It's a Car...It's a Boat... It's an Amphicar!
The Amphicar was launched in 1961 at the New York Auto Show. This new vehicle was manufactured in Germany and marketed in the United States from 1961-1967.
Production started in 1961. From 1963-65 cars were assembled from parts inventory built up in anticipation of sales of 20,000 per year. Production ended in 1965. Cars were titled in the year they actually sold rather than when they were produced, e.g. an Amphicar assembled in 1963 could be titled 1968 if that was when it was first sold.
Most Amphicars were sold in the United States. Cars were sold in the United Kingdom in 1964. Total production was 3,878 vehicles before the company folded. 99 right-hand drives were converted from left-hand drives. Some were used in the Berlin police department and others were fitted for rescue operations.
As a way to welcome guests, President Lyndon B Johnson used to take his Amphicar down his driveway into a lake, yelling my brakes don’t work.
During the fourth week in July, Amphicar owners convene at Grand Lake St. Marys State Park, Ohio. These events, and similar ones nationwide, are called "swim-ins"
Cruisin With Kendra Host, Kendra Sommer interviews Amphicar Owner at Iola Car Show in Iola Wisconsin.