This weeks history article became part of the 4th largest car business in the US but sadly was lost when number four was swallowed up by number three! Rambler was one of the oldest brands and like many manufacturers, came from a bicycle maker. Thomas B Jeffery was the designer of the bicycles and the first cars. He was a part of the Gormully and Jeffery Manufacturing Company … [Read more...]
Hudson
This article is about Hudson, an American brand that was in business for over 50 years. Hudson was founded in 1909 in Detroit by several local businessmen and was named after the provider of the cash to start the venture: Joseph L Hudson. He was an owner of Hudson's Department store and was born in England but had moved firstly to Canada and then Detroit. The company he lent … [Read more...]
De Soto
Back in the 1920s and 30s the major American brands all looked to soak up the differing and growing market segments. Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers company and also created a second brand to target the mid range price point. This article is about this creation, named after Hernandez De Soto, a Spanish explorer of the 16th Century. The original De Soto was the first … [Read more...]
Saturn
Saturn was a General Motors brand that was in existence for about 27 years and could be called a companion brand, although it was more of a badge engineering exercise towards the end of its life. In 1982 the concept for Saturn was developed. General Motors was hit hard during the 1970s firstly by Japanese imports and then later by the main Japanese manufacturers setting up … [Read more...]
Willys
Willys technically doesn’t exist but its heritage does and has an Italian co-owner even though it is American through and through. John Willys founded his company in 1912 as the Willys-Overland Motor Company. He had started out by selling bicycles around New York State and this had lead him to set up a dealership for Overland cars. In 1907 with supply from the factory a … [Read more...]
