The Sun automobile was made in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...

from 1916 to 1917, and in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

from 1921 to 1922. The Sun Motor Car Company was originally created in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, but moved to Elkhart before production began. Their slogan was "The Sun Outshines Them All". Roscoe C. Hoffman designed a lightweight six-cylinder car, manufactured from 1916 to 1917. There were four body styles offered on the 116-inch (2946 mm)

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

: sedan, roadster, 5 person touring and 7 person touring. It made 23

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...

though the company dubiously claimed 50. The car had shaft drive and a three-speed sliding gear

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

, and was priced in the $1000 range. Sun Motor Cars ordered 3,500 engines under contract from the Beaver Manufacturing Company of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, but since a little over 1,100 cars were made in the two years, the company was in receivership by September 1917. The company's assets were purchased by the Automotive Corporation of Toledo, Ohio. The Sun automobile of Toledo was a small two-seat roadster, with power coming from a

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

engine, produced in 1921 and 1922 only. It featured a 91-inch (2311 mm) wheelbase, disc wheels, and a claimed and . The Automotive Corporation had built tractors in Toledo since shortly before the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After taking over Sun Motor Car Company, Automotive Corporation provided parts and service to Sun owners, as well as gained useful experience in automobile manufacturing. Their new car of 1921 shared nothing with the old Sun except the logo. Even the slogan was new: "America's Greatest Little Car". Not only were the engines smaller, so was the wheelbase and price-- $375 in 1921 and $475 in 1922. A new lineup with bigger engines, longer wheelbases, and higher prices were announced but never produced for 1923.

Sources

Kimes, Beverly Rae, Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942, Krause Publications, 1996, {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun (Automobile) Companies based in Elkhart County, Indiana Brass Era vehicles 1910s cars 1920s cars Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Indiana Defunct manufacturing companies based in Ohio