Despite raising $1.2 million through the sale of 350 dealerships, the Davis Motorcar Company failed to deliver cars to its prospective dealers or pay its employees promptly, and was ultimately sued by both groups.

The company's assets were liquidated in order to pay back taxes, while Gary Davis himself was eventually convicted of fraud and grand theft and sentenced to two years at a "work farm" labor camp.

[3][4][5][6] For the single front wheel of "The Californian", Kurtis had taken inspiration from the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft, while he also fitted the vehicle with a Ford V8/60 engine and rear axle.

[6][8][9] In November 1947, the Davis Divan was publicly unveiled at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; assisting Davis in handling the event were Jack Adams, a former reporter at The Los Angeles Herald-Express who had been hired to manage public relations for the fledgling company, and Cleo Moore, an actress who had been hired to pose with the "Baby" prototype as a promotional model as well as mingle with the press at the hotel.

[3][9] At the factory in Van Nuys, the pace of development became frantic, with workers occasionally staying 72 hours at a time and sleeping in a nearby house that Davis had rented.

Howells worked feverishly to meet Davis' deadlines, which called for prospective dealers to receive their cars within just 90 days; he ordered a drop hammer press, two gas furnaces, and a set of kirksite dies from a Pasadena tool-and-die maker.

[9][14] The car also featured a removable fiberglass top along with a steel chassis and chrome-trimmed aluminum body,[3][6][10] which sported aircraft-inspired styling details, 15-inch (38 cm) wheels, disc brakes, and hidden headlights.

[6][9] Scheduled to retail for $1,600 each, the Divans were never put into mass production or sold to the public before the Davis Motorcar Company's demise, and the cars that had already been built were instead given to creditors.

[6][9] His vehicles would occasionally make appearances in popular media, including in the Zippy the Pinhead comic strip and the Discovery Channel television program Chasing Classic Cars.

[6] As of 2005, 12 of the 13 Davis Divans (including the two prototypes) have been confirmed to have survived, with the exception having been destroyed in the United Kingdom due to British customs laws; there are survivors owned by museums, collectors, and no one at all, while their conditions vary widely.

[5][9] The three Davis military vehicles were tested by the United States Army at its Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland but ultimately not purchased, although all three of them are believed to have survived.

[12][13] In April 2015, the Petersen Automotive Museum launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for restoring its Divan, setting a goal of $30,000 to cover the projected costs of mechanical and body work on the car as well as repainting it a period-correct color.

[4][16] Chief curator Leslie Kendall notes that $10,000 of the $30,000 budget was to be allotted for bodywork and paint, $7,500 for the engine and other under-the-hood components, $5,000 for the interior, and $7,500 for "other mechanical systems" (including the transmission, suspension, and brakes) as well as miscellaneous costs.