Delta Auto Company

The Delta Automobile Company was a privately-owned firm, which owned a factory in the city of Peach Creek. Founded in 1917 as the Delta Aircraft Company, its owner was Peach Creek's oldest resident, Hanford M. Phelps. The company's only assembly plant was located near where the Cul-De-Sac now stands.

Originally used to build the F6F Hellcat on-license for the United States Navy, the company went through a period of limbo in the late-1940's. Their equipment no longer needed for the war effort, Phelps meditated on a solution. Eventually, Delta was reorganized as Delta Autos, producing coach-built cars out of Chrysler's 'Forward Look' cars.

Its most (in)famous model was the Delta Dart, with sixty produced between 1957 and 1960, with ten limited-editions being built in 1987. Based off of the 1958 Plymouth Fury, it looked incredibly similar to its basis, though its styling was much more extravagant, with gold-plated bumpers, hubcaps and grilles, bright glossy paint, and entirely-white tires, as an answer to the popular 'white-walls' of its time.

The 1987 revival of the Delta Dart was met with outrage, after a 1970's investigation unearthed problems with the earlier model's electrical system. The alternators and ignition were notoriously finicky, with the car rarely starting. Furthermore, the grafting of a Corvette nose onto the front of the car was thought of as tasteless, and an optional hood scoop and hydraulics drove the final nail into the coffin.

With the failure of the Delta Dart, Phelps, incredibly old, declared bankruptcy in 1990. However, the Delta Company has played somewhat of a role in the series. Its factory has served as the location of 'Eddy's Raccoon Roundup', and two Darts have appeared in the show. The first, a 1987 model, was broken into by Eddy, and used to impress the kids. The second, a 1957, was owned by Eddy's Brother, and later destroyed at the Bonyville Salt Flats near Lemon Brook. Being the first Dart ever produced, it was given to 'Bro' by a senile Hanford Phelps, after having his lawn mowed. Eddy's Brother was eight.