1926 Kissel 8-75

Founded in 1907, the Kissel Kar Company was established by two grandsons of German immigrants in Hartford, Wisconsin. The Kissel family had become successful as hardware merchants, property owners, land developers and lumber mill operators in the late 19th Century. When they decided to enter the automobile business they immediately hired Herman Palmer, another German immigrant with an engineering background and J. Fredrich Werner, a German coachbuilder who was living in America.

In 1918, the word 'Kar' was replaced by 'Car' in reaction to the post World War One anti-German sentiment. The Kissel Car Company produced cars, trucks and ambulances. With a reputation for building sporty and fast vehicles, they began supplying vehicles to many of Hollywood's premier movie stars including Fatty Arbuckle, Al Jolson, and Mary Pickford. Production of automobiles came to an end in late 1930.