| Steam Vehicle Company of America Meteor Engineering Company | |
| Fate: | Closed |
| Founder: | Irvin D. Lengel |
| Location: | Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Industry: | Automotive |
| Products: | Steam car |
The Reading and Meteor were American steam cars developed by Irvin D. Lengel in 1901 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
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.[1]
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, . A year into the production of the Reading, creditors liquidated the company.
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.