Crouch Cars was a company founded by JWF Crouch in Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, England in 1912 which manufactured cars until 1928. It was located at first in Bishop Street moving in 1914 to Cook Street.

The first model, the Carette was a three-wheeled cyclecar

Cyclecar

Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.-General description:Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other...

 with a side-valve

Flathead engine

A flathead engine is an internal combustion engine with valves placed in the engine block beside the piston, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine...

, water-cooled Crouch V-twin

V-twin

A V-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration.- Crankshaft configuration :Most V-twin engines have a single crankpin, which is shared by both connecting rods...

 engine of 740 cc mounted behind the seats. It was of unconventional appearance with a low, wide radiator. The chassis frame was of ash with metal armouring and the drive was to the single rear wheel via a three-speed gearbox and chain. It cost around a £100 and was claimed to be capable of 35 mi/h and 50 mpgimp. Later in 1912 it was also available as a four-wheeler with the engine enlarged to 906 cc. In 1913 it grew to 994 cc and in 1914 to 1018 cc. One of the cars gained a Gold Medal in the 1912 London-Exeter trial. When production restarted after the war the model became known as the 8 with the engine now displacing 1115 cc. The last one may have been made as late as 1922 when it cost £245.

In 1922 a more conventional car came along, the 8/18, still a two-seater and dickey

Trunk (automobile)

The trunk or boot of an automobile or car is the vehicle's main storage, luggage, or cargo compartment. Trunk is used in North American English and Jamaican English; boot is used elsewhere in the English speaking world. Trunk is also primarily used in many non-English speaking regions, such as...

, with pressed steel chassis and shaft drive. The V-twin engine was retained, however, but now with overhead-valves and 1248 cc capacity. It was listed at £285. About 1500 V-twin cars are thought to have been made after the First World War and possibly 400 before 1914.

With other manufacturers offering four-seat cars at less money it was necessary for Crouch to change and in 1922 the 12/24 was announced at £350 for a four-seater and £335 for a two-seater with four-cylinder Anzani

Anzani

Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani , which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.-Overview:...

 1496 cc engine and three-speed gearbox. An electric starter was fitted. A 60 mi/h Sports and 80 mi/h Super Sports were listed and one of these were raced at Brooklands

Brooklands

Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...

 by Alfred Moss, the father of Sir Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss

Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...

 who sold the cars from his London premises. About 800 12/24s are thought to have been made.

The cars were still expensive, and so in 1923 the Economic 10/4 10 hp model was announced at £250, using a four-cylinder Dorman

Dorman

Dorman is a surname originating in Germany with the spelling of Döhrmann, but mostly found in Austria, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ukraine, Jamaica and France.It may refer to:...

 side-valve engine of 1200 cc. It was not terribly successful and only about 60 were made.

For 1925 the 12/24 became the 12/30, the Economic vanished and what was to be the final car the 11/27 was announced. This had a 1368 cc Coventry Simplex  four-cylinder side-valve engine and was priced between £225 and £285. About 100 11/27s were made.

The company disappeared with many others as a result of the Great Depression, and the rise of mass-produced small cars which could comfortably undersell the largely hand-built small-makers models. A failed export order did not help.

Of the approximately 3000 cars made, only about five are known to have survived.

At its peak Crouch employed about 400 people and turned out 25 cars a week. John Crouch, the founder, had trained with Daimler

Daimler Motor Company

The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...

, and his son Bob worked there after the family firm closed. He eventually became head of bus sales.

Crouch Cars of England had no connection with Crouch of New Brighton

New Brighton, Pennsylvania

New Brighton is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Beaver River northwest of Pittsburgh. There are deposits of coal and clay in the vicinity. In the past, articles produced here included pottery, bricks, sewer pipe, glass, flour, twine, lead kegs,...

, Pennsylvania, USA, who manufactured steam cars between 1897 and 1900.