Durant Motors, Inc. (1922-1928)
Elizabeth, New Jersey
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| This is a Star radiator emblem (1925) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
After his final departure from General Motors, William Crapo Durant set up Durant Motors (see Durant) and then decided to produce a low-priced car to be called the Star to compete with the Model T Ford. The Star introduced in early in 1922 was an assembled 35 hp four-cylinder car offered in a variety of body styles. The Star was well received and was seen as "a great deal of car for the money". It was a success and 100,000 cars were sold in less than a year from start.
In 1926 a 40 hp six-cylinder Star Six joined the Star Four as a companion model. The Star was also successful for a while as an export model called the Rugby (see Rugby). But in 1928 Billy Durant was struggling to save his automobile business and the Star was phased out and the cars became Durant models.
However the Star was also used for a range of commercial vehicles. The first Star commercials appeared in 1922 and were a delivery van and a depot wagon which was America's first station wagon. In 1926 a six-cylinder 1-1/2-ton truck was produced called the Star Six Compound Fleetruck, which was then sold under the Rugby name from the end of 1927.
Emblems
The first Star cars in 1922 and 1923 carried a round, black and white painted radiator emblem, see example shown below:
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| This is a Star radiator emblem (1922-1923) mjs Size: 60mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The Star emblem was changed for 1924, see the blue and white enamel Star radiator emblem shown below:
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| This is a Star radiator emblem (1924) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
There was a further small change in the design of the Star emblem for 1925, see the blue and white enamel Star radiator emblem shown below:
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| This is a Star radiator emblem (1925) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The following is a representation of a blue, white and red enamel Star radiator emblem shown on a chart of Durant emblems on the Durant Motors Automobile Club website as a 1926 emblem, but this emblem has not been found and it is not known which Star models, if any, used this emblem. Possibly this emblem was a prototype emblem or was used for a brief period before the new Star Four and Star Six emblems, shown later below, were introduced, but I cannot confirm this and the emblem may not be original. If this was found to be a original Star emblem, it would be very rare.
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| This appears to be a Star radiator emblem (1926) ms Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
New radiator emblems were introduced in 1926 for each of the new four-cylinder and six-cylinder models, see the blue, white and red enamel Star radiator emblems shown below:
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| This is a Star Four radiator emblem (1926-1927) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
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| This is a Star Six radiator emblem (1926-1927) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The following is a variation of the Star Six radiator emblem with smaller letters for the word "SIX":
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| This is a Star Six radiator emblem (1926-1927) mjs Size: 50mm diameter MM: Unknown |
The Star Six did not continue into 1928 and the Star Four was given a new emblem, see the blue, white and red enamel Star radiator emblem shown below. This Star radiator emblem is scarce.
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| This is a Star Four radiator emblem (1928) mjs Size: 57mm high 38mm wide MM: Unknown |
The early Star commercial vehicles from 1922 to 1925 carried the same radiator emblems as used on the passengers cars. The six-cylinder 1-1/2-ton Star Six Compound Fleetruck introduced in 1926 carried a special gold and red enamel radiator emblem, see example shown below. This Star six Compound Fleetruck radiator emblem is rare.
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| This is a Star Six Compound Fleetruck radiator emblem (1926) mjs Size: 77mm wide 44mm high MM: Unknown |
Emblem collectors should beware as there are colorful reproduction Star Six Compound Fleetruck radiator emblems, see example below:
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| This is a reproduction Star Six Compound Fleetruck emblem ms |
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