Introduction
Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, the firm was active from 1939 to 1952, interrupted by World War II production. Their station wagons were the most popular model, but also offered were sedans, pickups, convertibles, a sports car, and even a tiny jeep-like vehicle. For export, the cars were badged Crosmobile.
All of Crosley's models were lightweight (1,100 pounds/500 kilos to 1,400 pounds/640 kilos) body-on-frame cars with rigid axles front and rear, and engines with less than 1 litre (61 cubic inches) displacement. With exception of the Hotshot and Farm-O-Road models introduced near the end of Crosley production, the vast majority of all Crosley cars were built on an 80 inches (2.03 metres) wheelbase equipped with leaf-springs.
Powel Crosley Jr.
Industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, owner of Crosley Broadcasting Corporation and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, among other business interests, had ambitious plans to build subcompact cars. Crosley had built his first automobile at the age of twelve, and in 1907, at the age of twenty-one, formed Marathon Six Automotive in Connersville, Indiana. Crosley built a prototype of the "Marathon Six," a six-cylinder automobile priced at US$1,700, which was at the low end of the luxury car market, but failed to fund its production.
After working for several auto manufacturers in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana, and several more failed attempts to manufacture his own cars, including a cycle car model, Crosley found success in manufacturing automobile accessories as cofounder with Ira J. Cooper of the American Automobile Accessory Company in 1916, and bought out Cooper’s interest in the company. By 1919, Crosley and his younger brother and business partner, Lewis M. Crosley, had sold more than $1 million in parts and were diversifying into other consumer products.
Crosley Radio Corporation
Crosley increased his fortune in the 1920s and 1930s by developing, manufacturing and selling inexpensive radios, such as the "Harko", the Crosley "Pup" and the "Roamio" models. The Crosley Radio Corporation became the world's largest radio manufacturer in 1925. It expanded operations at Camp Washington, a Cincinnati neighbourhood, and began commercial radio broadcasting with WLW radio, considered "the Nation's Station." Crosley's company also introduced new consumer products and home appliances in the 1930s, including the "Shelvador," a refrigerator that had shelves in the doors, and other product innovations. The wealth that Crosley amassed from sales of these products provided the funds to diversify into other areas, including automobile manufacturing.
Beginning in the late 1930s Crosley developed low-priced compact cars and other pint-size vehicles. The first experimental prototype of the Crosley car was the 1937 CRAD (for Crosley Radio Auto Division) that had a 18 inches (46 cm) rear track. With the assistance of his brother, Lewis, a graduate engineer, Crosley also designed assembly plants for his manufacturing operations at Richmond and Marion, Indiana. On April 28, 1939, the first Crosley production car debuted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to mixed reviews. It was a two-door convertible that weighed under 1,000 pounds (454 kg). Initially offered at US$325 for a two-passenger coupe or $350 for a four-passenger sedan, the Crosley cars were cheaper than the nearest competition, the American Austin Car Company's American Bantam, which sold for $449 to $565.
The Crosley car's chassis had an 80-inch (203.20 cm) wheelbase and used beam axles with leaf-springs (half-elliptic springs in front, and quarter-elliptic springs in the rear). Under the hood, a four-gallon, gravity-fed gas-tank mounted above the motor made it possible for the car to operate without a fuel pump. The engine was a small, air-cooled Waukesha two-cylinder boxer, much like that of the Citroen 2CV, and had a fan as an integral part of the flywheel. The engine was connected to a three-speed transmission that provided power directly via a torque tube to the rear axle, eliminating the need for joints. This arrangement was judged unreliable, and conventional universal joints were fitted starting in 1941.
Production for 1939 was 2,017 units; however, only 422 cars were built in 1940. For 1941 a range of new, body-style variations of the 48-inch (1.22 m) wide car were introduced to expand the line-up: a station wagon, two panel vans (one called the "Parkway Delivery" had no front cabin roof), and a pick-up truck and "Covered Wagon" model that could convert into a truck by means of a removable back seat and detachable soft-top over the rear section. Crosley built nearly 2,300 cars in 1941. When the company introduced its first metal-topped model, the "Liberty Sedan," for 1942, pricing across the model range was US$299 to US$450.
