Image by Bill Rothermel, courtesy of AACA Museum
If your travel plans include an excursion through the Hershey region of southeastern Pennsylvania between now and April 30, you might want to stop by the AACA Museum and check out the rare 1922 Dixie Flyer Firefly Speedster on display, which is on temporary loan from Kentucky Trailer. Rare might be a bit of an understatement: It’s the only example known to exist.
The car was manufactured by the Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company (established in 1879), which produced automobiles from 1917-1923. The Dixie pictured above was one of a special batch of right-hand-drive cars sent to Australia; it spent its usable life on a ranch in Taggerty, then was placed in a barn where the owner’s grandchildren disassembled the car in an effort to learn of its workings. According to the rest of the story – briefly – it was later rediscovered by a scrap metal dealer, who sold the mass to Melbourne collector Bernie Jacobson. The Dixie then spent the next three years undergoing a complete restoration.
Some of our Hemmings faithful may have seen it in Louisville, Kentucky, at the AACA’s 75th anniversary celebration; Bernie had shipped it back to the States in time for that gathering. He later sold the car to Kentucky Trailer, which is the current name of the old Kentucky Wagon Manufacturing Company.
After April 30, the Dixie will be returned to Kentucky Trailer‘s Louisville headquarters, where it will be placed on permanent display, joining their amassed collection of other historical artifacts forever linked to the company.