Barley Motor Car Co.

Automobile manufacturer
Barley Motor Car Co. was a manufacturer of luxury automobiles in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Streator, Illinois. It manufactured the Roamer automobile (1916–29) and briefly, the Barley (1922–24), and the Pennant (1924–25).

In 1913 Albert C. Barley bought the assets of the Streator Motor Car Company, which entered receivership in 1911. Streator was the successor of the Erie Motor Carriage Company and had been manufacturing the Halladay automobile since 1905. Barley's new company was called Barley Manufacturing Company. From the factory at Streator, Illinois, he continued production of the Halladay. A. C. Barley had been an officer years earlier. The Barley family had been large shareholders in the company. "Assembled cars" in the luxury market were declining in sales, and the company stopped manufacturing in early 1929.

In 1922 the company introduced a lower priced line, the Barley, named for the company's president. The first Barley Model 6 50 debuted in September offering torpedoes and sedans with Continental 50hp six cylinder engines and a 118" wheelbase. The following year, a Sport Sedan and Touring Sedan were added. The prices ranged from $1,395 to $2,250, 2250.0 in 1922 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years. The Barley was not successful and it was rebranded as the Pennant, outfitted with a Buda 4 cylinder engine and targeted at the taxicab market. Its main competitor was the Checker, also built in Kalamazoo. The Pennant trade dress was a maroon upper body and ivory lower body. Both the Barley and Pennant were out of production by 1925.