1912 Overland Model 61

In 1903, Claude Cox built his first single-cylinder Overland in Terre Haute. There were around a dozen examples produced before a twin-cylinder version was introduced in 1904. Sales were steady, but slow until an Elmira-based individual named John North Willys agreed to help.

Willys' placed an order for 500 1907 Overlands and made a $10,000 deposit check, but it went virtually unnoticed. He took a train to Indianapolis where he discovered progress was slow. He took charge, writing his own check for back wages. Using his skills, he quickly drove production to 465 cars in 1908. The following year, 4,907 units were sold.

Willys' took over Ohio's Marion Motor Car Company and later Colonel Albert Pope's Pope-Toledo factory in Ohio, where he consolidated his automotive holding under the Willys-Overland umbrella in 1909.

For 1910, Overland organized its products around a new small car, the Model 38. The car was powered by a four-cylinder engine offering 25 horsepower and resting on a 102-inch wheelbase. The Model 38 was joined by the Models 40, 41, and 42, each having a larger 112-inch wheelbase and a more powerful, 40-horsepower four-cylinder engine. Sales were very strong, with 15,598 units built in 1910.

By 1912, Willys-Overland was second to only Ford in the American automobile market.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2010