ARGO ELECTRIC

Argo Electric Vehicle Co. (1912-1914)

American Electric Car Co. (1914-1916)

Saginaw, Michigan

This is an Argo Electric emblem (c1912-1916)     mjs
Size: 44mm diameter     MM: Shepard

The Argo Electric Vehicle Company was formed in 1910 but there were delays and the Argo Electric was not ready until the New York Automobile Show in January 1912.

The first Argo Electric was a five-passenger brougham but roadster and limousine body styles were added in 1913 together with two delivery truck models. But electric automobiles were becoming unpopular and in 1914 Argo joined with Broc and Borland to form the American Electric Car Company. Production was consolidated into the Saginaw plant, although each car retained its own name, but they were all finished by 1916.

Emblems

The Argo Electric had a Renault style hood and did not carry a radiator emblem, see illustration in the Argo Electric advertisement shown below:

Argo Electric advertisement (1912)    ma

The Argo name was displayed on the hubcaps, see example shown below. This Argo Electric hub emblem is very rare.

This is an Argo Electric hub emblem (1913)     ms
Size: Unknown    MM: Unknown

The black and white enamel Argo Electric emblem shown above at the top of this post has the same basic design as the hub emblem and is very rare. However, I do not know where this emblem was mounted on the vehicle. It may have been displayed inside the vehicle but I cannot confirm this. If you have better details, please let me know, in order to update this post.

The Argo name was also displayed on the step plate, see example shown below:

Argo Electric step plate (1913)  conceptcarz       

The Argo Electric should not be confused with the Argo gasolene car built in Jackson, Michigan (see Argo).