LuLu was an American cyclecar produced by the Kearns Motor Truck Company in Pennsylvania from 1914 to 1915.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
LuLu was a short-lived American cyclecar brand produced by the Kearns Motor Truck Company in Beavertown, Snyder County, Pennsylvania. It emerged from the engineering work of Charles Maxwell Kearns, an inventor and vehicle manufacturer whose earlier projects had developed from engine-equipped buggies into more elaborate automobiles and heavy trucks. Kearns established his company in 1903 and initially promoted vehicles associated with the Kearns Kar Kompany. Early Kearns vehicles used relatively unconventional mechanical solutions, including an air-cooled three-cylinder two-stroke engine and a friction-drive transmission. Their marketing emphasized the absence of valves, conventional gears, and a clutch. The LuLu represented a significant technical change from those earlier Kearns designs. Introduced in 1914, it abandoned the two-stroke engine in favor of a four-cylinder, four-stroke monobloc engine. It also used a clutch and a three-speed transmission rather than the earlier friction-drive system. The car was marketed as being more substantial than a basic cyclecar, reflecting an attempt to combine the light weight and relative affordability associated with cyclecars with more conventional automobile engineering. Contemporary production reportedly reached approximately 25 vehicles per week. The LuLu was priced at $450 when new. The available reference material gives this historical price but does not establish broader sales totals, profitability, dealer coverage, or export activity. The model was manufactured during 1914 and 1915, but production was interrupted by the effects of the First World War. After the war, the company resumed vehicle production but shifted its attention toward trucks, including fire trucks, rather than continuing the LuLu cyclecar as a major product line. LuLu therefore occupies a narrowly defined place in American automotive history: it was not a long-running mass-market marque, but a brief cyclecar project within the broader development of the Kearns vehicle business. Its importance lies primarily in the transition it represented from Kearns's earlier experimental, friction-drive vehicles to a more conventional four-cylinder automobile with clutch and geared transmission. The brand is now defunct, and the available source material does not document a continuing corporate successor, surviving production, or a modern commercial presence.
History
The LuLu cyclecar was part of the vehicle-manufacturing activities of Charles Maxwell Kearns in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. Kearns founded his company in 1903. The available historical account describes him as the son of a buggy maker who possessed strong inventive ability despite having received little formal education. His early work involved fitting an engine to a buggy, followed by the development of increasingly elaborate automobiles and heavy trucks. Kearns's earlier automobiles were associated with the Kearns Kar Kompany. A company emblem depicted the words of the business within the outline of a grille derived from a 1907 high-wheeler runabout. The company promoted its early vehicle design with the claims “Valveless, Gearless, and Clutchless.” Those vehicles used an air-cooled, three-cylinder, two-stroke engine described as having a “porcupine head.” Power was transmitted through a friction-drive arrangement rather than a conventional gearbox. A flat flywheel on the engine engaged a rubber-lined steel drive wheel at right angles; the drive wheel could move along a shaft running parallel to the rear axle. Chains then transmitted power from the shaft to the rear wheels. The LuLu, introduced in 1914, marked a departure from that earlier mechanical layout. Its two-stroke engine was replaced by a more conventional four-cylinder monobloc engine operating on the four-stroke cycle. The friction drive was also replaced with a clutch and three-speed gearing. These changes gave the car a more familiar drivetrain and distinguished it from the simplest cyclecars, which were generally designed around minimal weight and mechanical complexity. The vehicle was promoted as “more than a cyclecar,” a positioning that presented it as a relatively substantial light automobile rather than merely a stripped-down economy vehicle. Production was reported at approximately 25 vehicles per week in 1914. The listed price was $450, although the available source does not provide a complete production total, sales breakdown, dealer network, or evidence of exports. LuLu manufacture continued into 1915 but was disrupted by the First World War. The interruption prevented the model from developing into a long-running automobile line. After the war, the Kearns business resumed production but changed direction. Rather than returning to sustained LuLu cyclecar manufacture, it concentrated on trucks, including fire trucks. This strategic and product shift effectively ended the LuLu's role as a continuing passenger-vehicle brand. The available account does not identify a later owner, successor brand, surviving corporate structure, or modern revival. LuLu is consequently best understood as a brief Pennsylvania cyclecar marque associated with the early twentieth-century Kearns vehicle enterprise.
- 1915
LuLu production ended
[1]LuLu production was curtailed during the First World War, ending the model's short manufacturing run.
- 1914
LuLu cyclecar introduced
[1]The LuLu entered production with a four-cylinder monobloc engine, clutch, and three-speed transmission.
- 1914
Production reached approximately 25 vehicles per week
[1]The available historical account reports a production rate of about 25 LuLu vehicles per week during 1914.
- 1907
Earlier Kearns high-wheeler represented in company branding
[1]The Kearns Kar Kompany used a logo incorporating the outline of a grille associated with a 1907 high-wheeler runabout.
- 1903
Kearns vehicle company founded
[1]Charles Maxwell Kearns founded the company that later produced the LuLu, following earlier experiments with engine-powered buggies and vehicle construction.
Postwar shift toward trucks
[1]After the war, the company resumed manufacturing but focused on trucks, including fire trucks, instead of continuing the LuLu as a passenger vehicle.
Products and positioning
An affordable but more conventionally engineered alternative to very basic cyclecars, emphasizing a four-cylinder engine, clutch, and three-speed transmission.
