a massive scale by Willys and Ford. Its history belongs to all three companies.

This article is based on documentary sources including the U.S. Army’s procurement history, a later federal court record detailing the competing bids, and the 1948 FTC decision.

• National Park Service — Historic American Engineering Record, Ford Richmond Assembly Plant — pages 65–70 document the development and procurement controversy.

• Overland Corporation v. Commissioner, 1964 — detailed original contract bidding amounts and August 1941 decision.

• Federal Trade Commission — Willys-Overland Motors, 1948 — the dispute over the company’s claim to have created the Jeep.

• Smithsonian — 1940 Bantam Jeep Prototype — surviving original vehicle and historical documentation.

• Jeep — Official History, 1940s — vehicle development and production history.

Asia Motors was established in Gwangju on July 2, 1965, during the period when the South Korean government was actively trying to create a domestic automobile industry. Local businessman Lee Mun-hwan (이문환) was behind the project. The company planned a large vehicle factory in Gwangju and originally pursued a technical relationship with Renault before shifting toward Fiat.

The ambition was considerable for Korea at that time: Asia wanted to manufacture commercial vehicles, military vehicles and eventually passenger cars rather than simply remain a small assembly operation.

Financial problems came almost immediately, however. The Gwangju factory was completed around 1968–69, but Asia did not have sufficient capital to expand on its own. Dongkuk Steel acquired the company in 1969.

The Fiat 124 era

Asia’s best-known early passenger car was the Fiat 124.

Licensed production began at Gwangju in 1970. It was essentially the Italian Fiat 124 adapted and assembled for Korea and was marketed quite aggressively as a modern Korean family car. Period advertising even called it the “People’s Car.”

This makes Asia an interesting part of Korea’s early passenger-car history alongside Hyundai’s Ford-based products and Shinjin’s Toyota relationship.

But Asia’s passenger-car business was short-lived. During the Korean government’s restructuring of the automobile industry in the early 1970s, Asia’s proposal for a high-volume small car did not satisfy government requirements. Its authorization to assemble passenger cars was withdrawn, pushing the company increasingly toward commercial and specialty vehicles.

Kia takes control: 1976

The decisive change came in August 1976, when the government-led restructuring of Korea’s auto industry resulted in Kia Industries taking control of Asia Motors and its Gwangju factory.

Asia remained a recognizable brand, however. Rather than simply disappearing into Kia, it essentially became the Kia group’s specialist commercial-vehicle arm.

That gave Asia a very different identity from Kia itself. Kia increasingly concentrated on passenger cars and light trucks, while Asia became associated with buses, heavy trucks, military vehicles, special-purpose vehicles and later off-road vehicles.

The Gwangju operation also became an important military-vehicle manufacturing center after the company was designated for defense production.

The classic ASIA buses

During the late 1970s and 1980s Asia became one of Korea’s important bus manufacturers, producing a complicated family of AM-series buses ranging from small minibuses to full-size intercity and highway coaches.

Among them were models such as the AM805 Combi, AM808, AM907, AM927, later AM937, Cosmos, and ultimately the Granbird.

Asia also worked with Japanese manufacturers and technology suppliers; a relationship with Hino was established in 1978 and Hino-derived engineering became important in several of Asia’s heavier vehicles and buses.

1988 Olympic ASIA bus

It is an Asia AM805 Combi, one of the first-generation Combis produced from 1983. According to the Seoul Museum of History, this particular VIP version was constructed in 1985 specifically with promotional and ceremonial duties connected with the Seoul Olympics in mind.

The ordinary AM805 was approximately a 25-passenger minibus. For this special version, Asia converted the passenger compartment to accommodate only about six people and fitted it more like a mobile executive lounge. It included sofa-style seating, a work table, a vehicle refrigerator and a unusually luxurious interior for a Korean minibus of the period.

It became known informally as both the “88 Combi Bus” and the “Samaranch minibus,” a reference to IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The museum confirms that it was used during the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

From military vehicles to the Rocsta

Asia also became important in Korea’s 4x4 history.

