Sunday, September 22, 2019
Did Willys Aero have a chance?
Reading an old Collectible Auto magazine, noticed a fact that breaks conventional wisdom. The normal story, which I'd always believed, says that Rambler grabbed the compact niche immediately and the later competitors never had a chance.
Not quite true.
Total sales in 1953:
Rambler = 36231
Henry J and rebadged Allstate = 17300
Hudson Jet = 21143
Willys Aero = 41549
and the Station Wagon = 5417
Since the Station Wagon was also a compact (104" wheelbase, 4 cylinder engine) it fits in this category.
So Willys was beating Rambler by 10k in 1953, even without counting Jeeps and pickups.
Kaiser bought Willys in 1953 and got rid of the sedans. The Station Wagon and Jeep continued to grow in popularity, and now Willys is the #3 American brand by some measures.
Would Willys have grown faster and more consistently if Kaiser had put money into the sedans here? Kaiser did develop the sedans after moving them to Brazil, where they had a long second life in a more luxurious market niche.
At any rate, the conventional story about Rambler's inevitable win is wrong.
Labels: Answered better than asked
¶ 4:52 PM
