Crosley cars: the American microcars of 1939-1952

Crosley Motors Incorporated was a small independent American maker of economy cars and microcars based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The firm was active from 1939 to 1952, with a break for the Second World War, and offered sedans, coupes, convertibles, station wagons, pickups and a small sports car, the Hotshot. For export the cars were badged Crosmobile.

Crosley cars at a glance

English Wikipedia has only the page on the company; the German page supplies the year-by-year model list.

History of the Crosley cars

From radios to cars

Powel Crosley Jr. made his fortune in radio and household appliances before turning to automobiles. His first production car was shown at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 28 April 1939: a two-door convertible weighing under 1,000 lb (450 kg). It used an air-cooled Waukesha two-cylinder boxer engine, a three-speed gearbox and a torque tube to the rear axle, and 2,017 cars were built in 1939. For 1941 the range grew to include a four-seat convertible, a cabriolet saloon, a station wagon, a delivery van and a pickup, and in 1942 came the Liberty Sedan, Crosley’s first saloon with an all-steel body.

The post-war range

Civilian production stopped during the war and resumed at Marion, Indiana, in 1945. The new CC model kept the pre-war chassis but had a new engine designed by Lloyd Taylor: a water-cooled four-cylinder with an aluminium crankcase and an overhead camshaft, built during the war for generators on torpedo boats and aircraft. The streamlined ponton body was designed by Sundberg & Ferrar of Royal Oak, Michigan; it was 3,683 mm long and the car weighed 524 kg. From 1949 the CD Four added the Deluxe Sedan, Coupe, Station Wagon, Pickup and Panel Truck, while the VC Four brought the Hotshot and Super Sports roadsters. Super versions of the saloon, coupe and station wagon appeared in 1950, the same year as the Farm-O-Road, a small agricultural vehicle on a 1,600 mm wheelbase.

The end

Crosley set several American firsts: the first mass-market car with an overhead-camshaft engine in 1946, the first all-steel station wagon in 1947, the first use of the term ‘Sport Utility’ for a 1948 convertible wagon, four-wheel caliper disc brakes in 1949 and the country’s first post-war sports car, the Hotshot, also in 1949. Sales peaked at 24,871 cars in 1948 and fell as buyers returned to larger cars; only 1,522 were sold in 1952. The last Crosley was built on 3 July 1952 and the plant was sold to the General Tire and Rubber Company. Between 1950 and 1952 the cars were also assembled in Mexico by Planta Reo de México.

Design and features

• Overhead-camshaft engine: the post-war four-cylinder was the first such engine in an affordable American car.
• Light construction: body-on-frame cars of 1,100–1,400 lb with rigid axles and leaf springs.
• Four-wheel disc brakes: fitted in 1949, among the first on any American car.
• All-steel station wagon: the most popular Crosley body style, the first of its kind in the United States.

Crosley cars versions

• CD Four saloon and coupe: the standard two-door and four-door models of 1949–1952.
• Station wagon: the best-selling Crosley, offered in standard and Super form.
• Pickup and panel delivery: light commercial versions on the same 80-inch chassis.
• Hotshot and Super Sports roadster: the VC Four sports cars from 1949.
• Farm-O-Road: a jeep-like utility vehicle of 1950 on a longer wheelbase.

All the cars of the marque are in the Crosley collection.

Video: 1947 Crosley Convertible

Video on YouTube.

Sources

• Crosley Motors, English Wikipedia: history, models, firsts, production
• Crosley Motors, German Wikipedia: model years, body styles, dimensions, sales