“The Willys 77, conceptually, came from the (Willys) Whippet of 1927, and shared the engine from the Whippet. The Whippet was somewhere between the Model T and Model A in specification (think of a proto-Model A without quite the looks and an inferior engine), and was initially quite popular, as it filled the need for a combination of size, capability, and economy that the Model A later occupied so well. Ford had actually stopped car production for a period of months between the end of the ‘T’ and the start of the ‘A’. Willys got to fill that void with nice, cheap cars to sell. . . .
I know this is a bit into the weeds, but the Willys story threads all through the first two-thirds of twentieth-century industrial America. When our host cites the Wagoneer as a most influential element of American autodom, he actually scratches just the surface of an interesting (to me, anyway) subject. Did you know that Walter Chrysler left a leadership post at Willys to successfully start his own company, after a high-profile shareholder battle with J.N. Willys that he lost? (OK, I’ll stop now…).”
— Dutch 1960, Curbside Classic (2021)
RE:SOURCES
- Dutch 1960; 2021. Commentator in “Curbside Classic: 1968 Jeep Wagoneer – The Most Influential Vehicle Of The Post War Era – Not Just A Passing Fad.” Curbside Classic. Posted 11:25 a.m., April 29; accessed May 3.
Also see ‘1933-42 Willys offered a better template for an import beater’
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