Powell Manufacturing Company
Powell Manufacturing Company was a Southern California manufacturer known for postwar motor scooters, lightweight motorcycles, unusual utility vehicles, and later trail bikes.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Powell Manufacturing Company was a small Southern California manufacturer whose activities ranged from consumer radios to scooters, motorcycles, pickup trucks, station wagons, motor homes, and trail bikes. The company was established in 1926 by brothers Hayward and Channing Powell after their earlier experience making radios in Los Angeles. Its first products were battery eliminators and compact table radios, reflecting the strong demand for affordable household electronics during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Powell became associated with the Los Angeles area’s production of small, relatively inexpensive radios before leaving that business in 1932. During the middle 1930s, the company entered scooter manufacturing. Its Compton facility was converted to wartime production in 1942, but Powell returned to scooters after the Second World War with the C-47, P-48, and P-49 step-through models. The company also produced the Streamliner, a scooter associated with airborne military use during the war. The Streamliner’s design later influenced the Fuji Rabbit scooter, making Powell part of the early postwar history of small-displacement two-wheeled vehicles. Powell’s postwar scooters used a 24-cubic-inch, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine developed in-house. In 1949, Powell broadened its two-wheeler range with the P-81 lightweight motorcycle. The model competed directly with the Mustang motorcycle, another Southern California product. Powell’s scooter and motorcycle business was interrupted again when the company shifted to defense production during the Korean War. Unlike the earlier postwar transition, Powell did not resume scooter production after that period. The company then pursued an unusual automotive niche. From September 1954 through March 1957, it built the Sport Wagon pickup and the related Station Wagon. These vehicles used modified 1941 Plymouth chassis, including chassis obtained from salvage sources, and combined passenger-car underpinnings with pickup or utility-vehicle bodies. Powell produced approximately 1,200 pickups, about 300 station wagons, and three motor homes. Contemporary automotive publications regarded the Sport Wagon as an especially distinctive and practical American vehicle. Its configuration has subsequently been discussed as an early precursor to the car-based utility pickups later represented by the Ford Ranchero and Chevrolet El Camino, although Powell operated on a much smaller scale and preceded those mass-market models. In the 1960s and 1970s, the business reorganized as Powell Brothers, Inc. and returned to recreational motorcycles with the Powell Challenger trail bikes. The company moved to a larger facility on East Firestone Boulevard in South Gate, California. Hayward Powell died in March 1978, and Channing Powell had retired by that time. Powell’s operations ended formally when the company dissolved and closed in April 1979. Channing Powell died in 1988. Today, Powell is primarily remembered by collectors and vehicle historians for its scooters, the P-81 motorcycle, its distinctive Sport Wagon and Station Wagon, and its Challenger trail bikes.
History
Hayward and Channing Powell began making radios in Los Angeles after graduating from Manual Arts High School in 1924. Their first venture, Winner Radio, initially concentrated on expensive products that sold poorly before shifting toward less costly radios with broader appeal. After Hayward underwent an appendectomy in early 1926, the brothers took an extended trip across the United States. On returning to Los Angeles, they established Powell Manufacturing Company. Powell initially made battery eliminators, devices that allowed battery-powered radios to operate from household electricity, and then produced compact box-style table radios. By the end of the 1920s and into the early 1930s, the company was part of Los Angeles’s expanding small-radio industry. Its products included cathedral-style table radios and smaller “pee-wee” versions. Before leaving radio production in 1932, Powell developed an unusually compact radio design that may have anticipated chair-side radio formats. The company entered scooter production in the mid-1930s. Its Compton plant switched to wartime manufacturing in 1942. Following the Second World War, Powell resumed civilian production with the C-47, P-48, and P-49 step-through scooters. It also made the Streamliner, a design associated with U.S. airborne troops. The Streamliner later influenced the Fuji Rabbit, one of Japan’s earliest postwar scooters. Powell’s postwar scooters used a common 24-cubic-inch, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine developed by the company. Powell entered the lightweight motorcycle market in 1949 with the P-81, competing against the Mustang produced in nearby Glendale. The company again moved into defense work during the Korean War. After that interruption, it did not return to scooter production, instead developing a distinctive line of small automobiles and utility vehicles. Between September 1954 and March 1957, Powell manufactured the Sport Wagon pickup, the Station Wagon, and three motor homes. The vehicles were built around modified 1941 Plymouth chassis, some sourced from junkyards. The Sport Wagon combined a compact pickup body with passenger-car characteristics, while the Station Wagon provided a related enclosed utility format. Production was limited—approximately 1,200 pickups and 300 station wagons—but the vehicles attracted attention from automotive journalists for their unusual design and practicality. Their basic concept is often viewed as an early forerunner of later car-based American utility pickups. During the 1960s, the company reorganized under the name Powell Brothers, Inc. and produced Challenger trail bikes. It moved from its Compton location to a larger facility at 5903 East Firestone Boulevard in South Gate, California. Hayward Powell died in March 1978. With Channing Powell retired, the company dissolved and closed in April 1979. Channing died in 1988. No successor operating company or continuing mass-market brand is identified in the available reference material.