Its experience manufacturing military vehicles eventually led to the civilian Asia Rocsta, introduced around 1990. The small Jeep-like 4x4 was related conceptually to the company’s military K-111 program and became one of the relatively few Asia-badged passenger vehicles widely exported.

You may encounter surviving Rocstas today in Europe, Australia and various Asian markets. Its eventual successor was the Retona, which lived on after the Asia name disappeared as the Kia Retona.

Asia in the 1990s

By the 1990s the range had become surprisingly broad. Asia produced small commercial vehicles such as the Towner, vans such as the Topic, minibuses such as the Combi and Cosmos, large buses and coaches, heavy trucks, military vehicles and the Rocsta/Retona 4x4 family.

One of its most important late products was the Granbird, introduced in the mid-1990s as a large luxury coach. The Granbird is particularly significant because it survived Asia Motors itself and became a Kia product.

Asia’s Gwangju operations had grown considerably by this point. Academic production records show that the Gwangju operation produced more than 131,000 vehicles in 1996, illustrating that Asia was far from being merely an obscure small manufacturer.

The end of ASIA: 1997–1999

The Asian Financial Crisis brought the Kia Group into severe financial difficulty in 1997.

Hyundai subsequently took control of Kia, and the separate Asia Motors identity no longer made much sense within the reorganized group. Asia Motors was merged into Kia in 1999 and the ASIA marque disappeared.

The factories did not disappear, though. The former Asia Motors complex became the foundation of today’s Kia AutoLand Gwangju, so there is a direct industrial line from the Asia vehicles of the 1960s–90s to modern Kia production in Gwangju.

(sources: Seoul Museum, IDEAS/RePEc, Namu Wiki, Wikipedia)

Its ancestry begins with Korea’s production of Jeep-type vehicles. Ha Dong-hwan Motor was building utility vehicles in the 1960s, while Shinjin Motors became involved in licensed Jeep production with AMC. After a series of corporate changes, Keohwa (거화) took over the Jeep operation.

The name Korando began appearing around 1982–83, and Keohwa formally adopted the Korando trademark in March 1983. Contemporary histories commonly explain the name as:

KORean cAN DO → KORANDO

In other words, essentially “Koreans can do it.”

That slogan is particularly significant in the context of South Korea’s rapidly developing domestic automobile industry in the 1980s.

Keohwa was acquired by Dong-A Motor in December 1984, and the Korando continued to evolve under Dong-A. SsangYong Group acquired Dong-A in 1986, and the automobile company was eventually renamed SsangYong Motor Company in 1988.

So an early Korando might correctly be described as a Keohwa Korando, Dong-A Korando, or SsangYong Korando, depending on its date.

And then came the rhinoceros.

This is where the branding becomes especially interesting.

In 1986, a small sculptural rhinoceros appeared on the front of the Korando’s hood.

A Korean history of the model published by Dong-A Ilbo specifically records that the 코뿔소 엠블럼 — rhinoceros emblem — appeared at the front of the hood in 1986.

The reason is fairly obvious visually: the rhino communicated exactly what Dong-A/SsangYong wanted the Korando to represent strength, toughness, durability and off-road capability and became the model mascot / hood ornament.

Customers reportedly complained that they didn't want the vehicle without the rhinoceros, and the ornaments became desirable enough that people actually stole them from parked Korandos.

There's an amusing cultural footnote too: a 1989 Korean film was titled 《미스 코뿔소 미스터 코란도》 — Miss Rhinoceros, Mister Korando, further demonstrating how closely the rhino had become associated with the vehicle.

There's an interesting wrinkle in the historical record. Some enthusiast sources say the ornament was introduced with the 1993 facelift, while contemporary-history accounts trace the first rhino ornament to 1986. The latter is better supported: Korean reporting based on SsangYong's history explicitly dates its introduction to 1986, and histories of the 1986 New Korando also describe a rhinoceros sculpture being added to the bonnet at that time.

