Continental automobile

Continental was the name brand of an automobile produced between 1933-1934 by the Continental Motors Company, now of Alabama.

Continental Motors entered into the production of automobiles rather indirectly. Continental was the producer of automobile engines for numerous independent automobile company's in the 1910s and 1920s, including Durant Motors Corporation which used the engines in its Star, Durant, Flint and Rugby model lines. Following the 1931 collapse of Durant, a group having interest in Durant Motors began assembling their own cars, using the Durant body dies, in Oakland, California under the De Vaux brand name. When De Vaux collapsed in 1932, Continental assumed automobile assembly and marketed the vehicles under the Continental brand name.

Continentals were marketed in three model ranges, the six-cylinder Ace, the Flyer and the low-priced four-cylinder Beacon, none of which met with success in the depression era economy. At this same time, Dominion Motors LTD. of Canada was building the same Flyer and Beacon cars under arrangement with Continental for sale in Canadian market, and importing the larger Ace models. Dominion then converted to building Reo brand trucks. The Ace and Flyer models were discontinued at the close of the 1933 model year. Finding that its cars were unprofitable, Continental stopped assembling even Beacon automobiles during 1934.