- 1979
Company dissolves
[1]Following Hayward Powell’s death and Channing Powell’s retirement, the business closed and formally dissolved in April.
- 1960
Business reorganizes as Powell Brothers, Inc.
[1]The company reorganized and later concentrated on Challenger trail bikes.
- 1957
Sport Wagon and Station Wagon production ends
[1]Production of Powell’s pickup and station wagon models ended in March after a limited run.
- 1954
Sport Wagon production begins
[1]Powell began manufacturing its Sport Wagon pickup and related utility vehicles in September.
- 1949
P-81 lightweight motorcycle introduced
[1]Powell entered the lightweight motorcycle market with the P-81, a competitor to the nearby Mustang motorcycle.
- 1945
Postwar scooter production resumes
[1]Powell returned to civilian production with the C-47, P-48, and P-49 step-through scooters.
- 1942
Compton facility shifts to wartime production
[1]Powell converted its manufacturing operations to war-related production during the Second World War.
- 1935
Entry into scooter manufacturing
[1]The company moved into scooter production during the middle 1930s.
- 1932
Powell exits radio production
[1]After producing several compact radio formats, including small cathedral-style sets, Powell left the radio business.
- 1926
Powell Manufacturing Company is established
[1]Hayward and Channing Powell founded the company in Los Angeles and began making battery eliminators and compact radios.
Products and positioning
A small, inventive Southern California manufacturer focused on practical and compact transportation products, moving from affordable radios into scooters, lightweight motorcycles, unconventional utility vehicles, and trail bikes.
Consumer electronics · 1926
Powell radios
Powell’s earliest products included battery eliminators and compact table radios. The company made box-style and cathedral-style sets, as well as smaller “pee-wee” radios, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its radio business focused increasingly on affordable products after an earlier attempt to sell expensive sets failed to gain sufficient demand.
Motor scooters · 1945
Powell C-47, P-48, and P-49
These postwar step-through scooters represented Powell’s return to civilian production after its wartime manufacturing period. They shared a 24-cubic-inch, single-cylinder, four-stroke engine developed in-house and formed part of the company’s best-known postwar two-wheeler range.
Motor scooter · 1942
Powell Streamliner
The Streamliner was a compact scooter associated with U.S. airborne military use during the Second World War. Its design later served as an important influence on the Fuji Rabbit scooter, linking Powell’s engineering work to the early development of Japan’s postwar scooter industry.
Lightweight motorcycle · 1949
Powell P-81
Introduced in 1949, the P-81 was Powell’s entry into the lightweight motorcycle market. It competed with the Mustang motorcycle, another product of Southern California’s small-vehicle manufacturing cluster, and used the company’s compact four-stroke powertrain architecture.
Pickup truck · 1954
Powell Sport Wagon
The Sport Wagon was a compact pickup built from September 1954 through March 1957. Powell used modified 1941 Plymouth chassis, including chassis recovered from salvage sources. Its passenger-car-based layout and utility-focused design made it an unusual early example of the car-derived pickup concept later popularized by larger manufacturers.
Station wagon · 1954
Powell Station Wagon
The Station Wagon was the enclosed utility counterpart to the Sport Wagon. It used the same general strategy of adapting modified Plymouth chassis into a distinctive small utility vehicle. Production was limited to roughly 300 units, making surviving examples particularly unusual among American mid-century vehicles.
Motor home · 1954
Powell motor homes
Powell also produced three motor homes during its brief postwar automotive manufacturing period. The available reference material provides no detailed model names or specifications, but the vehicles illustrate the company’s broader experimentation with compact recreational and utility transportation.
Trail bike · 1960
Powell Challenger
The Challenger was a trail-bike line made after the company reorganized as Powell Brothers, Inc. in the 1960s. It represented Powell’s return to recreational two-wheelers after the company’s scooter and lightweight motorcycle programs had ended, and remained associated with the business during the 1960s and 1970s.
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