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30-569: John North Willys purchased the Edwards Motor Car Company of Long Island, New York , in 1913, moving the operation to Elyria, Ohio , where Willys owned the plant that had previously manufactured the Garford automobile. Production began with a four-cylinder model which was priced in the $ 2,500 price range. The Willys-Knight employed a Knight sleeve valve engine, generally four- and six-cylinder models. In 1915, Willys moved assembly of

60-615: A roundhouse mechanic with a reputation of being good at valve-setting jobs . Chrysler moved frequently, first to Wellington, Kansas , in 1897, then to Denver, Colorado for two weeks, and finally Cheyenne, Wyoming . Some of his moves were due to restlessness and a quick temper, but his roaming was also a way to become more well-rounded in his railroad knowledge. He worked his way up through positions such as foreman in Trinidad, Colorado , superintendent, division master mechanic, and general master mechanic. From 1905 to 1906, Chrysler worked for

90-670: A stroke after recovering completely from a previous heart attack that he had in May, at his home in The Bronx, New York City . He was interred in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York . Walter Chrysler Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, American automotive industry executive and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler Corporation . Chrysler

120-555: A few years, expanded into manufacturing his own line of bicycles. Willys' interest in cars came after an 1899 trip to Cleveland, where he saw an automobile for the first time, and knew they would quickly replace bicycles. Willys returned to New York and opened his first car dealership in Elmira , New York, selling Overland Automomobile brand automobiles. After changing the name to the Willys-Overland Motor Company in 1912,

150-594: A mechanical degree from the correspondence program. Walter Chrysler's father, Henry (Hank) Chrysler, was a Canadian, of German, English and Dutch ancestry. He was an American Civil War veteran who was a locomotive engineer for the Kansas Pacific Railway and its successor, the Union Pacific Railroad . Walter's mother was born in Rocheport, Missouri , and was also of German ancestry. Walter Chrysler

180-549: A meeting with Charles W. Nash , then president of the Buick Motor Company , who was looking for a smart production chief. Chrysler, who had resigned from many railroading jobs over the years, made his final resignation from railroading to become works manager (in charge of production) at Buick in Flint, Michigan . He found many ways to reduce the costs of production, such as putting an end to finishing automobile undercarriages with

210-721: A salary of $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 17.6 million in 2023) a year for two years, an astonishing amount at that time. When Chrysler left Willys in 1921 after an unsuccessful attempt to wrestle control from John Willys , he acquired a controlling interest in the ailing Maxwell Motor Company . Chrysler phased out Maxwell and absorbed it into his new firm, the Chrysler Corporation , in Detroit, Michigan , in 1925. In addition to his namesake car company, Plymouth and DeSoto marques were created, and in 1928 Chrysler purchased Dodge Brothers and renamed it Dodge . The same year he financed

240-601: A year (equivalent to $ 196,200 in 2023), and left one of the richest men in the United States. GM replaced Chrysler with Harry H. Bassett a protege who had risen through the ranks at the Weston-Mott axle manufacturing company, by then a subsidiary of Buick . Chrysler was then hired to attempt a turnaround by bankers who foresaw the loss of their investment in Willys-Overland Motor Company in Toledo, Ohio . He demanded and received

270-481: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . John North Willys John North Willys ( / ˈ w ɪ l ɪ s / ; October 25, 1873 – August 26, 1935) was an American automotive pioneer and diplomat. His company, Willys-Overland Motors , became the second largest carmaker in the United States after Henry Ford . Born in Canandaigua, New York , Willys began selling bicycles in his hometown and within

300-893: The Fort Worth and Denver Railway in Childress in West Texas . He later lived and worked in Oelwein, Iowa , at the main shops of the Chicago Great Western where there is a small park dedicated to him. The pinnacle of his railroading career came at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , where he became works manager of the Allegheny locomotive erecting shops of the American Locomotive Company (Alco). While working in Pittsburgh, Chrysler lived in