For only a few years, the name Saehan appeared on Korean roads. But hidden inside those few years is a remarkable cross-section of Korean automotive history.

Saehan Motor Company emerged in 1976 from General Motors Korea, the joint venture created four years earlier between Korea’s Shinjin Motors and General Motors. When financial problems forced Shinjin out, Korea Development Bank took its stake and GM Korea was given a new Korean identity: 새한자동차 — Saehan Motor Company. Its launch advertising proclaimed a company starting again “with one purpose,” while retaining the global engineering resources of GM.

Saehan’s cars were international machines interpreted for a rapidly developing Korean market. The Gemini came through Isuzu from GM’s worldwide T-car program. The Rekord and later Royale series owed their engineering to Opel. Trucks and buses drew heavily on Isuzu technology. Yet Saehan progressively gave these products their own names, identities and visual language.

In 1978 another name entered the picture: Daewoo. Daewoo Group bought the Korean 50-percent share of Saehan, while General Motors retained the other half. For the next several years the company remained Saehan, even as Daewoo became increasingly visible behind it. In late 1982 Daewoo obtained management control, and on January 1, 1983 the company officially became Daewoo Motor.

The car shown below is one of the last products of the Saehan era: the 1982 Maepsy.

Maepsy—맵시—is a Korean word referring to an attractive or pleasing appearance. Beneath its crisp, horizontal grille and square headlamps sat the architecture of the earlier Isuzu-derived Gemini. But the Maepsy represented an effort to give that platform a distinctly Korean identity. Saehan’s advertising stressed its “style, safety and economy,” while the 1.3-liter version added another curious piece to the international puzzle: a Mazda-designed engine previously produced by Kia for the Brisa.

Look closely at the center of the grille and there is another nearly forgotten piece of Korean automotive graphic design: Saehan’s small geometric emblem. The company also employed an SMC mark, Korean 새한자동차 lettering and Saehan Motor typography across its cars, trucks, catalogs and advertisements.

Saehan disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared (1976–1983). But it wasn’t a dead end. Its factories, engineers, models and GM relationship passed into Daewoo Motors, creating the foundation for the Royale family, Maepsy-Na, LeMans and ultimately decades of Korean car production.

A brief name, but a remarkably important link between Shinjin, General Motors, Daewoo—and the development of Korea’s modern automobile industry.

Founded in postwar Korea in 1955, Shinjin began by rebuilding vehicles and manufacturing buses. A decade later, the company made a dramatic move into passenger-car production when it acquired the former Saenara automobile factory in Bupyeong and formed a technical partnership with Toyota.

The result was the Shinjin Corona, introduced in 1966.

Underneath, it was Toyota’s Corona, but the cars were assembled in Korea and wore Shinjin identification—the wonderfully distinctive badge visible across the grille.

The Corona became one of the most important cars of Korea’s emerging automobile industry. Between 1966 and 1972, more than 44,000 Shinjin Coronas were produced, helping transform Shinjin into one of the country’s leading automakers.

This 1970 Shinjin Corona belongs to the redesigned T80 generation introduced that year. With its quad headlights, long horizontal grille, slim chrome bumpers and almost architectural greenhouse, it captures a moment when Korean automobile manufacturing was transitioning from small-scale postwar production toward a modern industrial system.

Shinjin’s moment was brief. Toyota withdrew from Korea in 1972, and Shinjin’s passenger-car operation entered a new partnership with General Motors. The names that followed tell their own story:

Shinjin → GM Korea → Seaman → Daewoo

Today, Shinjin is largely forgotten outside Korea, but its significance is much greater than the surviving badge might suggest. Cars like this Corona represent the formative years of an industry that, within only a few decades, would become one of the most influential in the world.

In 1905 the first Moon automobile was an advantageous five-passenger touring model with a 35hp four cylinder Rutenber engine. This debut model came equipped with shaft drive and a sliding gear three-speed transmission

Moons were not the most expensive cars around, but at $3,000, the first examples were big risks. It took five years for the price of Moons to drop to a more reasonable $1,500 to $2,000 and the slogan “Priced Within the Bounds of Reason” was introduced. 1913 saw the release of the first Moon six cylinder. Typically, these were of L shaped heads.