During World War II the Crosley car suddenly became desirable due to gasoline rationing and the car's fuel efficiency, an estimated 50 miles per US gallon (4.7 litres/100 km; 60 mpg‑imp) at speeds of up to fifty miles per hour. Crosley was the last company to cease production of civilian vehicles in 1942, after building another 1,000 units that year. When the onset of war ended all automobile production in the United States in 1942, Crosley had produced a total of 5,757 cars. During the pre-war years the Crosley company operated manufacturing plants in Camp Washington, Ohio; Richmond, Indiana; and Marion, Indiana. The Crosley factories were converted to wartime production during the war.
World War II Production
The Crosley Corporation was involved in war production planning before December 1941, and like the rest of American industry, it focused on manufacturing war-related products during the war years. The company made a variety of products, ranging from proximity fuses, radio transceivers, field kitchens, and quarter-ton trailers, to gun turrets, among other items. Powered gun turrets for PT boats and B-24 and B-29 bombers were the company's largest contract. Crosley also produced a number of experimental vehicles during the war for the U.S. government.
Crosley's auto manufacturing division, CRAD, in Richmond, Indiana, produced experimental motorcycles, tricycles, four-wheel-drive military light utility vehicles, a self-propelled gun, and continuous track vehicles, some of which were amphibious models. All of these military prototypes were powered by the 2-cylinder boxer engine that powered the original Crosley automobiles. Crosley had nearly 5,000 of the engines on hand when auto production ceased in 1942, and hoped to put them to use in war-time production of miniature vehicles.
One vehicle prototype was the 1942–1943 Crosley CT-3 "Pup," a lightweight, single-passenger, four-wheel-drive vehicle that was transportable and air-droppable from a C-47 Skytrain. Six of the 1,125-pound (510 kg), 2-cylinder Pups were deployed overseas after undergoing tests at Fort Benning, Georgia, but the project was discontinued due to several weak components. Civilian car production resumed at the Marion, Indiana, facility in 1946 with the newly designed model CC. (The Richmond, Indiana, facility had been sold during the war years.) In 1950 Crosley brought the Farm-O-Road model, a 63-inch (1.60 m) wheelbase utility vehicle, decades ahead of the John Deere Gator and other small Utility vehicles. From 1950 onwards, Crosley's main models gained roll-down instead of sliding side windows.
Crosleys were built under the Crosmobile marque for overseas export. Crosmobiles were simply badge-engineered Crosleys, and were identical to standard Crosley models except for having Crosmobile-lettered hood and rear badges and hubcaps and instrument-cluster demarcations. The purpose of differentiating the exported Crosleys was to avoid confusion or conflict with Great Britain's non-related Crossley marque. Crosmobiles not only made it to Europe, but also elsewhere, including Cuba.
After The War
Post-war production began with 4,999 vehicles in 1946, and increased to five-figure numbers, producing more than 22,500 cars in 1947. Crosley sales peaked in 1948, with 24,871 or 27,707 cars sold, depending on the source, however the CoBra copper and stamped steel "tin block" engine proved a major misstep. Although it had proven reliable in military use, it fared poorly under less diligent civilian maintenance. The CoBra was replaced with a redesigned and more reliable conventional cast-iron engine in 1949, but the company's reputation suffered. Sales fell to 8,939 units in 1949, and to 7,612 in 1950. The addition of the Crosley "Hotshot" sports model and the "Farm-O-Road" model, a combination farm-tractor and all-wheel-drive vehicle in 1950, could not stop the decline.
More trouble came after the Big Three automakers introduced bigger, more lavish cars, and began manufacturing them in higher volumes and priced, in some cases, only little higher than a new Crosley car. Crosley sales dwindled to 4,839 units in 1951; only 1,522 Crosley vehicles were sold in 1952. Production ceased on July 3, 1952, when the final Crosley rolled off the production line. By then, Crosley had amassed sales of around 84,000 cars, however they did continue with the manufacture of engines for a short while to fulfil a government contract, but eventually the rights to the engine were sold. This engine was renamed "AeroJet" with production finally ending in 1955 – with the engine rights being sold to Fageol and later to a series of different companies ending in 1972 with the Fisher-Pierce Bearcat 55. Maritime modifications mostly included increasing displacement and converting the engine to operate with a vertical axis. The Crosley plant in Marion, Indiana, was sold to the General Tire and Rubber Company.
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.
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: Crosley Car Reviews
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