The Argo was a short-lived United States

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...

 manufactured by the Argo Motor Co in Jackson, Michigan

Jackson, Michigan

Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...

, between 1914 and 1918. The factory had been previously used by the Standard Electric Car Co to build an electric car.

The company originally made the four-cylinder "Motorvique" cyclecar

Cyclecar

Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.-General description:Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other...

 based on the Ajax

Ajax (1913 automobile)

The Ajax was a French automobile built by the American Briscoe brothers, Benjamin and Frank, between 1913 and 1919. Originally built in Neuilly, it was a 12hp cyclecar with 980 cc 4 cylinder engine with friction drive...

 built by the Briscoe brothers in France. It had a 4-cylinder 12 hp engine and was different from the French market Ajax only in that it did not use friction drive.

Few cyclecars sold well in America, and in 1916, it was replaced by a conventional 22 hp assembled touring car in an attempt to rival Ford

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 at producing a "motor car for the millions". The 1916 model sold for $405 in two-seater form.

In 1917 the company was sold to Mansell Hackett and the name was changed to Hackett

Hackett (automobile)

The Hackett was an automobile built in Jackson, Michigan, USA, by the Hackett Motor Car Company from 1916-19. The Hackett was a successor to the earlier Argo. It was an assembled car that had a four-cylinder G.B.&S. engine. From 1916-18, both a touring car and closed model were available. In 1919,...

 and moved its operations to Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...

.

The company had no known connection with the Saginaw, Michigan, based Argo Electric

Argo Electric

The Argo Electric Vehicle Company operated in Saginaw, Michigan, from 1912 to 1916. The Argo Electric used a 60 volt system with Westinghouse motors. They claimed to be capable of . It had 6 forward and 6 reverse speeds, had 36 x 4 cushion tires and used an steering wheel on the left...

vehicle company.