Elcar

This article is about the car manufactured by Elkhart. For the electric microcar manufactured by Zagato, see Zagato Zele 1000. For the former carriage workshops in Australia, see Electric Carriage Workshops.

The Elcar was an American automobile manufactured from 1915 until 1931. The car was produced by the Elkhart Carriage Company, owned by William and George Pratt, of Elkhart, Indiana,^[1] which had been in business for over 30 years before producing its first car.

Elcar
1916 Elcar
Overview
Manufacturer	Elkhart Carriage Company
Model code	L-4 8-80 91
Production	1915–1931
Assembly	United States: Elkhart, Indiana
Body and chassis
Body style	3-passenger coupé roadster 4-passenger open roadster 5-passenger touring 5-passenger sedan 5-passenger brougham 7-passenger touring 7-passenger sedan
Layout	Hotchkiss
Powertrain
Engine	4 L (261 cu in)
Transmission	Selective sliding
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3,226 mm (127 in)
Chronology
Predecessor	Komet

Gold Bond of the Elkhart Carriage & Motor Car Company, issued 3. January 1921

Production

This first car was the 30/35 hp Elkhart, which began production in 1905 and remained on the market until 1909. In 1909 the 4·2 liter Sterling appeared (it ceased production in 1911), followed in 1911 by the Komet.

The Elcar appeared in 1915, and was first offered in two models, a Lycoming-engined four and a Continental-engined six. A straight-eight, again with a Continental engine, was produced beginning in 1925. In 1930, the company began to use the complex Lever engine produced by Alvah Leigh Powell, although only four Elcar-Levers were completed.

New York City contract

It next entered a lucrative contract within New York City, under which it would supply "El-Fay" taxis to Larry Fay, a prominent businessman and club owner with known mob ties.^[2]

Production model specifications

• Elcar Seven Passenger Sedan-8-80

Company demise

Fay's resources were badly hit by the Great Depression, and Fay himself was eventually shot dead in 1933 by a disgruntled employee. Bankruptcy trustee and interim president Arthur Martin Graffis led a two-year campaign to attract investors and save the company including a project to market the 1930 Elcar as a 1931 Mercer. The company was dissolved in 1931, after only two prototypes had been constructed.^[3]

References

1. Kimes, Beverly (1996). standard catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4.^{[page needed]}
2. Locke, William S. (2007). Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History. North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 74. ISBN 9780786432547.
3. Locke, William S. (2000). Elcar and Pratt Automobiles: The Complete History. p. 316.

• David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles^{[full citation needed]}