330-571: The "Universal" brand of farm tractor and a line of Stephens cars. The following year he acquired control of the Duesenberg company primarily to get his hands on Duesenberg brothers' factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey where he planned to produce a new six-cylinder car. Labor difficulties began to emerge at the Willys-Overland Toledo plant that resulted in a violent strike in 1919, shutting down

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360-660: The 1930s saw numerous carmakers go out of business, and the Willys enterprises went into bankruptcy reorganization in 1933. In 2008, Willys was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. Well respected in the business community, John Willys was a strong supporter of the United States Republican Party who had been an Ohio delegate to the 1916 Republican National Convention . Following

390-660: The Willys-Knight to Toledo, Ohio , but continued manufacturing the engines in Elyria. Willys-Knight introduced a sleeve-valve V8 in 1917, which was sold until 1919. Willys-Knight enjoyed a production run average of 50,000 cars per year after 1922. Willys also purchased Stearns-Knight of Cleveland, Ohio , which also used a sleeve valve Knight Engine, making that marque the crown jewel in his growing automotive empire. Willys-Knight production ended in November 1932 (model year 1933) when

420-599: The Willys-Overland plant in New Jersey was sold at auction to William C. Durant as was Willys' " New Process Gear Company ," in Syracuse, New York . With debt under control, Willys once again began expanding and in 1925 bought the F.J. Stearns Co. of Cleveland, Ohio that made a line of luxury vehicles. In 1926 Willys introduced the "Whippet" model line that sold in the U.S., Canada , and Australia . The Great Depression of

450-468: The company, in receivership, stopped building higher priced cars, and instead focused on the manufacture of the inexpensive but durable Willys 77 . Seven Willys-Knight vehicles including two large trucks and a touring car were used on the Martin and Osa Johnson photographic safari in the remotest areas of Africa. This article about classic and vintage automobiles produced between 1915 and 1930

480-637: The construction of the Chrysler Building in New York City , which was completed in 1930. Chrysler was named Time magazine 's Man of the Year for 1928. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1967. In 1923, Chrysler purchased from Henri Willis Bendel a twelve-acre (5 ha) waterfront estate at Kings Point on Long Island , New York , and renamed it Forker House. In December 1941,

510-547: The election of Herbert Hoover to the Presidency of the United States , in March 1930 Willys was appointed the first United States Ambassador to Poland , serving until May 1932. Willys and his wife had at least one daughter, Virginia, who married a rancher, Luis Marcelino de Aguirre, in 1929 when she was 18. The following year, John Willys and his wife of thirty-seven years divorced. He soon remarried. He died on August 26, 1935, of

540-473: The next year John Willys acquired the Edwards Motor Co of New York which gave him a license to manufacture the patented Knight "sleeve valve" engine. Success saw his car company become the second largest carmaker in the United States and in 1915 he built a seven-story headquarters in Toledo, Ohio , that was the most modern of its day. Before the end of the decade, one-third of the city of Toledo's workforce

570-429: The offer, which he did. Chrysler immediately accepted. Chrysler ran Buick successfully for three more years. Not long after his three-year contract was up, he resigned from his job as president of Buick in 1919. He did not agree with Durant's vision for the future of General Motors. Durant paid Chrysler $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 176 million in 2023) for his GM stock. Chrysler had started at Buick in 1911 for $ 6,000

600-621: The plant for several months. Willys hired General Motors vice-president Walter Chrysler to run the Willys-Overland operation at the then astonishing salary of $ 1 million a year. However, Chrysler tried to oust John Willys with an attempted takeover bid that backfired when the shareholders resisted his move and Chrysler left in 1921 to go into business for himself. Although very profitable, Willys' businesses were highly leveraged, expanded and/or acquired through massive borrowings. In 1921, Willys' nervous bankers forced him to consolidate in order to limit their exposure. To raise cash for debt reduction,

