The Streco Turnpike Cruiser was a two-passenger open

microcar Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars, invacar, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are oft ...

built especially for amusement park and carnival use by the Streifthau Manufacturing Company of

Middletown, Ohio Middletown is a city located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, about 35 miles (47 km) north of Cincinnati. The population as of the 2020 census was 50,987. It is part of the Cincinnati metrop ...

(1958-1985), a family-owned firm managed by Edgar and Lindy Streifthau. Records show that approximately one hundred and sixty-seven Streco Turnpike Cruisers were built, and fourteen amusement parks are known to have ordered the cars, which were powered by single-cylinder

Kohler Company Kohler Co., founded in 1873 by John Michael Kohler, is an American manufacturing company based in Kohler, Wisconsin. Kohler is best known for its plumbing products, but the company also manufactures furniture, cabinetry, tile, engines, and ...

K-Series engines through matched centrifugal clutches at governed speeds of approximately six to eight miles per hour in single file along pre-fixed guideways and/or on winding pathways and, in some parks, with a fixed center guiderail to limit lateral motion. Streco Turnpike Cruiser bodies were constructed of solid

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

, and featured prominent

tailfins The tailfin era of automobile styling encompassed the 1950s and 1960s, peaking between 1955 and 1961. It was a style that spread worldwide, as car designers picked up styling trends from the US automobile industry, where it was regarded as the ...

(in conjunction with the fashion of the period), and also full wraparound bumpers for driver/passenger protection. The first series Streco cars were distinguished by standard twin-headlamp configurations, with the more rugged second series cars distinguishable by their quad headlamps.

External links

Streco history
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States {{amusement-ride-stub