Dixie Flyer (automobile)

Last updated
Dixie Flyer
Dixie Flyer advert in Horseless Age v37 n7 April 1 1916 p270.png
A Dixie Flyer advertisement in Horseless Age, 1916.
One of three Dixie flyers preserved worldwide. Built in 1919, registered with the Icelandic license plate A-2, now in the Transportation Museum at Ystafel, Iceland Dixie Flyer 1919 in Iceland.jpg
One of three Dixie flyers preserved worldwide. Built in 1919, registered with the Icelandic license plate A-2, now in the Transportation Museum at Ystafel, Iceland

The Dixie Flyer was an automobile built in Louisville, Kentucky from 1916 until 1923. Dixie Flyers were marketed under the slogan of "The Logical Car." [1] They may be classified as Brass Era cars or vintage cars.

The origins of the company can be traced back to 1878, when the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company was established. In 1912, the local Electric Vehicle Company was acquired, which marked the entrance of Kentucky Wagon into the automotive field. [2] An electric car called the Kentucky Electric was planned, but did not come to pass. Erroneously, some lists of old automobiles list the Kentucky Electric from the Kentucky Wagon company in this period. The sole electric automotive product of the company was the Urban Electric truck, produced from 1912 to 1916. In 1914, the Hercules Motor Car Company of New Albany across the Ohio River contracted with Kentucky Wagon to build bodies for their cars. Hercules went out of business in 1915, with its assets acquired by Kentucky Wagon.

There appear to have been plans to continue the Hercules name, but the Hercules instead formed the nucleus of the new Dixie Flyer in 1916. All cars had four-cylinder engines, [3] originally supplied by Lycoming and later by Herschell-Spillman. Two distinctive features of early Dixie Flyers were their vertical windshields that were integrated into the curved cowl dash, and the spring-mounted radiators. This latter feature was to reduce vibration, as well as strain on the chassis. The Shadburne Brothers acquired the company for a very brief period in 1917, but ownership quickly reverted to Kentucky Wagon. The Firefly speedster of 1922 was the sportiest Dixie Flyer, unfortunately, it was their last new model as well.

The post-World War I recession claimed another victim in the Dixie Car company. Truck production was also discontinued at this time; however, wagons were still produced for almost another decade. [2] Dixie Flyer, National and Jackson, were all merged into Associated Motor Industries and Corporation in 1923. [2] Dixie Flyers and Jacksons were henceforth discontinued. Many of the last Dixie Flyers were converted to Nationals by simply exchanging the Dixie radiator emblems and hubcaps with National ones.

In June 2010 a restored 1922 Dixie Flyer was returned from Melbourne, Australia to Louisville, where it will be displayed at Kentucky Trailer, the successor business to Kentucky Wagon. [4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Kimes, Beverly Rae. Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942 (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1996), p.456.
  2. 1 2 3 Kimes, p.456.
  3. ↑ Burness, Tad, Monstrous American Car Spotter's Guide, Motorbooks International Publishers, 1986, p.77
  4. ↑ "Yetter, Deborah, 'Dixie Flyer back in Louisville -- for good', Louisville Courier-Journal, July 3, 2010".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace (1920 automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Ace was an American-assembled car made in Ypsilanti, Michigan by the Apex Motor Car Company, which was reorganized as the Apex Motor Corporation in 1921. The initial batch of cars assembled was sent to Seattle, Washington dealer F. E. Earnest, who had the idea for the Ace after he was unable to secure a steady supply of new cars for his dealership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mors (automobile)</span> Defunct French motor vehicle manufacturer

The Mors automobile factory was an early French car manufacturer. It was one of the first to take part in automobile racing, beginning in 1897, due to the belief of the company founder, Émile Mors, in racing's technical and promotional benefits. By the turn of the century, automobile racing had become largely a contest between Mors and Panhard et Levassor.

The National Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of automobiles in Indianapolis, Indiana, between 1900 and 1924. One of its presidents, Arthur C. Newby, was also one of the investors who created the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Vehicle Company</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

Electric Vehicle Company was an American holding company that operated from 1897 to 1907 and was an early manufacturer of battery-powered automobiles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High wheeler</span> Early automobile design trend

A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by horse-drawn vehicles. These cars were produced until about 1915, predominantly in the United States.

The Binghamton Electric was an American automobile manufactured only in 1920. An electric car from Binghamton, New York, the car was made probably as a prototype, by the Binghamton Electric Truck Co., located at 250, Main street. Not more than two or three two-passenger coupes were produced. The company built a small number of electric trucks in 1920–1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gadabout (1914–1916 automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Gadabout was an American automobile from 1914 until 1916. A four-cylinder self-declared cyclecar, it had a body woven from so-called "waterproof reeds" (wicker) on a wooden frame. It has been described as "looking like a mobile wastepaper basket".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Studebaker</span>

John Mohler Studebaker was the Pennsylvania Dutch co-founder and later executive of what would become the Studebaker Corporation automobile company. He was the third son of the founding Studebaker family, and played a key role in the growth of the company during his years as president, from 1868 until his death in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briggs-Detroiter</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Briggs-Detroiter was an American automobile manufactured in Detroit, Michigan, by the Briggs-Detroiter Motor Car Company from 1912 to 1917. It was planned to be a bigger and better version of the Brush Runabout.

The Gem was an automobile manufactured in both Jackson, Michigan and Grand Rapids, Michigan by the Gem Motor Car Company from December, 1917 to 1919. The company was incorporated in December 1917, and early the next month it was announced that capitalization was to be $250,000, with $150,000 yet to be issued. The Gem was a light, assembled car with a four-cylinder G.B.&S. engine. Originally the plan was to acquire the complete chassis and bodies and complete the assembly of the cars in Grand Rapids. Gem planned to make some of the components itself eventually, though this appears not to have occurred. Only two models were produced, a 5-passenger touring car, selling for $845, and a light delivery van.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackett (automobile)</span> Automobile from 1916 to 1919.

The Hackett was an automobile built in Jackson, Michigan, United States, by the Hackett Motor Car Company from 1916 to 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto Red Bug</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Red Bug, later marketed as the Auto Red Bug were a vintage era cyclecar automobile manufactured by the Automotive Electric Service Corp. of North Bergen, New Jersey from 1924 to 1930. It is considered an early version of a microcar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HAL (automobile)</span> 1916 automobile

The HAL was a Brass Era car made in Cleveland, Ohio from 1916 to 1918. HAL stands for the initials of the founder—Harry A. Lozier.

The Harvard was a Brass Era car built in Troy and Hudson Falls, New York and later in Hyattsville, Maryland over the course of the period 1915 to 1921.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Automobile Company</span> Former US automobile manufacturer

The Jackson Automobile Company was an American Brass Era automobile manufacturer located in and named for Jackson, Michigan. The company produced the Jackson from 1903 to 1923, the 1903 Jaxon steam car and the 1904 Orlo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltham Steam</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Waltham Steam was an American steam car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehem Motor Truck Corporation</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Bethlehem Motors Corporation was a manufacturer of tractors, automobiles and trucks in Allentown, Pennsylvania, between 1917 and 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin (automobile)</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Elgin automobile was manufactured by Elgin Motor Car Corporation in Argo, Illinois, from 1916 to 1923, and by Elgin Motors, Inc., in Indianapolis from 1923 to 1924.

The Atlas car was built in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1906–1907. The Atlas Automobile Company was established on College Avenue in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in late 1906 in a "fireproof garage." It was a four-cylinder car rated at 25/30 hp with shaft drive and a 3-speed sliding gear transmission. It was offered as a touring car or runabout. The firm was out of business by the next year.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.