It’s odd to think about, but some car companies have managed to find so much success that they erase themselves from history. American Bantam is one of these companies. They started out as one of America’s earliest builders of small, economy cars, but their development of a car known as the Bantam Reconnaissance Car, which later evolved into the famous WWII Jeep, eventually eclipsed most of their other work. And that’s a shame, because some Bantams were truly fascinating, like this one I got to drive for our first Torch Drives episode, the Bantam Boulevard Delivery. It may be the only vehicle of its kind ever made, and it’s very charming and very strange.
The reason I say the Bantam Boulevard Delivery is the only vehicle of its kind ever made will become clear as I describe it: it’s a compact, luxurious, elegant, convertible delivery van. I’m fairly certain that peculiar combination of traits has never all been used to describe one vehicle.
Delivery vans, even small delivery vans, are by no means uncommon; Japan is crammed full of useful little Kei-class delivery vehicles, for example. But, none of those are convertibles. And, they sure as hell aren’t luxury-spec vehicles, and the reasons for that are a convertible, luxury, tiny delivery van is simply not something humanity has really expressed any need for, ever.
And yet here the American Bantam Boulevard delivery sits, defying all logic and reason.
It’s a charming thing, as all American Bantams were. They were derived from the British Austin Seven, which you can think of as Europe’s Ford Model T, just on a smaller scale. The Seven was wildly successful, and copies or license-built versions of it started some really big-name carmakers: BMW, Datsun, and, as we mentioned, Jeep.
In America, American Austin was established to build licensed Sevens, but the company went bankrupt. The pieces of the firm were resurrected as American Bantam, who changed the mechanicals and design just enough to avoid license fees.
Ukranian-American designer Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky was responsible for the Bantam’s dramatic deco looks, which proved remarkably flexible, when you consider the number of body styles the little company made:
(American Bantam, Autopaper)
Down there in the lower right you can see this one, the Boulevard Delivery, in all its charming bafflement.
It’s baffling because it’s a delivery van with no good way to get anything in or out of it–arguably the entire reason delivery vans exist. There’s no rear or side door for cargo loading or unloading, even though we know Bantam was familiar with the concept of a “door,” as their other deliver vehicle design, the van-like Panel Truck, had a nice big one at the rear:
(Hyman, Barret-Jackson)
I fundamentally do not understand this lovely little enigma. What the hell was it for? If everything had to be loaded in, awkwardly, by flipping down the driver’s seat and the only way of locking up the cargo was via an absurd hand-cranked sliding panel, what exactly would one be delivering in this thing?
A handful of cupcakes? A couple throw pillows? A ceremonial tiara, perched on a satin cushion? I have no idea, but whatever it was, it needed carriage lights on the sides to do it.
It’s strangely fun to drive, as you’ll see in the video, and David and I manage to get it up to a screaming 30 mph, which took some doing.
I’d also like to point out that this new Torch Drives series will feature many, many more fascinating and ridiculous cars, and I’m delighted to say that the theme music was specially composed, just for this, by the composer of the Pokémon Anime series music.Â
I know. I can’t believe it, either.
Well it’s funny Jason wrote this when DT is the Jeep fan. People ignored my knowledge on this vehicle.
So Butler PA the home of the Bantam predecessor of the the Beloved GP. is have its yearly celebration of the Jeep in the second week of June. At some point in time I hope to get DT to be the grand Marshall but let’s be honest noone seems to know Jeep history here past the 60s.
So many questions…
Did Torch have to pay for stripping the splines from the partition crank shaft?
It looked like David was trying to poop while riding shotgun on the test drive. Was he successful?
I love this video and you guys are great together. However a little research would have helped. American Bantam was established in Butler PA. They created the Jeep, aka GP for General Purpose vehicle. There is a museum and preservation group in Butler PA. First the name Bantam isn’t from the rooster but boxing as in weight class. But that was from roosters so there you go. Now that lovely vehicle you are driving I’m guessing not original color or paint. The size was based on what Bantam had available but was designed for door to door residential milk delivery. And given economic conditions at the time locking in the product while walking an order up to a house was necessary to prevent theft. Yeah a locking back door would be better but the design was based on a milk delivery wagon of the time. It is actually an example of modernization eliminating jobs as due to the locking mechanism a 2nd person wasn’t required to stay and protect the other orders. BTW Jason at the beginning you spoke way to fast but after it was the 2 of you very entertaining.
Could it maybe have filled a tax loophole at the time?
For example, excise duties on cars where I live are based on engine capacity/electric motor output (from 0% to 100%), except for vehicles ostensibly made to transport goods where it only depends on it being single (10%) or double-cab (20%).
You can thus get some sort of luxury pick-up truck with a big engine much cheaper than a comparable luxury car.
The closest modern equivalent I can think of is the Daihatsu Mira Michito – not a convertible, but it did have gullwing doors at the rear.
Ford offered a Model A Town Delivery in 1931 with the open air roof, they are pretty rare but at least they provided a back door.
I can see this as a delivery vehicle for..umm…….watches, sandwiches, shoeboxes etc. Would love to know the thinking that went into designing something like this.
I wanna be the very best
That no van ever was
To carry cupcakes is my test
To be topless is my cause