Star (make of car)

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One of the logos that Durant Motors used for its star automobiles
Star Motors, Inc. stock dated November 14, 1924

Star was an American car brand. These automobiles were built by Durant Motors in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1922–1928. It was also called the Star Car . These cars were intended to compete with the Ford Model T. In Great Britain and the Commonwealth , the cars had to be offered as rugby because the Star brand name was protected there by the Star Motor Company in Wolverhampton ( England ) for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles.

production

Star Four Station Wagon (1923)
Rugby from 1924

Like other Durant Motors products, the star was a made-up automobile made from parts from various suppliers. Initially, all Star were powered by four-cylinder in-line engines, followed by a six-cylinder in-line engine from 1926. The engines were supplied by Continental (W4 series for four-cylinder and 14L for six-cylinder).

Star automobile production is confirmed for the following Durant factories:

In 1923, Star was the first car brand to offer a factory-made station wagon and not just deliver chassis to wheelwright shops , which then built a “Woody” according to customer requirements. With an introductory price of US $ 610, it was also an affordable offer.

At the beginning of the 1928 model year, the Star was sold as the Durant Star and was only available with a four-cylinder engine. In the second half of this model year, the Durant 4 replaced the Star.

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase Superstructures
Four 1922-1923 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2591 mm Runabout 2 seats, Roadster 2 seats, Touring car 5 seats, Coupé 2 doors, Sedan 4 doors
F. 1924 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2591 mm Roadster 2 seats, touring car 5 seats, coupé 2 doors, sedan 4 doors
F-25 1925 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2591 mm Roadster 2 seats, touring car 5 seats, coupé 2 doors, sedan 4 doors
Four 1926-1928 4 row 30 bhp (22 kW) 2591 mm Roadster 2 seats, touring car 5 seats, coupé 2 doors, sedan 2/4 doors
Six 1926-1927 6 row 40 bhp (29 kW) 2718 mm Roadster 2 seats, touring car 5 seats, coupé 2 doors, sedan 2/4 doors, landaulet 4 doors

commercial vehicles

Derived from the passenger car, Star offered light commercial vehicles. On the chassis of the model C with the same Continental type W4, a "delivery" (van; closed delivery van) without front doors and a station wagon were carried out in 1922, the first in the regular program of a US provider. Such station wagons were considered commercial vehicles at the time. In 1923 the van was named "Closed Delivery" to distinguish it from the new "Open Delivery". "Open" refers to the missing side walls behind the side window. As with the van, the roof was extended to the rear. The utility was roughly equivalent to that of a pickup truck with a tarpaulin, and textile weather protection was probably carried along for bad weather. The structure was also easy to expand, e.g. B. to a market vehicle. The chassis of the Model C was now also available individually. In the Star's price range, it was probably only of interest as a basis for commercial vehicles. Unfortunately, there is no information for 1924. The size and price made the car ideal for deliveries in urban areas.

From 1924 to 1926 there was a "CC" version for heavier loads. Here too, detailed information is missing. However, it can be considered likely that the same engine was built into a reinforced and probably also elongated chassis and that vehicles with a payload of more than one ton were created.

No information is available about a commercial vehicle program for the "New Star" Model F, but a "Commercial Chassis" was offered.

The small truck model L was the commercial vehicle variant of the model R.

A few Durant light trucks were sold as rugby in the United States in 1928.

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1384-1385 (English).

Web links

Commons : Star  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Rugby  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Georgano, GN: Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930 , Grange-Universal, London (1985)
  2. ↑ a b c Rugby at Durantcars.com (HP of the brand club; English) ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.durantcars.com
  3. ↑ a b Star at Durantcars.com (HP of the brand club; English) ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.durantcars.com