Reading Steamer

The Reading and Meteor were American steam cars developed by Irvin D. Lengel in 1901 in Reading, Pennsylvania. ^[1]

Steam Vehicle Company of America
Meteor Engineering Company

Industry	Automotive
Founded	1901; 124 years ago (1901)
Founder	Irvin D. Lengel
Defunct	1903; 122 years ago (1903)
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	Reading, Pennsylvania, United States
Products	Steam car

Reading Steam Carriage

Built by the Steam Vehicle Company of America, their advertisement promised their Model B "runs indefinitely without attention." The steamer featured a four-cylinder steam engine when most steamers used two-cylinders.^[2]

It had a bench seat over the engine compartment with tiller type steering. Drive was by chain to the rear wheels. The Model B sold for $850, equivalent to $30,891 in 2024. A year into the production of the Reading, creditors liquidated the company.^[1]

Meteor Steam Car

Irvin D. Lengel was also a principal of Meteor Engineering Company who took over the assets of the Steam Vehicle Company of America in 1902. Meteor built a tonneau version of the steam car. Meteor also built a prototype gasoline automobile, but by the fall of 1903, Meteor Engineering Company was bankrupt.^[1]