630-561: The property was developed as a country club. Chrysler turned 61 in the spring of 1936 and stepped down from an active role in the day-to-day business of the company. Two years later, his wife died at the age of 58 and Chrysler, devastated by the loss of his childhood sweetheart, suffered a stroke . His previously robust health never recovered from this, and he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in August 1940 at Forker House in Kings Point, New York. He

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660-825: The property was sold to the U.S. government's War Shipping Department and became known as Wiley Hall as part of the United States Merchant Marine Academy . Chrysler also built a country estate in Warrenton, Virginia , in what is referred to as the Virginia horse country and home to the Warrenton Hunt. In 1934, he purchased and undertook a major restoration of the Fauquier White Sulphur Springs Company resort and spa in Warrenton. Sold in 1953,

690-469: The same luxurious quality of finish that the body warranted. In 1916, William C. Durant , who founded General Motors in 1908, had retaken GM from bankers who had taken over the company. Chrysler, who was closely tied to the bankers, submitted his resignation to Durant, then based in New York City. Durant took the first train to Flint to make an attempt to keep Chrysler at the helm of Buick. Durant made

720-482: The subject traces the family tree to a Johann Philipp Kreißler, born in 1672, who left Germany for Canada in 1709. Chrysler's ancestors came from the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Guntersblum . His family belongs to Old Stock Americans . Chrysler apprenticed in the railroad shops at Ellis as a machinist and railroad mechanic. He then spent a period of years roaming the west, working for various railroads as

750-431: The then-unheard of salary offer of $ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 280,000 in 2023) a month for three years, with a $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 14 million in 2023) bonus at the end of each year, or $ 500,000 (equivalent to $ 14 million in 2023) in stock. Additionally, Chrysler would report directly to Durant, and would have full run of Buick without interference from anyone. Apparently in shock, Chrysler asked Durant to repeat

780-474: The town of Bellevue the first town outside of Pittsburgh on the north side of the Ohio River. Chrysler's automotive career began in 1911 when he received a summons to meet with James J. Storrow , a banker who was a director of Alco . Storrow asked him if he had given any thought to automobile manufacture. Chrysler had been an auto enthusiast for over five years by then, and was very interested. Storrow arranged

810-717: Was born in Wamego, Kansas , the son of Anna Maria Chrysler (née Breymann) and Henry Chrysler. He grew up in Ellis, Kansas , where today his boyhood home is a museum. His father was born in Chatham, Ontario , in 1850 and immigrated to the United States after 1858. A Freemason , Chrysler began his career as a machinist and railroad mechanic in Ellis. He took correspondence courses from International Correspondence Schools in Scranton, Pennsylvania, earning

840-462: Was employed either at Willys-Overland or at one of the numerous small businesses providing parts and supplies. His automobile empire offered the consumer the choice of an Overland, Willys or Willys-Knight vehicle, each relative to a specific type of engine or price range. Through his holding company, in 1918 John Willys acquired the Moline Plow Company of Moline, Illinois , which manufactured

870-625: Was not especially interested in his remote ancestors; his collaborative author Boyden Sparkes says that one genealogical researcher reported "that he had a sea-going Dutchman among his forebears; one Captain Jan Gerritsen Van Dalsen", but that "as to that, Walter Chrysler made it plain to me he was in accord with Jimmy Durante : 'Ancestors? I got millions of 'em!'." However, he thought enough of genealogy to include in his autobiography that his father, Hank Chrysler, "Canadian born, had been brought from Chatham, Ontario , to Kansas City when he

900-642: Was only five or six. His forebears had founded Chatham; the family stock was German ; eight generations back of me there had come to America one who spelled his name Greisler, a German Palatine . He was one of a group of Protestants who had left their German homeland in the Rhine Valley , gone to the Netherlands , thence to England and embarked, finally, from Plymouth for New York." Other researchers have since traced his ancestors in more detail. Karin Holl's monograph on

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