American Austin Bantam Roadster

Good Cars, Bad Timing

In 1922, the Austin Motor Company in England began making the Austin Seven, a car dramatically smaller than America’s most popular car at the time, the Ford Model T. At just over two feet shorter and half the weight of a Model T, the Austin Seven averaged 40 miles per gallon of fuel compared to the Model T’s 25 mpg.

Buoyed by European success, Austin officials decided to build and sell their small cars in the United States. A wholly new company, the American Austin Car Company, was created in February 1929.

The American Austin Model A debuted at the New York Auto Show in the fall of 1929, offered as a two-passenger coupe or a single-passenger delivery van. Initial interest was strong. For $445, buyers got a car 28 inches shorter, 16 inches narrower and 1,200 pounds lighter than a Ford Model A at the same price. Four thousand dealers put in orders for 184,117 cars during the Auto Show.

Tragically, within weeks of the New York Auto Show, the nation was rocked by the infamous Wall Street Crash of 1929. As the aftermath sent shockwaves around the world, the American economy plunged into the Great Depression, taking with it most consumer interest in new cars of any size. Instead of selling almost 200,000 cars, American Austin sold only 8,558 cars in 1930. Adding new models and features failed to sell more cars: American Austin sold fewer than 1,300 cars in 1931 and lost almost $3 million.

In the spring of 1932, the American Austin factory shut down with 1,500 completed cars on the property. Roy S. Evans, then the largest used car salesman in the United States, bought all the cars and sold them for $285 each. He then loaned money to the company at an exorbitant interest rate to keep the factory building new cars for his used car dealers. The American Austin Car Company finally collapsed in the June 1934 due to the high cost of the loans, the low sales prices on cars and the ongoing economic depression. The entire company was soon sold for just $5,000.

Buoyed by European success, Austin officials decided to build and sell their small cars in the United States. A wholly new company, the American Austin Car Company, was created in February 1929.

The American Austin Model A debuted at the New York Auto Show in the fall of 1929, offered as a two-passenger coupe or a single-passenger delivery van. Initial interest was strong. For $445, buyers got a car 28 inches shorter, 16 inches narrower and 1,200 pounds lighter than a Ford Model A at the same price. Four thousand dealers put in orders for 184,117 cars during the Auto Show.

Tragically, within weeks of the New York Auto Show, the nation was rocked by the infamous Wall Street Crash of 1929. As the aftermath sent shockwaves around the world, the American economy plunged into the Great Depression, taking with it most consumer interest in new cars of any size. Instead of selling almost 200,000 cars, American Austin sold only 8,558 cars in 1930. Adding new models and features failed to sell more cars: American Austin sold fewer than 1,300 cars in 1931 and lost almost $3 million.

In the spring of 1932, the American Austin factory shut down with 1,500 completed cars on the property. Roy S. Evans, then the largest used car salesman in the United States, bought all the cars and sold them for $285 each. He then loaned money to the company at an exorbitant interest rate to keep the factory building new cars for his used car dealers. The American Austin Car Company finally collapsed in the June 1934 due to the high cost of the loans, the low sales prices on cars and the ongoing economic depression. The entire company was soon sold for just $5,000.