Obscure
Ben Gregory was an American front wheel drive pioneer, having built his first vehicle prior to 1920. Several models later, he ventured into commercial aviation, starting one of the first passenger airlines in the U.S. He returned to designing front wheel drive automobiles after WW II, with the Mighty Mite jeep as his most commercially successful vehicle. This stylish Roadster was built in 1952 and was his final design. Its body is all aluminum and and it is powered by a front mounted Porsche 356 engine
1976 Custom Cloud. One of 130 made before Rolls Royce brought suit and caused them to close up shop. Car and Driver magazine did a cover article on the Custom Cloud in March, 1976. We acquired example from the original dealer and it is most likely the last one still on MSO, having never been titled.
The Powell brothers had a successful manufacturing business in Compton, California. In the mid fifties, they decided that our country needed a practical new car priced under one thousand dollars. By buying 1941 Plymouths and Dodges, rebuilding the mechanical parts and replacing the bodies with new ones of their own manufacture, they were able to achieve that goal with their pickup trucks. By the time this rare 1956 Sport Wagon was built, they were running out of donor cars, which ultimately lead to the venture's demise.
Gary Davis was an ace salesman who wanted to build cars. Use the Frank Kurtis designed California Special as a model, he introduced the Davis Divan safety car. The largest three wheel car ever to go into production, only seventeen examples were built in 1948 before production was stopped by the authorities for questionable business practices. Gary Davis was quick to rebound after paying his debt. He went into the amusement ride business and designed, you guessed it, bumper cars!
The 1977 Leata Cabalero, unquestionably the finest and most beautiful automobile ever built in Post Falls, Idaho. Only about a hundred were built. You can probably guess why.
In 1951, Robert Paxton McCulloch decided that he would build an world class American grand touring car which showcased the most modern technology. The plan was to put it into production for the elite market at $10,000 per copy. He put together his dream team of Brooks Stevens (body design), Roscoe C. Hoffman (chassis) and Abner Doble (steam engine). He also had his corporate engineers working on six and eight cylinder reciprocating engines. After two years of development and an investment of well over a million dollars, a workable engine was still not fully developed. The car was otherwise road ready, so McCulloch pulled the plug on the project and had a modern Porsche engine installed. The car was on the cover of the April, 1957 issue of Road & Track and was the subject of the feature article. It is still totally original with fewer than 800 miles.
The famed southern California coach building firm of Troutman Barnes designed and built many of the greatest racing sports cars of the fifties, sixties and seventies. Desiring to have an eye catching shop truck that would also serve as a promotional piece for their business, they sought to acquire a wrecked Porsche 914 from Anaheim's Aase Bros. Porsche wrecking business to build a custom pickup. Dave Aase was intrigued with the concept and asked them to build one for his business also, so A total of two were built by Troutman in the mid-seventies. The Aase Bros. 914 now resides in Mobilia Garage while the other is in a significant Porsche collection in Florida.