Published: July 23, 2008 05:44 pm            

Back Roads: Classic inspiration

Originally published in the July 11, 2008, print edition.

Who would suspect that a premier auto builder is headquartered in southwestern Minnesota?

Well, one is. Prinzing Motor Coaches LLC, builds 1930s-inspired vehicles in Redwood Falls. Their classic cars include the only four-door convertible in the world, the Madam X, along with seven other models of cars, limousines, and funeral coaches. A six-door limousine they are working on will be their ninth model.

Like all classic craftsmanship, they’re made to last. The emphasis on quality is reflected in their $99,900 to $150,000 price range. The body of Kevlar (lighter and stronger than steel), and the grill, bumpers, headlights, and trim of solid stainless steel are guaranteed never to rust during the lifetime of the original owner.

The body and trim are crafted at the factory and assembled with the best parts Prinzing can find — a chassis built to order, Cadillac brakes, GM flex-fuel engine. (All vehicles run on ethanol, gasoline, or any combination of the two.) The wood trim on each vehicle is made from a single tree, oak or mahogany, your choice.

All vehicles are customized, and each model is a limited edition. After a thousand are built, they break the mold.

The man behind it all is Max Prinzing (on left in photo). Max and his wife, Mavis, built the first car in 1975 in their dairy farm’s machine shed. Max had wanted a 1930s Dusenberg, but couldn’t afford one.

“I thought as long as I have to build my own, why don’t I make my dream car,” he said. He incorporated Dusenberg’s design, Packard’s chrome vents, Rolls Royce’s grill. He made the body out of carbon fiber.

Max is still in charge of design and production. He sculpts the model from which the molds are made, trains the employees to do the handwork, oversees assembly and workmanship. Mavis manages the office and has been an unfailing supporter of the dream through lean times and good. Cousin Reuben Prinzing is the sales manager. Co-owner Roger Bucholz (U.S. Navy, retired, PhD in chemistry, on right in photo) manages finances and advertising. Bucholz is Dakota Indian, so the finished product is called a “Dakotah Prinzing.”

Prinzing Motor Coaches has built vehicles for Neil Diamond, John Denver, and other U.S. and European customers. So when you see a classic car or limo from the 1930s, look again. It might actually be a 21st century “Dakotah Prinzing” from Minnesota.

For more information visit their website at www.prinzingmc.com.

        

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