The Roamer Automobile Company

 The Roamer Automobile Company was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1916 to produce luxury automobiles including the Roamer (1916-1929), the Barley (1922-1924), and the Pennant (1924-1925). Albert Barley, successor of the Erie Motor Carriage Company and manufacturer of the Halladay automobile since 1905, purchased the assets of the Streator Motor Car Company in 1913 and formed the Barley Manufacturing Company. Cloyd Kenworthy, a distributor of Rauch and Lang electric automobiles, approached Barley about producing an upscale vehicle. Together with Karl H. Martin (designer of the Halladay who later developed the Wasp), they incorporated the Barley Motor Car Company in New York from Barley Manufacturing and later reformed it into the Roamer Motor Car Company in 1924. They would produce an estimated 11,800 vehicles from Kalamazoo in a factory that had formerly manufactured the Michigan and Greyhounds.

Roamer automobiles were assembled cars of a very high quality, quite expensive, and named after a racehorse. They were sporty in style, with low body lines, rakish windshields, thin fenders, and wire wheels. They were offered to the prospective buyer with various engine options, including a Rutenber, a six-cylinder 303 cubic inch L-head Continental, or the pricier but magnificent 75-100 horsepower Rochester Duesen­berg "Walking Beam." The efficient Duesenberg engines were operated by a complex rocker arm arrangement hidden behind a polished alloy cover with side combustion chamber valves and could be found in race cars of the era. This exclusive model sold for $5,400 at the time (+$100K today) and less than 1,000 were equipped with the Walking Beam. The grill was nickel-plated and fashioned after the Rolls-Royce, and the resemblance, combined with the R logo, was embraced by consumers. A Roamer Duesen­berg driven by chief engineer L.F. Godspeed and Eddy Herne set six records for one kilometer and five-mile sprints at Daytona Beach in 1921. The advertisements that followed stated that "Amer­ica's smartest car makes Amer­ica's fastest mile."

In 1925, the Roamer switched to Lycoming engines, and sales were disappointing. The market for assembled cars in the luxury sector declined ahead of the impending depression, and the last Roamer was produced in 1929. Roamer is still remembered as “America’s Smartest Car” for their striking appearance, luxurious features, early racing success, and custom options. Only a select few Duesenberg-Roamers remain in existence today, making them a remarkable piece of history.