Joseph Moon died in 1919 and his son-in-law, Stewart MacDonald, took control of the firm and sent production and sales figures soaring. In 1919 production figures were 1,633 cars and in 1924 the factory was at it’s peak with 7,567 cars made. Merely five years on and the Moon automobile name was out of business.

(source: KTS Motor Sports Garage)

The 1914 Moon Light Six-50 Streamline was priced at $2,150 and the Six or Seven Passenger model at $2,225. Fully Equipped, including DELCO Electric Cranking, Lighting and Ignition.

Its roots were in the Car Mart group, founded by Major R. S. Grigg. Car Mart began with a hire-car operation, later became an important London motor dealer, and established the Car Mart Garage in Balderton Street near Oxford Street. That garage developed into Dagenham Motors Ltd. around 1932.

During the 1930s, Dagenham Motors attempted to move Ford slightly upmarket by offering limited-production bodies on ordinary Ford chassis. It also commissioned commercial bodies, including van and pickup designs on Ford Model C and CX chassis. The firm was therefore functioning partly like a traditional coachwork agent: selecting or commissioning distinctive bodies and marketing the completed cars through its Ford distributorship.

Among its best-known offerings were the Ford V8 “D.M. Specials.” In October 1935, a bare Ford V8 chassis suitable for special bodywork cost £190. Dagenham Motors offered a completed D.M. Sports Saloon for £425 and a D.M. Foursome Drophead Coupé for £415—nearly twice the price of a standard-bodied Ford.

The Vogue Coupé has several details that distinguish it from the regular Ford body, including a very low, close-coupled two-door roofline, a long, uninterrupted side window opening, a more rounded and formal rear roof treatment, small luggage compartment, flowing rear fenders and a standard Ford V8 chassis, bonnet, running gear with much of the front sheet metal beneath the custom body.

The Foursome Drophead Coupé was the open version, with a folding roof that could be used fully closed, partly open or completely lowered. Surviving references indicate that these were handmade or extremely limited-production automobiles; very few examples are known today.

The coachbuilt cars were only a small and glamorous part of the business. Dagenham Motors’ main activity remained selling, servicing and distributing ordinary Ford cars and commercial vehicles.

By 1958, it was described as one of Britain’s largest Ford distributors, employing approximately 500 people.

Later advertising abandoned the elegant triangular DM emblem. By the 1980s, the identity normally combined the familiar Ford oval with a bold italic Dagenham Motors wordmark.

Dagenham Motors eventually became part of the larger Polar Ford/Ford Retail dealership organization. Ford Motor Company took full ownership of Polar Ford in 2004. In 2014, the various regional trading names—including Dagenham Motors, Polar Ford, Brunel Ford and others—were unified under the TrustFord name.

(sources: Unique Cars and Parts, Commercial Motor)

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it manufactured the Crestmobile, one of the many lightweight gasoline cars that appeared during the experimental years immediately before automobile design became standardized.

The company began by making gasoline engines, ignition coils, spark plugs and other automobile components. Around 1900, it demonstrated that it could manufacture an entire vehicle, initially experimenting with a three-wheeler before introducing a conventional four-wheel automobile in 1901.

The first production Crestmobiles were extremely simple two-passenger runabouts, with Model A producing approximately 2 horsepower, Model B with 3½ horsepower and Model C with 5 horsepower.

All used vertically mounted, air-cooled single-cylinder engines. The earliest cars drove the rear wheels by chain and had very short wheelbases, light tubular frames and tiller steering. Crest adopted shaft drive by 1903, an important improvement that the company emphasized heavily in its advertisements.

By 1903 and 1904, Crest offered more substantial versions. The later Model D developed approximately 8 to 8½ horsepower and used a two-speed transmission.

