Coach, AQC Jetway 707, Oldsmobile Limousine, Toronado, Airport Limousine, Blytheville Arkansas - Coachbuilt.Com
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4/7/2021 American Quality Coach, AQC Jetway 707, Oldsmobile Limousine, Toronado, Airport Limousine, Blytheville Arkansas - CoachBuilt.com Site Search Alphabetical Index|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z Geographical Index|AK|AL|AR|AZ|CA|CAN|CO|CT|DE|DC|FL|GA|HI|IA|ID IL|IN|KS|KY|LA|MA|MD|ME|MI|MEX|MN|MO|MS|MT|NC|ND|NE|NH|NJ|NM NV|NY|OH|OK|OR|PA|RI|SC|SD|TN|TX|UNK|UT|VA|VT|WA|WI|WV|WY quicklinks|buses|cars|designers|fire apparatus|limos|pro-cars|taxis|trailers|trucks|woodies AQC; American Quality Coach Associated Builders American Quality Coach Co., 1968-1970; Blytheville, Arkansas Cotner-Bevington Since WWII the only commercial Oldsmobiles have been specially lengthened ambulance and hearse chassis, Cotner-Bevington making a specialty of the make in the 1960s and 70s. Pictures Divco-Wayne Corp., the parent company of Miller-Meteor, had bought Cotner- Bevington in 1964 as a budget companion to their popular Cadillac coaches and from 1965 on, Cotner-Bevington built only on Oldsmobile 98 chassis. Soon after Oldsmobile introduced the Toronado in 1966, Cotner & Bevington planned a whole line of custom hearse, ambulance and limousines based on the Toronado front-wheel-drive chassis. When they tried to get funding for a prototype Toronado from the executives at Miller-Meteor, their parent company they were told the project could not continue. As Cotner-Bevington was purchased by DIVCO-Wayne as a lower-priced companion to Miller-Meteor's premium Cadillac professional cars, their executives believed that a coach based on the new flashy Toronado would infringe on Miller- Meteors premium status. References The Professional Car (Quarterly Journal of the Waldo J. Cotner (1909-2001) and Robert Bevington (1911-2000) ran the Professional car Society) Blythville plant for Miller-Meteor but were now merely stockholders in the parent company and had no say in the matter, so they decided to form their own Michael L. Bromley & Tom Mazza - Stretching It: The independent firm to manufacture the Toronado coaches. They sold their stock in Story of the Limousine DIVCO-Wayne for capital and named the new enterprise American Quality Coach, as they were forbidden from using their own names as they were now Richard J. Conjalka - Classic American Limousines: trademarks owned by DIVCO-Wayne. 1955 Through 2000 Photo Archive Their first product was an airport limousine - the AQC Jetway 707. It was 28' Richard J. Conjalka - Stretch Limousines 1928-2001 long with a wheelbase of 185", had 8-doors, seated twelve to fifteen, and Photo Archive featured twin rear axles - the first stretch limousine known to use them. The Jetway 707 featured an unusual vista-cruiser-style raised roof, with integral sky- Dennis Casteele - The Cars of Oldsmobile lights and a completely enclosed cargo area with a hinged rear door. John Gunnell - Standard Catalog of American Cars, A complete line of AQC hearses, ambulances, combination cars and limousines 1946-1975 were planned, but unfortunately all of their working capital was tied up in the tooling for their first run of airport limos, and when they failed to sell, the firm Extended Auto Warranties WarrantyDirect.com was forced to abandon the other coaches. A current owner believes that only 52 Are you paying too much? Make sure your auto warranty Jetways were built between 1968-1970, although professional car historian covers your entire vehicle. Bernie DeWinter believes that the number is closer to 150. Car Shows CarShowNews.com Although later coaches were sold and titled as 1970 models, they were all built State by State directory of car shows; includes new car on leftover 1968 Toronado chassis. By 1970, AQC had run out of money and shows and classic auto events. closed down the once-promising enterprise, just two short years after it had Auto Buying Guide SafeCarGuide.com begun. Paying too much? Use this step by step guide to help National Cash Register Co. (NCR) purchased one of the the first twin-axle get the best deal on your next car. Oldsmobile Toronado AQC Jetway 707 Limousines for use in Dayton, Ohio for Car Books, Models & Diecasts MotorLibrary.com ferrying executives between the airport and their corporate headquarters. A Your one stop shop for automotive books, mod els, die- second was purchased by NCR shortly before AQC filed for bankruptcy in 1970. casts & collectibles. © 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com, with special thanks to Bernie DeWinter ADVERTISE IV. Submit Pictures or Information <previous Original sources of information are given when available. Additional pictures, information and corrections are most welcome. Click Here to submit pictures or information Pictures Continued www.coachbuilt.com/bui/a/aqc/aqc.htm 1/2 4/7/2021 American Quality Coach, AQC Jetway 707, Oldsmobile Limousine, Toronado, Airport Limousine, Blytheville Arkansas - CoachBuilt.com <previous quicklinks|buses|cars|designers|fire apparatus|limos|pro-cars|taxis|trailers|trucks|woodies © 2004-2012 Coachbuilt.com, Inc.|books|disclaimer|index|privacy www.coachbuilt.com/bui/a/aqc/aqc.htm 2/2.