![]() ![]() The company was thus able to ride out the storm. The rest were sold off to a new holding company that leased some of the properties back to W-O. In it, only the main assembly plant and some smaller factories remained property of Willys-Overland. They were forced to sell their Canadian subsidiary, itself in weak financial shape, and started a massive reorganization. Production of the Willys-Knight ended in 1933.Īt this point Willys decided to clear the boards and produce two new models - the 4-cylinder Willys 77 and the 6-cylinder Willys 99 - but the firm was on the verge of bankruptcy again, so only the 77 went into production. Whippet production ended in 1931, its models replaced by the Willys Six and Eight. Following the stock-market crash of 1929 and the economic depression that soon followed, a number of Willys automotive brands began to falter. In 1926, production of the Overland ended and was replaced by the Whippet brand of small cars. (In 1925 the Maxwell car company would become the Chrysler Corporation). Walter Chrysler moved on to Maxwell-Chalmers, where in January 1924 he launched his own version of the six-cylinder Chrysler he had been working on, one still based partially on elements originally developed at Willys. The plant would build Durant's low priced Star, while the Chrysler Six prototype would be improved and modified, becoming the 1923 Flint. Durant, then in the process of building a new, third empire. ![]() The Elizabeth plant and the Chrysler Six prototype were sold to one William C. Chrysler had auto engineers Owen Skelton, Carl Breer and Fred Zeder begin work on a new car - the Chrysler Six.īut in order to raise cash needed to pay off debts, all of the Willys Corporation assets were on the auction block. Chrysler to sort out the mess and the first model to go was the Willys Six, deemed an engineering disaster. The New Jersey plant was replaced by a new, larger facility and was to be the site of production for a new Willys Six, but the 1920 recession brought the Willys Corporation to its knees. In 1916, they acquired the Russell Motor Car Company of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by 1917 New Process Gear, and in 1919 acquired the Duesenberg Motors Company plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. John Willys acquired the Electric Auto-Lite Company in 1914 and in 1917 formed the Willys Corporation to act as his holding company. ![]()
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