The advertisements show how Crest positioned the car: simple, attractive, mechanically accessible and less expensive than larger automobiles. Early examples were advertised around $600; later two-passenger cars were approximately $750, while a four-passenger version cost around $850.

For such a short-lived manufacturer, Crest reached a meaningful scale. A Cambridge historical account reports that in 1904 the company employed approximately 300 workers and was producing about five automobiles per day. Crest claimed to have produced more than 1,000 vehicles. Financial difficulties appeared near the end of 1904, and automobile production effectively ended in 1905.

(sources: History Cambridge, Bonhams, Veteran Car Run)

Unlike many early automobile companies that began as bicycle manufacturers, Loreley grew out of a successful machinery business. Originally, the company manufactured sewing machines, shoe-making machinery, dynamos, and electric motors. By the turn of the twentieth century it had become one of the region's leading engineering firms.

After Rudolf Ley died in 1901, his son Alfred Ley, a talented engineer, became fascinated by the rapidly emerging automobile industry. He designed the company's first automobile around 1903–1905, and production began shortly afterward.

The cars were marketed under the name Loreley, inspired by the legendary maiden of the Rhine River whose beauty supposedly lured sailors to disaster.

The name was chosen because it sounded elegant and distinctly German, making it memorable in export markets. Contrary to an old myth, the cars were not named after a daughter of the Ley family—the automobiles had already carried the Loreley name years before Alfred Ley’s daughter Lore was born.

The first production model was the Loreley 6/10 PS (1905–1906) with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine making approximately 10 horsepower with a top speed around 60 km/h (37 mph).

Its moderate price and reliable engineering made it one of Germany's better-known light automobiles. Alfred Ley focused on practical cars for everyday owners rather than expensive luxury machines. Remarkably, by 1907 Loreley introduced a compact six-cylinder automobile, something almost unheard of in this class. It demonstrated Alfred Ley's willingness to innovate.

The Loreley-Kleinauto 5/11 PS was one of the company’s lightweight four-cylinder models aimed at buyers wanting an economical touring car.

Loreley quickly developed a strong export business and using the Ley family's existing worldwide machinery sales network, automobiles were exported all over the world. They even established a dedicated Loreley Autocar Company Ltd. in London to market the cars in Britain.

Following World War I production resumed in 1919 and the automobiles gradually began carrying simply the Ley name.

One particularly fascinating project occurred in 1922, when aerodynamic pioneer Paul Jaray collaborated with Alfred Ley to build one of the world’s earliest streamlined automobile prototypes—a concept decades ahead of its time.

Like many independent German manufacturers, Ley struggled during the Great Depression.

Passenger-car production ended around 1933, while the company continued producing commercial vehicles, machinery, and engineering products until after World War II. Following the war, the factory was expropriated under Soviet occupation, bringing the Ley company to an end.

Today, only a handful of Loreley automobiles survive. The earliest Loreley 6/10 PS is exceptionally rare—only about three examples are known to exist, making them among the rarest surviving German automobiles of the Brass Era.

There are actually three versions of the Loreley/Ley logo.

Early Loreley radiator emblem (c. 1909–1914) is the emblem most closely associated with the Loreley name. It has a circular white enamel border with a red three-armed cross (or trefoil) with the letters L, E, and Y. A black center medallion reads: Rud. Ley A.-G. Automobil-Fabrik Arnstadt and the outer ring features RUD. LEY AUTOMOBILFABRIK A.-G. ARNSTADT.

A second version uses the same red three-point design but omits the white circular border. This version appears on some period literature and surviving badges.

After World War I, the company gradually dropped the Loreley name and marketed its cars simply as Ley. The emblem became a flowing black script reading “Ley”, which appeared on brochures and later automobiles.

Although the cars were sold as Loreley, the emblem itself cleverly spells LEY, emphasizing the family name while promoting the Loreley brand.

(sources: Wikipedia, Ley Automobil)

During the 1950s–1970s, Spain experienced an explosion in automobile ownership. Rather than producing a dry safety manual, publishers created colorful sticker albums that children could complete while learning.

