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Barley Used Antique, Vintage and Classic Cars For Sale

Barley Roamer Logo

Barley History: Albert C. Barley began by buying the Streator Motor Car Company in 1911, in Streator, Illinois. He continued to manufacturer the Streator "Halladay" but soon took on Cloyd Kenworthy and Karl Martin (creator of the Wasp automobile in later years) as new partners and they incorporated the Barley Motor Car Company in New York 1916.

The goal of the Barley Motor Car Company was to build cars, buses, trucks and they started with a car they called the "Roamer", named after a winning race horse. The Roamer was un upscale vehicle similar to a Rolls-Royce. Their first car featured a six cylinder engine that produced 24 horsepower and a four-door body limousine-type body. In the ensuing years they produced a wide variety of sizes and configurations. The Roamer was advertised as "America's Smartest Car" and the sporty models were popular on the sprint racing circuit. However by 1922 the Model 6-54 was the only one in production.

The Barley Motor Car Company showcased an all new less expensive car in 1922 called the "Barley 6-50" with a 50 horsepower engine and a Sport Sedan was offered in 1923. Then in 1924 the company merged with the Roamer Motor Car Company and incorporated in Toronto, Canada under the leadership of George P. Wigginton. Albert Barley continued to build Barleys under the Barley Motor Car Company logo. However Barley sales were not good so A. Barley gave it a new Buda 4-cylinder engine and rebranded it as a "Pennant" to compete against Checker Motors as a taxicab. Production ended for both the Barley and Pennant in 1925 and the Barley Motor Car Company closed their doors. The Roamer Motor Car Company continued to make cars until the Great Depression forced them to go out of business in 1929.


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