American Specialty Cars (commonly known as ASC) is an automobile supplier of highly engineered and designed roof systems, body systems and other specialty-vehicle systems for the world’s automakers. The company is headquartered in Southgate, Michigan, in the United States and was one of several coach convertible builders.
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The company was founded by Heinz Prechter in Los Angeles, California as the American Sunroof Company in 1965. The company soon expanded its operations into Detroit by 1967. The company first supplied OEM services to the Ford 1968 Cougar XR-7.
ASC invented the glass-panel "moonroof". In the industry, ASC became well known for converting standard coupe automobiles into convertibles on an OEM basis. The company also engineers convertible tops for automakers to build themselves. Other original-equipment firsts for ASC include the mobile video system (on the Chevrolet Venture) and the powered sunroof.
The company has since changed its name in 2004 to highlight its new corporate focus on being a complete specialty-vehicle development partner for the world’s automakers.