KURTZ AUTOMATIC

Kurtz Motor Car Co. (1920-1925)

Cleveland, Ohio

This is a Kurtz Automatic radiator emblem (1920-1925)    mjs
Size: 43mm diameter    MM: None

Cyrus B. Kurtz was interested in automobiles from an early age and built two cars while he was at college. He was an inventive mechanic and patented his many ideas for improvements to motoring. In 1916 Kurtz came up with the idea of a pre-selector gearshift attached to the steering wheel, which in conjunction with the clutch allowed automatic gear changes.

In 1920 the Kurtz Motor Car Company was organized to manufacture the Kurtz Automatic car, which was powered by a six-cylinder engine and used standard components. The Kurtz Automatic was offered in a variety of body styles but production did not meet expectations. A shortage of working capital resulted in Kurtz closing down his business in 1925.

A total of 675 Kurtz Automatic cars were built.

Emblems

The Kurtz Automatic carried a small round radiator emblem, based on the "KA" logo shown on Kurtz advertisements, see example below:

Kurtz Automatic ad showing emblem & logo (1921) ma

This is the black and white enamel Kurtz Automatic radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Kurtz Automatic radiator emblem is very rare.

The Kurtz Automatic hub emblem shown below is also very rare:

This is a Kurtz Automatic hub emblem (1920-1925)   sam
Size: 48mm diameter