Streco Turnpike Cruiser


The Streco Turnpike Cruiser was a two-passenger open microcar built especially for amusement park and carnival use by the Streifthau Manufacturing Company of Middletown, Ohio, 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 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, and featured prominent tailfins, 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.