![]() It was a two-door convertible that weighed under 1,000 pounds (454 kg). On April 28, 1939, the first Crosley production car debuted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to mixed reviews. With the assistance of his brother, Lewis, a graduate engineer, Crosley also designed assembly plants for his manufacturing operations at Richmond and Marion, Indiana. The first experimental prototype of the Crosley car was the 1937 CRAD (for Crosley Radio Auto Division) that had a 18 inches (46 cm) rear track. First Crosley automobiles īeginning in the late 1930s Crosley developed low-priced compact cars and other pint-size vehicles. The wealth that Crosley amassed from sales of these products provided the funds to diversify into other areas, including automobile manufacturing. It expanded operations at Camp Washington, a Cincinnati neighborhood, and began commercial radio broadcasting with WLW radio, considered "the Nation's Station." Crosley's company also introduced new consumer products and home appliances in the 1930s, including the "Shelvador," a refrigerator that had shelves in the doors, and other product innovations. The Crosley Radio Corporation became the world's largest radio manufacturer in 1925. Ĭrosley increased his fortune in the 1920s and 1930s by developing, manufacturing, selling inexpensive radios, such as the "Harko", the Crosley "Pup" and the "Roamio" models. Crosley, had sold more than $1 million in parts and were diversifying into other consumer products. By 1919, Crosley and his younger brother and business partner, Lewis M. Cooper of the American Automobile Accessory Company in 1916, and bought out Cooper’s interest in the company. Īfter working for several auto manufacturers in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana, and several more failed attempts to manufacture his own cars, including a cycle car model, Crosley found success in manufacturing automobile accessories as cofounder with Ira J. Crosley built a prototype of the "Marathon Six," a six-cylinder automobile priced at US$1,700, which was at the low end of the luxury car market, but failed to fund its production. Crosley had built his first automobile at the age of twelve, and in 1907, at the age of twenty-one, formed Marathon Six Automotive in Connersville, Indiana. of Cincinnati, Ohio, owner of Crosley Broadcasting Corporation and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, among other business interests, had ambitious plans to build subcompact cars. The last Crosley car rolled off the assembly line on July 3, 1952, and the company focused on its other, more successful business ventures. After gas rationing was discontinued and the Big Three car makers began producing larger cars, consumer interest in Crosley's compact cars declined. In 1946 Crosley resumed production of compact and subcompact vehicles at its facility in Marion, Indiana, in addition to introducing new models and innovations to its offerings. He introduced the first Crosley compact car in 1939.ĭuring World War II the Crosley company discontinued civilian automobile manufacturing and began production of war-time materials, including development of experimental vehicles. The financial success of his manufacturing and radio broadcasting businesses provided the funds for Crosley to pursue his lifelong interest in manufacturing automobiles. In 1925 his company became the largest manufacturer of radios in the world. made his fortune in the automotive parts and accessories business, before diversifying into manufacturing other consumer products and Crosley automobiles in the 1920s and 1930s. With exception of the late introduced Hotshot and Farm-O-Road models, the vast majority of all Crosleys were built on an 80-inch (2.03-meter) wheelbase, and with leaf-springs. For export, the cars were badged Crosmobile.Ĭrosley introduced several "firsts" in American automotive history, including the first affordable, mass-market car with an overhead camshaft engine in 1946 the first use of the term ' Sport(s-) Utility' in 1947, for a 1948 model year convertible wagon and the first American cars to be fitted with 4-wheel caliper type disc brakes, as well as America's first post-war sports car, the Hotshot, in the 1949 model year.Īll of Crosley's models were lightweight (1,100 to 1,400 pounds (500 to 640 kilograms)) body-on-frame cars with rigid axles front and rear, and engines with less than 1 litre (61 cubic inches) displacement. Their station wagons were the most popular model, but also offered were sedans, pickups, convertibles, a sports car, and even a tiny jeep-like vehicle. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, interrupted by World War II production. The Crosley Hotshot, introduced in 1949, was America's first post-war sportscarĬrosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars.
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