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Gadabout

Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Gadabout was an American automobile from 1914 until 1916. A four-cylinder self-declared cyclecar, it had a body woven from so-called "waterproof reeds" (wicker) on a wooden frame. It has been described as "looking like a mobile wastepaper basket".2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1914Founded1
  • HeadquartersDetroit1

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1914 Gadabout car
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Gadabout was an American automobile from 1914 until 1916. A four-cylinder self-declared cyclecar, it had a body woven from so-called "waterproof reeds" (wicker) on a wooden frame. It has been described as "looking like a mobile wastepaper basket".2

The story

First announced in August 1913, the car was manufactured by the Gadabout Motor Corporation. The company leased a building in Newark, New Jersey, on the southwest corner of Badger Avenue and Runyon Street, in the summer of 1914. The cars were marketed as Gadabouts. Walter Greunberg was the designer and Philip Heseltine the marketer. In 1915, the company moved to Detroit, Michigan (Lafayette Street). Production ended in 1916; many manufacturers of cyclecars were failing in the US since 1914. The Heseltine Motor Corporation is considered to be the successor to Gadabout, its cars were sold as Heseltines.

From Wikipedia’s article on Gadabout (1914–1916 automobile), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1916Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1914Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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