Our Story — Why Now
The Window
Is Open.
The affordability crisis is real. The market gap is documented. American Bantam® has the heritage, the trademark, and the team. The question isn’t whether to build. It’s whether to build now — before the window closes.
Reserve Yours — No Payment Required“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.”
— Charlie Paglee, Chairman & CEO, American Bantam® Car Corporation
Four Reasons
This Is the Moment.
The Affordability Crisis
The average new vehicle crossed $50,000 in 2025. The average new truck exceeds $70,000. Millions of working Americans who need a truck to do their jobs have been priced out of the market entirely. No established brand is solving this. American Bantam® is.
The Market Gap
There is no new truck under $26,000 from any established manufacturer. The compact, affordable, American-assembled work truck segment has been abandoned. That is not a problem — it’s a door. And American Bantam® is walking through it.
The Heritage No One Can Buy
Any company can claim “American-made.” Only one company invented the Jeep. The American Bantam® trademark, the 1940 prototype, the documented history — these cannot be manufactured. They are earned. They are ours. They are the foundation every new entrant in this space would have to build without.
The Window Is Three to Five Years
Established OEMs move slowly. The window to establish American Bantam® in this segment before a major manufacturer notices and responds is three to five years. Not a decade. The window is open now. American Bantam® is moving now.
Decades of History.
One Moment.
American Bantam Car Company founded in Butler, Pennsylvania. The brand is born.
September 23, 1940. American Bantam delivers the first Jeep prototype to the U.S. Army — 49 days after assignment. The first vehicle ever called a “Jeep” is an American Bantam BRC-40.
The Army production contract scales to Willys-Overland. American Bantam built the Jeep. The world forgot who built the first one.
American Bantam Car Corp. re-established. The trademark is acquired. The mission is clear.
American Bantam® is building again. American steel. American assembly. Born in Georgia, USA. The window is open. The moment is now.
Georgia, USA
The Receipts
Are Real.
American Bantam® invented the Jeep. That is a documented, verifiable, historical fact. No amount of marketing budget can buy that story for a competitor. It belongs to this company, this trademark, and this revival.
Every new entrant in the affordable American work truck segment will build their story without it. American Bantam® starts with the most powerful origin story in American automotive history — and builds forward from there.
Explore Our HeritageAmerican Bantam® invented the Jeep.
American Bantam® is building again.
The affordability crisis is real. The market gap is documented. The heritage is ours. The window is three to five years. There is no reason to wait — and every reason to move now.