Crosley - the Americans could also go small

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Crosley - the Americans could also go small

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Created on August 2, 2019

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Patrick Ernzen - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Archiv Dora Wagner

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RM/Sotheby's

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Teddy Pieper - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - the wheels are suspended on rigid axles all round

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - probably one of the most innovative post-war automobiles in the USA

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - the advertising livery was probably only applied in modern times

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - the car was too small for the Americans, not modern enough for the Europeans

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - about 3.7 meters long

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - weighing around 600 kg

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - only 126 cm wide

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - almost 1.5 meters high

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - with all-steel body

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - simple interior

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - four seats

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - 28 hp from 725 cm3

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - four-cylinder with overhead camshaft

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - the rear door is in two parts, as on many American station wagons

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - none too small to carry a radiator mascot ...

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Crosley CD Super Station Wagon (1951) - beautiful wheel covers

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Crosley (1940) - in action at the Indianapolis Speedway

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Crosley Sedan (1947) - early post-war model

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Crosley Hot Shot (1950) - ready for motorsport

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Crosley Hot Shot (1950) - Driver Fritz Feierabend

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The first winner in the history of the Sebring endurance races was a Crosley Hotshot! The race initially only lasted 6 hours instead of 12

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Crosley Farm-a-Road (1950) - the off-road vehicle without four-wheel drive

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Crosley Crosmobile (1950) - in the sales advertisement

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Crosley Super (1951) - as a convertible sedan

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Crosley Super Sports (1949) - the sportiest version, a further development of the Hot Shot

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Crosley Series DC Super Convertible (1951) - as a convertible sedan

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Crosley Series DC Super Convertible (1951) - as a convertible sedan

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Crosley Series DC Super Convertible (1951) - as a convertible sedan

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Summary

The first production car with disc brakes was a Crosley. The first Sebring race winner was also a Crosley. And yet hardly anyone in this country remembers these innovative American small cars, they were even ridiculed in Europe. Yet the Crosley engines already had overhead camshafts and an output of 36 hp per liter of displacement in 1946. This report tells the unusual story of the Crosley cars and shows a station wagon from 1951 in many photos, along with historical photographs and other models from the range at the time.

This article contains the following chapters

An inventor and businessman
The first Crosley small car
A new engine
Attracting attention in Europe
On a low flame
A real sports car
Victory at Sebring
The arrogance of European observers
Not everything was progressive
Further information

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Hardly anyone in this country knows the car manufacturer Crosley, although it was this company that attracted attention with a whole series of innovations long before the Europeans came up with similar ideas. Perhaps it was because Crosley automobiles were small and not very American? Powel Crosley (1886-1961) was the man who was always coming up with new ideas. At the age of 21, he built his first car, the Marathon Six with a six-cylinder engine, at a time when four-cylinder engines dominated. The car was not a success, nor were three further attempts to earn money with cars. But Crosley did not give up, shifting his focus initially to car accessories and finally to building radios, at a time when hardly anyone could afford such a device because it was more expensive than a Ford Model T. With his "Harko Junior Crystal Set", Powel offered a radio for a fraction of the price of the competition and business flourished. Powel also built refrigerators, including the first appliances that also offered storage space for food/drinks in the doors.

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