The hard-luck half tonner

Did you know that from 1912 to 1918 the second largest selling automobile brand in the United States after Ford was Willys-Overland?

Founded in 1908 when John Willys (pronounced “Will-is”) purchased Overland Automotive from the Standard Wheel Company, the renamed Willys-Overland Corporation enjoyed a string of successes right up until the 1920 recession knocked it for a loop that it never quite recovered from. By the time the ‘30s rolled around, the company had fallen considerably, and was known primarily as a producer of dependable, if unremarkable cars and light trucks.

Fate, however, would give Willys one last chance at the big time: The company was one of three manufacturers chosen by the U.S. government to produce Jeep scout cars. When the war was over, Willys retained the rights for civilian Jeep production, but struggled to find a market for the utilitarian vehicles – even attempting to market them as alternatives to conventional farm tractors.

In 1953, Willys-Overland was acquired by the Kaiser Motor Company. The Willys name managed to live on for another 10 years before disappearing from the American automotive scene forever.