Star Four History

The Star Four launched in 1922 as the first and core product of Durant Motors' new low-priced division, conceived by William C. Durant — the founder of General Motors — to fight the Ford Model T and Chevrolet at the bottom of the market. It was an 'assembled car', built largely from bought-in components, and its four-cylinder L-head engine was supplied by Continental Motors, as were all Star factory engines. It rode a 102-inch wheelbase.

Star's pitch was value: it opened at $348 for a touring car — aimed to undercut Chevrolet and match Ford — while still offering an electric starter and demountable rims, conveniences not standard on the cheapest rivals. The four sold strongly through the mid-1920s, but when Ford cut Model T prices by $50 in mid-1923, Star could not follow, and the price advantage narrowed.

Through its life the four carried year-coded series designations rather than separate names — the early Model 'Four' (1922–1923), the Model F (1924) and F-25 (1925), and the continued Four of 1926–1928. For early 1928 the car was rebadged the 'Durant Star' and offered only with the four-cylinder engine, before being absorbed into the Durant 4 partway through the 1928 model year, ending the Star marque.