Vintage Star motor-cars.
Enthusiasts of vintage cars in the USA may well associate the Star name with the cars built by Durant, from 1922 through to 1928. In the UK, these cars were instead badged as the Rugby, to differentiate them from the products of what began as the Star Motor Company, a firm based in Wolverhampton that from 1902 onwards was known as the Star Engineering Company. It is an early example of the latter's work that opens this page. The firm began life producing bicycles (as did many other car manufacturers, for example Rover), before thoughts turned to the production of a motor-car. A 3.5hp Benz was purchased, from which the designers drew inspiration for their new creation.
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John W., an aficionado of matters Star-related, suggests that the car reproduced below dates to 1908 or thereabouts. It is a perfect example of a well-to-do family, photographed in their Edwardian attire, readied for a trip out in their combustion-engined carriage. The ladies and young child are dressed in a manner befitting a motor-car journey, while the chap in the background sporting more humble threads, may perhaps have been tasked with preparing the car for service, and even its driving. Whoever was tasked with cleaning the car had better not miss underneath the mudguards. I hoped the weather held fair, as there doesn't appear to be a great deal of weather protection available to the Star's inhabitants.
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Nick emailed this photograph over. The people in the photo are relatives of his, and by sending it over he'd hoped that the car might be identified. Thanks to Nick and John for their help with this page.
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A late-1920s Star Scorpio?
My thanks to Emma now for permitting me to share her family photo. Originally she had posted it onto the OCC Facebook page in the hope that more information on this car (and another un-related car in a separate photo) might be forthcoming. Identifying the manufacturer was straightforward enough, the model I'm less certain about. Sat on artillery rather than spoked wheels, it reminds me of the late-1920s Star Scorpio that we spotted at the Haynes Motor Museum a few years ago. While at this establishment, I took a photograph of most of the exhibits, including the preserved Star they have on display. A thread featuring that particular Star, and other cars at the Haynes Museum, can be found on the following forum thread: link. If anyone can confirm which model of Star this is, it would be very helpful thanks.
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The car shown below belonged to Emma's grandfather, it's a shame that the registration number cannot be fully read. The car in another of Emma's pictures - an Armstrong Siddeley - has an EF (West Hartlepool) registration. The Star could well also have an EF registration, if that was the case then it would appear to have been registered EF 3412. A quick check elsewhere suggests that Cleveland County Archives do have a reasonable archive of early vehicle registration records, so it may well be that they have a few details regarding the Star's early life buried within their files - if indeed the registration was in the EF series.
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Visit page 17 in the vintage gallery, or return to the gallery's main index page.
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