Children purchased small packets containing random stickers, traded duplicates with friends, and tried to complete the entire collection. These educational albums covered every imaginable subject—history, geography, nature, science, sports, transportation, and space—and were intended to make learning enjoyable while encouraging collecting.

This album combined three subjects. Road safety, modern transportation and the exciting future of space travel with over 300 stickers.

It was a Catalan brand of motorcycles and motorcars in Barcelona between 1956 and 1965.

The first Cremsa model was called “Pato” (duck) in 1956 powered by a Hispano Villiers engine, and was updated in 1957. During the 1960s, Cremsa manufactured the “Toro” (bull) and “Rata” (rat) by Trimosa with Hispano Villiers 250 cc engines.

Cremsa also produced the “Rally” motorcycle in 1960, and the Turisme I Sport in 1965.

Gutbrod was founded in 1926 by Wilhelm Gutbrod in Stuttgart, Germany. They did not initially build automobiles. Instead, they manufactured agricultural machinery and small equipment, serving Germany's farming industry during the difficult economic years following World War I.

As the company expanded, Gutbrod diversified into small tractors, motorized farm equipment, delivery vehicles and industrial machinery. By the 1930s, Gutbrod had become known for producing compact commercial vehicles, delivery vans, small utility trucks and agricultural tractors.

Rather than competing with Mercedes-Benz or Auto Union, Gutbrod concentrated on practical transportation for tradesmen, farmers, and small businesses.

The original factory was heavily damaged during the Second World War.

Rather than rebuilding conventional automobiles, Wilhelm Gutbrod decided Germany needed small, economical cars that ordinary families could afford.

This decision led to the Gutbrod Superior, introduced in 1950.

Gutbrod made automotive history in 1952.

The Gutbrod Superior 700E became one of the first production passenger cars in the world equipped with gasoline direct fuel injection. The fuel-injection system was developed by Bosch, years before fuel injection became common on sports cars and luxury vehicles. This was a remarkable technological achievement for such a small company.

Unfortunately, Gutbrod faced increasingly intense competition from manufacturers with far greater resources. The immensely popular Volkswagen Beetle dominated the economy-car market, making it difficult for smaller companies to survive.

Although the cars earned praise for their engineering, Gutbrod lacked the production volume and dealer network needed to compete against Germany’s major manufacturers. Only a few thousand passenger cars were built.

Automobile production ended in 1954.

MÁG (Magyar Általános Gépgyár)—translated as Hungarian General Machine Factory—was one of Hungary’s most important early automobile manufacturers and later became a significant producer of aircraft and aircraft engines. Although the company officially adopted the MÁG name in 1912, its roots stretch back to 1884, making it one of the oldest engineering firms in Hungary.

The company began as a machinery business founded in Budapest by Dániel Podvinecz and Vilmos Heisler. Initially they manufactured agricultural equipment, mill machinery, and industrial engines. Around 1900 they became interested in the emerging automobile industry.

Rather than immediately designing their own cars, they assembled vehicles from parts purchased from struggling Austrian and German manufacturers, including Leesdorfer, Cudell, and later Alba. These early vehicles were marketed under the Phönix name.

In 1912, the business was reorganized as Magyar Általános Gépgyár Rt. (MÁG). The Hungarian government was actively encouraging domestic automobile production, particularly for military and postal use.

The company hired the talented engineer Jenő Fejes, formerly of MARTA, to design an entirely new automobile. The result was MÁG’s first true in-house passenger car. Only about 50 chassis were built, with coach builders supplying the bodies.

When war began in 1914, civilian automobile production was largely suspended, so MÁG shifted its resources toward aviation. After the war, Hungary's economy struggled, but MÁG resumed automobile production. Its best-known postwar car was the Magomobil, introduced around 1922.

