The Crosley
automobile was the brain child of Powel Crosley, who had already made his fortune as a radio and appliance manufacturer, owner of WLW the "Nation's Station" and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Crosley set up an engineering facility in Cincinnati Ohio, with assembly of the cars taking place in Richmond Indiana (Crosley Corporation) from 1939 to 1942, and then Marion Indiana (Crosley Motors) from 1946 to
1952. The company was eventually sold to General Tire in
1952, they soon halting production, although sporadic efforts were made to acquire the automotive tooling and fixtures to resume production, these efforts were all in vain.
Notable Crosley Owners:
-Gordon Baxter (HotShot, story in his book Bax & Car & Driver: The Best of Gordon Baxter)
-General Omar Bradley
-Humphrey Bogart (Two-cylinder Crosley)
-David Carradine (VC Super Sports)
-Kenny Delmar ('Senator Claghorn' on The Fred Allen Show)
-Tommy Dorsey
-President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1951 CD Surrey)
-Geraldine Farrar (Two-cylinder Crosley)
-Paulette Goddard (Two-cylinder Crosley)
-Pamela Harriman (purchased the first 1939 Crosley)
-George M. Humphrey, Secretary of the Treasury
-Art Linkletter (1952 CD Sport Convertible)
-Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon cartoonist (Crosley-Bandini)
-Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1950 HotShot)
-Gloria Swanson (Two-cylinder Crosley)
-Boy George (VC Super Sports)
-Fred Waring (Two-cylinder Crosley)
-Frank Lloyd Wright [49] (1952 VC Super Sports)
-John Westling (1947 2 door coupe)
Crosley Innovation
Crosley introduced several "firsts" in American automotive history, including the first affordable, mass-market car with an overhead camshaft engine in 1946; the first use of the term 'Sport(s-) Utility' in 1947, for a 1948 model year convertible wagon; and the first American cars to be fitted with 4-wheel caliper type disc brakes, as well as America's first post-war sports car, the Hotshot, in the 1949 model year. In the post-war period, Crosley introduced several "firsts" in the American automobile industry, including:
-The first mass-produced slab-sided / ponton-style car, the model 'CC', introduced in 1946, together with the Frazer / Kaiser of the same year.
-The first mass-production overhead camshaft engine, the CoBra (for Copper Brazed), carried over from military production, also starting in the 1946 model CC.
-The first use of the term 'Sport(s) Utility' in 1947, for the 1948 model year (albeit for an open model based on the wagon, not a wagon on a truck chassis).
-The first American cars to be fitted with 4-wheel calliper type disc brakes, in the 1949 model year (the Chrysler Imperial introduced four-wheel disc brakes as standard equipment on Crown Imperials at the beginning of the 1949 model year, but they were not of the calliper type).
-The first American post-war sports car, the Hotshot, also in the 1949 model year.
Crosley Model Summary
All Crosleys were two side-door models, with a few exceptions that just had two side door-openings or entry carve-outs.
Pre-war production with Waukesha Model 150 air-cooled opposed twin engine:
- 1939: Series (C)1A - Convertible Coupe and Convertible Sedan
- 1940: Series (C)2A - Convertible Coupe, Convertible Sedan / Deluxe Sedan, Station Wagon and Parkway Delivery
- 1941: Series CB41 - Convertible Coupe, Sedan and Deluxe Sedan; Station Wagon, Panel Delivery, Parkway Delivery, Covered Wagon and Pickup
- 1942: Series CB42 - Convertible Coupe and (Deluxe) Sedan, Station Wagon, Panel and Parkway Delivery, Covered Wagon, Pickup and steel-top 'Liberty Sedan'
Post-war production with 1946–1949 CoBra water-cooled straight-four engine
- 1946: CC Four - fastback Sedan and Convertible coupe
- 1947: CC Four - fastback Sedan, Convertible coupe and Pickup (roundside)
- 1948: CC Four - fastback Sedan, Convertible coupe, Station wagon, Panel van, Pickup (square), and 'Sport Utility' convertible wagon
Post-war production with 1949–1952 CIBA water-cooled four-cylinder inline engine
- 1949: CD Four including Deluxe Sedan, Coupe, Station Wagon, Pickup Truck and Panel Truck; VC Four including Hotshot Roadster and Super Sports Roadster
- 1950: CD Four including Sedan, Super Sedan, Coupe, Super Coupe, Station Wagon, Super Station Wagon; VC Four including Hotshot Roadster and Super Sports Roadster; FR Four including Farm-O-Road (in various submodels)
- 1951: CD Four including Business Coupe, Super Sedan, Station Wagon, Super Station Wagon, Super Coupe; VC Four including Hotshot Roadster and Super Sports Roadster; and FR Four including Farm-O-Road.
- 1952: CD Four including Standard Business Coupe, Super Sedan, Station Wagon, Super Station Wagon, Super Coupe; VC Four including Hotshot Roadster and Super Sports Roadster; FR Four including Farm-O-Road.
Also see: The History of Crosley (USA Edition) | Crosley Auto Advertising
