About the marque
- Founded
- 1929 – 1934
- Country
- United States
Sir Herbert Austin selected Butler, Pennsylvania, for an American small-car venture incorporated in 1929. The mechanically mirrored, left-hand-drive Austin Seven derivative received bodies tailored to American taste by Alexis de Sakhnoffsky and entered production in May 1930 as roadster, coupe/sedan and delivery models. Depression-era buyers often preferred used full-size cars at similar prices; output plunged after 8,448 first-year sales, paused in 1932 and resumed through reorganization. Pickups and vans extended the range before production ended in 1934. Roy Evans later transformed the assets into the distinct American Bantam company.
Text adapted from “American Austin” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