The American Automobile and Power Company was an American Brass Era car manufacturer, incorporated in Sanford, Maine, in 1903. ^[1] They produced the American Populaire ^[1] during 1904 and 1905. ^[2]

Starting with a capital of $500,000, ^[1] the company incorporated on December 9, 1903. There were eight officers, three from Boston, Massachusetts, the rest locals; Bostonian Henry D. Long was treasurer, Sanfordian Ernest M. Goodall president. ^[2]

With a design from Edward O. Mosher, ^[2] AEC produced a prototype in a shed in Lawrence, Massachusetts, debuting it at the Boston Automobile Show in March 1904. ^[2]

The company offered three models, all with Mosher's 12 hp (8 kW) two-cylinder engine, ^[2] on the same 84 in (2134 mm) wheelbase: a $850 roadster, a $950 tonneau (which had an unusual swing-out split front seat), ^[2] and a $1000 Cape Cod Tourer. ^[2] By contrast, the Yale side-entrance tourer sold for $1000, the Model S $700, the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for $650, ^[3] Western's Gale Model A was $500, ^[4] a Brush Runabout was $485, ^[5] the Black from $375, ^[6] and the Success was $250. ^[3] At the upper end of the AEC range, a Cole 30 or Colt Runabout was priced at $1500, ^[7] while an Enger 40 was $2000. ^[5]

While Long bragged, "We could sell one thousand cars in three months if we could make them", ^[2] by April 1905, production had ceased and the Maine Alpaca Company had taken over the factory.

See also

• List of automobile manufacturers
• List of defunct automobile manufacturers

Notes

Sources

• Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.
• Kimes, Beverly Rae. The Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805–1942. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 1989. ISBN  0-87341-111-0.