AutoCult Playboy A48 (1948) (USA)

About the Original:

Only its Name Remained

The three gentlemen Louis Horwitz, Charles D. Thomas and Norman Richardson joined forces in 1947 and founded the Midget Motor Car Company. Shortly afterwards they renamed their business into Playboy Motor Car Company.

Their ambitious plan was to build a car that should win hearts of car-loving US-citizens as a second or even as a third car. The sales price was supposed to be lower than 1,000 US$. The three heads of the company expected sales and output figures of 100,000 cars per year for their concept of a second car. But the Playboy Motor Car Company was not able to shoulder such a high production capacity out of its own capital. They tried to fill the financial gap with the search for investors, but they failed. The urgently needed money could not been raised and so they had to start the production with a significantly lower budget from mid-1948. The car got the designation A 48 and was powered by a 38-hp-strong engine, which speeded the car up to 65 mph. A removable hard top made it possible to transform the car from a coupe into a convertible. This special car top construction was marketed with the designation “Combination metal-top convertible coupe”. Additionally highlighted was the fact that the car was licensed for three occupants. The Playboy Motor Car Company finished overall 97 vehicles and started a big advertising tour throughout the entire United States of America. But the tour and all advertising efforts had not the desired success. The company could neither acquire any franchisees nor raise the needed capital for mass production.

The subcompact faded into obscurity even before it went on sale and only its name remained to the present day – albeit associated differently.