The latvian who tried to conquer USA.

          In the beginning of the 20th century there were a few hundred car makers in USA. 82 of those companies were registered in Cleveland. One of those 82 stand out - it's Krastin Automobiles.    Krastin Automobiles was founded in 1902, by August Krastins (Augusts Krastiņš).   Krastins was born in 1859, in the latvian town of Liepaja (back then a part of the Russian empire). In 1892 he travelled to Cleveland, USA, where he started tinkering with idea of building an automobile. During his free time he started experimenting with a Daimler motor car, trying to improve it.

In 1901 he found investors, who were interested in his idea of building a new and innovative car, and in 1902 production began. The advertisements told the potential buyers all about the cars innovative features, such as "self - cleaning" spark plugs, a carburetor with an improved design and a drive shaft, instead of a chain drive - a true rarity back then. It also had a pretty interesting solution for the gearbox. To engage the clutch you had to tilt the steering wheel slightly to the right. By tilting it further to the right you would engage the first, and a bit more further - also the second gear.     

In the beginning Krastins announced, that his factory could make 4 cars per day, which was later adjusted to 7 cars per week. However, only 4 cars were sold until 1904, and a few more were being made. Krastins had big plans for the future - a new factory was in the plans, However it was not to be. In 1904 the factory burned to the ground with all the unfinished cars in it. To make matters worse, the building was not insured. After this Krastins was unable to continue the business and failed for bankruptcy.     

Until very recently it was believed, that all the cars made by Krastins had disappeared. However, in 2012 it was discovered, that there was a Krastin car in Nebraska, USA. Through difficult negotiations latvian antique car enthusiasts bought the car. It was then transported to Riga Motormuseum in Riga, Latvia, where it was restored and is now on display as the only surviving car made by Krastin Automobiles.

Autor: Reinis Sprude