Cyclecar · 1914
LuLu
The LuLu was a light automobile introduced in 1914 by the Kearns Motor Truck Company. Although marketed as more than a basic cyclecar, it retained the compact positioning associated with the category. Its main engineering distinction from earlier Kearns vehicles was the adoption of a four-cylinder monobloc four-stroke engine, a clutch, and a three-speed transmission in place of the earlier two-stroke and friction-drive arrangement. It was produced in Pennsylvania during 1914 and 1915, at a reported rate of approximately 25 vehicles per week in 1914, before wartime disruption ended the program.
Brand decisions
1914
Adoption of a conventional four-cylinder drivetrainGeneration changeBackground
The LuLu followed earlier Kearns vehicles that used a three-cylinder two-stroke engine and friction-drive transmission.
Action taken
Kearns replaced the earlier mechanical concept with a four-cylinder monobloc engine, clutch, and three-speed gearing for the LuLu.
Aftermath
The change positioned the LuLu as a more substantial and conventionally engineered cyclecar, but the model's production was later disrupted by the First World War.
- Postwar move from cyclecars to trucksStrategy
Background
Wartime disruption ended the LuLu's short production period.
Action taken
After resuming operations following the war, the company shifted its manufacturing emphasis to trucks, including fire trucks.
Aftermath
The LuLu did not return as a continuing passenger-car line, and the brand became defunct.
Recent events
Reported
UGREEN launches limited-edition Fast-Charging Power Kit in the Middle East[2]
UGREEN launched a limited-edition Fast-Charging Power Kit in a gift-box format as part of its "Stay Connected, Stay Together" campaign for the Middle East. The kit bundles four products: the Nexode Power Bank 45W 20000mAh, Nexode 45W Charger with retractable USB-C cable, FineTrack Smart Finder, and a USB-C to USB-C 60W cable. It is available in the UAE on Amazon, Noon, Virgin, Jumbo, Lulu, and Sharaf DG, and will be available in KSA from February on Amazon, Noon, and offline retail stores.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
LuLu opens express store in Dammam[3]
LuLu opened a new express store at Jalawiya Plaza in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The outlet was the retailer’s 22nd branch across the region and brought the group’s worldwide store count to 211.
Reported
LuLu soft-opens an Express Store in Jeddah[4]
LuLu Group soft-opened a new Express Store in Al Jamea, Jeddah, its 20th store in Saudi Arabia and its first store led by an all-women staff.
Reported
LuLu introduces Ramadan promotion[5]
LuLu introduced a Ramadan promotion with price offers and bundle deals on grocery essentials, and launched pre-packed Ramadan kits available in its stores and online.
Reported
LuLu begins grocery delivery through food apps[6]
LuLu partnered with food delivery apps to offer grocery orders through their platforms in Saudi Arabia. HungerStation and ToYou went live with LuLu groceries on March 29; the other participating apps were expected to go live in the following days.
Reported
LuLu launched its World Food festival in Saudi Arabia[7]
LuLu launched its annual World Food festival across its stores in Saudi Arabia, running from February 26 to March 10 and featuring food from more than 25 countries, cooking competitions, performances, and in-store offers.
Reported
Podberry partners with Lulu for Middle East distribution[8]
Podberry announced a partnership with supermarket chain Lulu under which Podberry products would be stocked across the Middle East, with the first pallet due to be delivered via Lulu's UK hub in late January.
Reported
LuLu launches Australia Week food festival[9]
LuLu launched the week-long Australia Week food festival at LuLu Hypermarket, The Roof, Al Yasmin, showcasing Australian food products. In-store offers were available from December 16 to 22.
Reported
LuLu opens a store at the Saudi National Guard campus in Dammam[10]
LuLu opened a LuLu Express Fresh Market at the Saudi Arabian National Guard campus in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Reported
LuLu launches Discover America festival[11]
LuLu unveiled its week-long Discover America showcase of food products and events at its Atyaf Mall hypermarket in Riyadh. The promotion was valid across LuLu stores in Saudi Arabia through Nov. 26.
Sources18 sources
- 1LuLuen.wikipedia.org
- 2UGREEN在中东推出限量版快速充电电源套装prnewswire.co.uk
- 3LuLu在达曼开设Express门店arabnews.com
- 4LuLu在吉达软开业一家Express门店saudigazette.com.sa
- 5LuLu推出斋月促销gulfnews.com
- 6LuLu开始通过食品配送应用提供杂货配送arabnews.com
- 7LuLu 在沙特阿拉伯推出 World Food 美食节saudigazette.com.sa
- 8Podberry与Lulu合作拓展中东分销bakeryandsnacks.com
- 9LuLu推出Australia Week澳大利亚美食节saudigazette.com.sa
- 10LuLu在达曼沙特国民警卫队园区开设门店saudigazette.com.sa
- 11LuLu推出“发现美国”美食节saudigazette.com.sa
- 12LuLu Group hosts Asean Festivalgulf-times.com
- 13LuLu hosts mango festival showcasing 20 local varietiesarabnews.com
- 14LuLu launches ‘Saudi Kitchen: Taste of Saudi Arabia’ food festivalsaudigazette.com.sa
- 15LuLu launches ‘Taste of Egypt’ festivalsaudigazette.com.sa
- 16LuLu launches British Week: Proud to support food is great campaignsaudigazette.com.sa
- 17Lulu launches taste of Egypt festivalarabnews.com
- 18LuLu launches World Food Festival across the Kingdomsaudigazette.com.sa
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