Jeep-builder launched Aero Willys cars in 1952

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TOLEDO – Although Willys-Overland became famous for its Jeeps during and after World War II, it built cars far longer than it did Jeeps.

The Willys-Overland name went back to 1908 when John North Willys rescued the Overland company of Indianapolis and moved it to Toledo, Ohio, renaming it the Willys-Overland Co. He did so well that from 1912 to 1919, W-O was second only to Ford's venerable Model T.

A brush with financial disaster in the early 1920s caused the bankers to bring in management wizard Walter P. Chrysler, recently resigned as general manager of Buick, to revive the company. Once Chrysler had accomplished a turnaround, it was returned to John Willys and again flourished producing its Overland, Whippet and Willys-Knight cars.

The products were renamed Willys in 1932 (Overlands appeared briefly in the late '30s), and the company managed to survive the Depression.

During World War II, W-O prospered, getting back on its feet after the Depression by landing the big military contract for its Jeep, a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle.

In 1945, Willys-Overland decided its pre-war cars were unsuitable for the postwar market, so it developed a civilian version of the famous Jeep.

In addition to the civilian Jeep versions, the company produced Jeep trucks, all-steel Jeep station wagons and sporty four-passenger Jeepster convertibles, the American industry's last open, four-wheeled model.

Then in 1952, Willys decided to return to building cars iand chose a product that was smaller than the standard Ford-Chevrolet-Plymouth.

The new Aero Willys was a fully modern design. Its attractive envelope body had a level fender line running front to rear with stylish little vestigial fins housing the tail-lights. The grille was a single, chromed horizontal bar adorned in the middle with a big W.

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With a wheelbase under nine feet and an overall length of less than 15 feet, Mechanix Illustrated's Tom McCahill said the Aero Willys "tucks itself into a parking space as easily as a short beer sliding down a barfly's throat." It was offered initially as a two-door, with a four-door soon added.

The 1952 Aero Willys came in four series: Aero Lark, Aero Wing, Aero Ace and Aero Eagle. Power came from a 2.6-litre, six-cylinder engine.

While the Aero Willys had acceptable style, performance and economy, it suffered from one serious disadvantage: price.

Willys-Overland had priced its new car at more than $2,200, which was $200 to $300 above the larger Fords and Chevrolets. Most buyers saw more value in the established larger cars. The ever forthright McCahill was moderately impressed with the Aero Willys, but pulled no punches about the price.

He opined that Willys-Overland should be awarded the "Greaseball Oscar for the year for introducing the most overpriced car in America."

First year Aero sales were 31,363, climbing to 42,244 in 1953, the year in which Willys-Overland was acquired by Kaiser Industries to create Kaiser-Willys.

In spite of the availability in 1954 of the 3.7-litre, 115 horsepower side-valve Kaiser six for the Ace and Eagle, creating what many considered the best Aero yet, sales slid to 11,865.

Even with the addition of a smart, two-door hardtop Bermuda model, 1955 sales of 5,300 convinced Kaiser to withdraw the car from the North American market at mid-year. The operation was moved to Brazil where the Aero Willys was marketed as a luxury car and would live for an amazing 13 years.

Another attempt to launch a new American car had failed. Its high price and perhaps some concern about the viability of the company had hurt it from the beginning.