Notifications
Clear all
The Lounge
12
Posts
6
Users
28
Reactions
1,764
Views
Topic starter
04/11/2021 12:17 pm
Patrick Foster & Bill Tilden, WILLYS: THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, 1903-1963, Enthusiast Books, ISBN 13:978-1-58388-341-9 (2016, paper, 126 pp.)
Written with both insight and style, illustrated with historic as well as contemporary photos, Willys is, in short, a good read. The leadership come to life (Charles Minshall, Claude Cox, John North Willys, Ward Canaday, and Joseph Frazer). And the company evolves through those nearly forgotten names: Overland, Willys-Overland, Willys-Knight, Whippet, Aero-Willys, Willys, and, of course, Jeep. The quick rise to the second largest automobile producer in the United States (second only to Ford in 1913), the stumbles and disaster of the Great Depression (including good pictures and descriptions of the failed gamble with the new Model 77), and the experimentation of the 1930’s all set up Willys for its greatest success- the Jeep of World War II. The sad story of the last years ends with the moves to Argentina and Brazil and the ending.
It’s well worth the search if it results in finding this work of automotive history. Well done!
(I would have liked to add models from the early Willys years, but they just don't seem to be available.)
04/11/2021 12:44 pm
Interesting-looking book! Btw, what is the correct pronunciation of Willys:
Will-iss or Will-eez?
04/11/2021 12:45 pm
it looks like a wonderful read David.....thanks for the post......the name Ward Canaday rang a bell for me.....it was the summer of `68 or `69,I had a job as an assistant to a pair of full time groundskeepers on the Canaday estate in Toledo (Ottawa Hills)....each day there was like visiting a bygone era
Topic starter
04/11/2021 3:46 pm
Topic starter
04/11/2021 3:53 pm
And what a house! I followed your site and spent some time with the results. Wow! So this is where the president of Willys lived.
john barry and john barry reacted
04/11/2021 6:26 pm
And what a house! I followed your site and spent some time with the results. Wow! So this is where the president of Willys lived.
I wish that I had been mature enough at the time to appreciate all I saw there......so many "antique" tools and wheeled devices....I recall that,during our lunch break,the two hands always played the Paul Harvey show on the old radio in the "shed"
each time I see this picture,I`m reminded of that summer job and the two conservative gentlemen that doled out my daily chores
John Kuvakas and John Kuvakas reacted
04/11/2021 6:28 pm
I`m pretty sure that willys or "the willies" was a social condition brought about when our ancestors confronted a haint
John Kuvakas and John Kuvakas reacted
04/11/2021 7:20 pm
You might be surprised at how passionate some folks in Toledo get over how to pronounce the company name.
John Kuvakas
Warrenton, VA
john barry and john barry reacted
04/11/2021 7:39 pm
You might be surprised at how passionate some folks in Toledo get over how to pronounce the company name.
that in particular......but also various four syllable words in general
05/11/2021 10:22 am
Southern New England in the '50's - '70's they were pronounced Will-eez by most people even the local dealer..