During the mid-1920s, MÁG was among Hungary's most common automobile brands, competing against imported Fiat, Ford, Mercedes, Opel, and Austro-Daimler models. Despite building reliable cars, MÁG faced increasing challenges. Passenger-car production ended around 1931, although the company continued producing engines and military equipment. In 1941, MÁG was dissolved and its remaining assets were absorbed into Hungary's wartime industrial system.

(sources: Wikipedia, National Széchényi Library, Budapest City )

Long before BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Auto Union became household names, a small automobile company near Leipzig, Germany quietly helped shape the future of the German automobile industry.

Its story begins with Hugo Ruppe (1879–1949), one of Germany’s most gifted early automotive engineers. Working in his father’s company, A. Ruppe & Sohn in Apolda, he designed the famous Piccolo, one of Germany’s earliest successful lightweight automobiles. Introduced in 1904, the inexpensive, air-cooled Piccolo proved that practical motoring could reach a much wider audience than luxury automobiles.

But Hugo Ruppe was an independent thinker. Following disagreements with his brothers over the company’s future, he left the family business in 1907 and founded the Markranstädter Automobilfabrik (MAF) in nearby Markranstädt, west of Leipzig. Unlike many automobile manufacturers of the period that evolved from bicycle or machinery companies, MAF was built from the ground up solely to manufacture automobiles—a rarity in Germany at the time.

Ruppe carried over many of the ideas that had made the Piccolo successful. MAF automobiles featured robust air-cooled four-cylinder engines, simple construction, shaft drive, and exceptional reliability. Rather than chasing luxury buyers, MAF concentrated on producing dependable cars that ordinary professionals and businesses could afford.

The cars quickly earned an impressive reputation. They performed well in endurance competitions and reliability trials across Europe, proving that air-cooled engines could compete with the more common water-cooled designs. Within only a few years, MAF had sold more than one hundred automobiles in Germany, England, and even the United States, an impressive achievement for such a young manufacturer.

Unfortunately, engineering talent did not guarantee business success. Production interruptions, labor disputes, and financial difficulties forced MAF into bankruptcy in 1911. Investors rescued the company, allowing Ruppe to remain as technical director, but the outbreak of the First World War halted production just as the company was gaining momentum.

After the war, MAF resumed production and even introduced larger six-cylinder models, but the postwar German economy proved unforgiving. In 1921 the company was absorbed by the Apollo-Werke, bringing the MAF name to an end after little more than a decade of automobile production.

Yet Hugo Ruppe’s influence extended far beyond MAF. After leaving Markranstädt, he joined Danish-born entrepreneur Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen in Zschopau, where he helped develop the small two-stroke engines that became the foundation of DKW—one of Germany’s largest motorcycle and automobile manufacturers and, later, one of the four companies that formed Auto Union, the predecessor of Audi.

Today, only a handful of MAF automobiles survive. They are rare reminders of a company that existed for only a short time but helped advance affordable motoring in Germany. Though often overlooked, MAF represents the spirit of the pioneering automotive age—an era when a brilliant engineer with a bold idea could build an entirely new automobile company and leave a lasting mark on history.

(sources: Oldtimerverein, Motorostalgie, Axel Oskar Mathieu, Wikipedia)

The company first concentrated on electric vehicles, making their first one, a runabout with tiller steering called the Style A, in 1900. They moved into internal combustion engined cars in 1903 with a two and four cylinder model both using engines made for them by Rutenber.

The 1904 National Tonneau was a tonneau model. It sold for US$2000. The single electric motor was situated at the rear of the car, producing 9 hp (6.7 kW). A 4-speed herring bone transmission was fitted. The armored wood-framed car could reach 15 mph (24 km/h).

For 1905, the two cylinder model was dropped and a six cylinder car with a circular radiator took its place. The last electric cars were made in 1906, and in 1907, National starting building its own engines.

Peak production for National was reached in 1915 with over 1800 cars made. The company changed its name in 1916 to the National Motor and Vehicle company, and in 1922, became part of the Associated Motor Industries group. However, sales dropped in the early 1920s and the company closed in 1924.

(text source: Wikipedia)