Stearns (automobile)

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See also: Stearns-Knight

F. B. Stearns and Company (later F.B. Stearns Company) was a manufacturer of luxury cars in Cleveland, Ohio marketed under the brand name Stearns and Stearns-Knight brand names.

The 1904 Stearns offered a variety of models, including a touring car model. Equipped with a tonneau, it could seat 6 passengers and sold for US$3000. The horizontally-mounted water-cooled flat-2, situated amidships of the car, produced 24 hp (17.9 kW). A 3-speed transmission was fitted. The armored wood-framed car weighed 2800 lb (1270 kg). Notably, all vehicle controls were situated on the steering wheel.

In 1911 the firm began installing the Knight Engine, which used sleeve valve technology in its cars. These were marketed under the Stearns-Knight brand name. Frank Ballou Stearns sold his automotive company to John North Willys in 1925; Willys operated Stearns-Knight as a non-integrated affiliate of WillysOverland until 1929 when the F.B. Stearns Company ceased production and was liquidated.

[edit] References

• Kimes, Beverly R., Editor. Clark, Henry A. (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4. 

• Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (January, 1904)