Yup. Farm country indeed. Bit of a stretch but hey Flint wasn’t much of anything before carriage / car industry came around 
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Anyways, back from holiday vacation. Can finally add some more here.
1958 Fenton Everette
It was apparent from the start that a one-off GT car was not going to sustain the C Fenton Trunt Company forever. Spurred by GM’s advances in 1953, Fenton began development of an all new car to diversify its offerings and gain broader market penetration in 1954. Fenton opted for something a lot less exclusive than its previous flagship luxury vehicle since there was only thing that matched the economic boom in Postwar America and that was the baby boom; new families with excess cash were an exploding market segment. Thus the car Fenton developed was a car for the every man, something as no-nonsense as Budweiser beer or pancakes for breakfast.
After a development period of three years, Fenton released the “Everette” in the second half of 1957 for the 1958 model year. It got its name from Fenton Trunt’s right-hand man in running the company, Everette Havorford, and came in three flavors:
The Standard: 4 door sedan
The Custom: 5 door wagon
The Special: 2 door coupe
The Standard and Custom came with a newly developed 2.3L straight-6 with two valves per cylinder driven directly by an overhead camshaft and producing a modest 83 hp. However, they could be optioned up to the 3.5L V8 from the Grand Touring which by this time was using a stroked out version displacing 3.7L. The Special came only with the 3.5L V8. The standard transmission for all makes was a 4-speed manual with an option for a 2-speed automatic. Other optional equipment included side mirrors and a radio.
As with their default engine, the Standard and Custom were similarly modest on the interior, featuring no-frills cloth seating, cloth-bound door panels, coarse carpet, and molded plastic trim with metallic accents. The Special came with a slightly upgraded interior with padded trim as well as leather seats. All around, it was a reserved car with a hint of luxury putting in line with the Pontiacs and Chryslers of the day. Probably the only thing of real note, that was different from other companies’ offerings at the time, was the drive layout; the Everette used a longitudinal front wheel drive configuration rather than the ubiquitous FR layout of other American cars.
The Everette got off to a slow start, selling only about 15,000 in its first five months of availability in 1957. However, sales steadily increased throughout 1958 reaching almost 70,000 by the end of the year and in 1959 and 1960, it was pushing around 100,000. When production ceased in 1961, it totaled at 354,000 Everettes produced. With the reputation of the Fenton nameplate and back-to-basics approach, the Everette became another hit, even in spite of some teething problems with the FWD layout and the somewhat anemic performance of the straight-6.
It was most likely the car’s modesty that earned it success over the similarly timed Ford Edsel. The Everette was not mean to be revolutionary and wasn’t aiming to be the epitome of affordable luxury like its counterpart. It was meant to be a basic, reliable, well-built family car on which would put Fenton in the minds of typical consumers. In addition its smaller size (being built on a 102.4 in wheelbase) meant it was better on gas an attractive to otherwise prospective buyers of AMCs and imports like the Beetle.
Specifications:
- Wheelbase: 2.6 m (102.4 in)
- Length: 4.4 m (173.2 in)
- Body style: 2 door coupe, 4 door sedan, 5 door wagon
- Seats: Standard / Custom - 6; Special - 5
- Transmission: 4-speed manual, 2-speed automatic (optional)
- Engines: 2.3L straight-6 (6LA-E140), 3.5L V8 (8VA-P212)
- Layout: longitudinal front engine, front wheel drive
- Fuel Economy: 13.1 L/100km (18 US mpg) with I6, 15.8 L/100km (15 US mpg) with V8
Engines
6LA-E140: (6 cylinder, inLine, A series - Eco cam, 140 cubic inch displacement)
- All cast iron, cast internals
- Direct acting OHC; 2 valves per cylinder
- 78 mm (3.071 in) bore X 80 mm (3.150 in) stroke - 2292 cc - 139.9 cubic inches
- 7.0:1 compression
- 2 barrel carburetor
- 62.5 kW (84 hp) @ 4400 RPM
- 157 Nm (115.8 lb-ft) @ 2800 RPM
- 5000 RPM max
8VA-P212: (8 cylinder, V, A series - street Performance cam, 212 cubic inch displacement)
- All cast iron, forged internals
- Cam in block OHV; 2 valves per cylinder
- 84 mm (3.307 in) bore X 80 mm (3.091 in) stroke - 3479 cc - 212.3 cubic inches
- 7.4:1 compression
- 2 barrel carburetor
- 91.5 kW (123 hp) @ 3600 RPM
- 257.7 Nm (190.1 lb-ft) @ 2600 RPM
- 4100 RPM max