William Crapo Durant was one of the most energetic and creative figures in automotive history.  Credited with founding General Motors, Durant was the type that swung for the fences and either struck out spectacularly or hit bases-loaded home runs.  One of his last turns at bat found him producing cars in California, far outside of his home base of Detroit.  Few remember this last adventure, but there are a few reminders out there.  Looking for a seldom-seen Roaring Twenties-era car to add to your collection?  Then this mostly complete 1926 Durant Star for sale on Craigslist in La Habra, California is calling out to you for rescue.  While it is missing a few easily reproducible pieces here and there, this unusual but handsomely styled coupe is being offered for $10,000.  Have you ever seen one before?  Is this the type of challenging project you would be willing to take on to keep the Durant story alive?  Thanks to numskal for the tip!

The story of William Crapo Durant is one of the most convoluted in automotive history.  In a nutshell, Durant was an early pioneer in the automotive industry whose ideas coalesced into what we now know as General Motors.  Not only did he come up with the idea of a tiered system of brands under a single corporation, but he also focused on purchasing the companies that supplied individual parts to those brands.  Unfortunately, Durant was impulsive to the extreme and wreckless with borrowed money.  His financial decisions caused him to be ousted from GM on two separate occasions.  His stubbornness also caused fallingouts with such industry luminaries as Louis Chevrolet and Henry Leyland.

Undeterred, Durant once again got to work and formed the Durant Motors Company in 1921.  He gobbled up smaller automakers and numerous ancillary companies and by 1922 had built a corporation very similar to General Motors.  It was once again his idea to offer customers a tiered series of brands.  This time, he would focus on combining parts from other manufacturers into finished automobiles.  One of his largest suppliers was Continental Motors Company, which produced engines for all of his cars.  Durant set up factories all over the United States and even one in Canada.  Despite offering competitive cars at prices comparable to his competitors, the onset of the Great Depression toppled the house of cards that was Durant Motors Company in 1933.  Durant tirelessly tried numerous different times to crawl back to solvency but died nearly penniless in 1947 after severe health complications robbed him of his ability to work.

The 1926 Durant Star seen here is a good example of Durant’s lowest-cost automobile.  Sometimes called the Durant Star, these cars were designed to compete with both Ford and Chevrolet.  Multiple body styles were offered, including one of the first station wagons ever offered directly from the factory.  They were powered by four-cylinder Continental engines putting out around 38 horsepower.  This was a competitive number for the day, and above the 20 horsepower belted out by the Model T Ford.  Stars were manufactured/assembled in plants in New Jersey, Michigan, Ontario, and California until they were replaced by the Durant Four in 1928.

Interestingly, the seller advertises this car as a California car built in Durant’s California plant.  This facility was in Oakland, and the Durant Motors Automobile Club has some information and pictures of it on its website.  Even more interesting and ironic was that General Motors purchased the plant in 1936 and used it until 1963.  From there the facility has been repurposed into shops and apartments.  It seems that the car never left California either.  The seller, who is six hours south of Oakland, still has the original California license plates issued in 1926.

In the ad, the seller states that they are the third owner of the car.  Its Continental engine was fired up eight years ago and “sounded ok.”  All of the mechanical parts seem to be present.  It is, however, missing its taillights, running boards, and a few other parts.  There are some spares in the trunk, but the ad does not specify what they are.  One positive is that the tires on the car are brand new.

We are told that there is no rust or rot anywhere on or in the car.  With that in mind, it would be interesting to know just what type of wood was used in the construction of this Star.  Wood was a major component of cars of this era.  The pictures of this Star show that its use was widespread in this car.  Much of the time wood was sourced from nearby forests for obvious reasons.  Is it possible that this car’s wood was from California’s famed redwood forests?  Can any readers identify the type of wood from the pictures?

Sadly, few people know the story of William Durant and even fewer have ever even heard of the Star automobile.  Our automotive past is boiling over with fascinating stories of people who passionately fought to build a better car back when risk meant destitution if you failed.  Hopefully, someone with a passion for storytelling ends up with this Star and gets it back on the road.  Durant’s story shouldn’t be lost to history.

Could you restore this Star?  Would you want to restore a forgotten make?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.