Our Story
We built the first Jeep.
We never stopped being a truck company.
Founded 1935. Butler, Pennsylvania. American Bantam® is building again — assembled in the USA, with American steel.
Three things to know before anything else: we didn’t start as a marketing idea. We started as a small Pennsylvania car company that the U.S. Army handed an impossible deadline in 1940 — and we made it. Eighty-six years later, the name is back on a production line, not a pitch deck.
A Delaware corporation with a Pennsylvania heart.
American Bantam Car Corporation was founded in 1935 in Butler, Pennsylvania. The original company built small, light cars — until the U.S. Army came looking for someone who could design and deliver a reconnaissance vehicle in 49 days. Bantam said yes. That prototype became the Jeep.
Today’s American Bantam Car Corp. is organized in the United States and carries the trademark, the history, and the obligation that comes with both. We are not a startup borrowing a famous name. We are the company the name belongs to.
“When a company’s name contains the word American, the products they sell in the USA must be built in the USA. No two ways about it.”
That sentence is not a tagline. It is the operating instruction for every sourcing decision we make. American steel, American assembly — no asterisks.
Charles D. Paglee, Chairman & CEO
pending
Charlie Paglee leads American Bantam’s return to U.S. manufacturing. His position is simple and stated above: if the name says American, the factory has to be American too.
Direct contact: charlie@abantam.com
[CONFIRM: extended bio, additional leadership team, and tenure details pending client input.]
Why a 1935 company is building again in 2026.
The brand, the trademark, and the story already exist. No new entrant can manufacture an 86-year heritage — they can only buy ours, and we’re not selling. What’s been missing is the vehicle. That changes with our 2026 lineup:
- BRC-60$TBD
- BRC-64$TBD
- BRC-22$TBD
- BRC-20$TBD
Four vehicles. One assembly standard: American steel, American workers, American assembly. Specs and pricing for each model are confirmed separately on their vehicle pages as final numbers are locked.
[CONFIRM: full Why Now narrative — market conditions, timing rationale, and any competitive framing — pending client-approved content.]
Same name. Same standard. New trucks.
See the 2026 Lineup