The American was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

, built in Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield, New Jersey

Plainfield is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population increased to a record high of 49,808....

, manufactured from 1917 to 1924. The company also used names American Balanced Six or American Six, "Balanced" referred to its chassis, not the engine. It was an assembled car, one of many built in its time, and it used components from several manufacturers like Borg & Beck for clutch, Warner

Warner

- Surname :* Albert Warner , one of the founders of Warner Bros. Studios* Amelia Warner , British actress* Amy Warner , soccer player who graduated from the University of Notre Dame...

 transmission, Stromberg

Stromberg

-People:*Lyndon Stromberg, American sculptor and designer*Karl Stromberg, the villain in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me*Joseph R. Stromberg, historian with the Ludwig von Mises Institute*Glenn Strömberg, Swedish soccer player...

 carbureter and Rutenber

Rutenber Motor Company

The Rutenber Motor Company was established as the Rutenber Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois, USA, to manufacture a four-cylinder engine to the design of Edwin Rutenber....

 engines.

The company was never large; its peak production was 1400 vehicles built in 1920. In that same year a powerful 58 hp Herschell-Spillman six cylinder engine replaced old 45 hp Rutenber six. American was commonly advertised as a 'Smile Car' because the company believed their cars offered trouble free miles for their owners. In 1923 the company became associated with the Bessemer Truck Corporation; that October, the company became Amalgamated Motors, incorporating Northway

Northway

-Places:Canada* Camp Northway, the oldest summer camp for girls in CanadaUnited Kingdom* Northway, Devon, England* Northway, Gloucestershire, England* Northway, Oxford, England* Northway, Somerset, England* Northway, Swansea, WalesUnited States...

 and Winther as well. Before spring of 1924 American car was out of production. Total number of cars produced was about 6000 cars.

For a brief time, famed racing driver and future automobile designer Louis Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet was a Swiss-born American race car driver of French descent, co-founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911 and later, the Frontenac Motor Corporation in 1916 which made racing parts for Ford's Model T.-Early life:Born in 1878 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a center of...

worked as a Vice-President and the head of American's engineering department.