The ABC was an American High Wheeler automobile built by A B Cole in St. Louis, Missouri, USA from 1906 to 1910. Known as the Autobuggy from 1906 to 1908 it was billed as "the cheapest high-grade car in America", and was available with 18 hp (13 kW) twin-cylinder and 30 hp (22 kW) four-cylinder engines, friction drive, and pneumatic or solid tires. The drive system used a cone and two bevel wheels one for forward and the other for reverse. This allowed it to reach its 30 mph (50 km/h) top speed in either direction. A larger engine was fitted from 1908 and the wheelbase grew from 72 inches (1830 mm) to 90 inches (2290 mm). Its high ground clearance made it popular in rural areas. Later models were more conventional with two or four cylinder engines but the market for high wheelers was disappearing and the company folded in 1910. Confusingly, there was another Auto-Buggy made by Success, also of St Louis.
See also
References
G.N. Georgano, "A.B.C.," in G.N. Georgano, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885-1968 (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1974), pp.23.
