1915 Overland Model 80

With absolutely no experience in the automotive industry, Charles Minshall and Claude E. Cox decided to enter this new, and lucrative field. Cox had done a senior thesis project on a four-wheeler and this, as Mr. Minshall believed, was a sufficient experience to design an automobile and head Standard Wheels' new automobile department. Despite the lack of experience, they created a rather advanced Overland car, powered by a water-cooled, five-horsepower single-cylinder engine that was installed in the front under a hood, and backed by a two-speed planetary transmission controlled by a foot pedal. Around 12 or 13 were built in 1903, the inaugural year. The following year, production doubled and a two-cylinder model was added to the lineup. A twin and four-cylinder model followed in 1905, both with a steering wheel and shaft drive.

By this point in history, the company's headquarters at Terre Haute, Indiana were inadequate, so Cox moved the Overland automobile department into an abandoned Standard Wheel plant in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Although production had continued to escalate, the company was not making a profit. Minshall did not see the company's fortunes changing anytime soon, so he left the company. David M. Parry stepped in, providing the money necessary to organize the Overland Automobile Company on March 31st of 1906. Sales were strong, but profits remained elusive, and by 1907 the company was in a cash-flow crisis.

Car dealer John North Willys of Elmira, New York was unable to get cars from the factory to fulfill his many orders. He had ordered 500 cars and placed a $10,000 deposit, for 1907. He traveled to Indianapolis where he discovered that Parry had lost everything including his house. The parts that remained were sufficient to build just three automobiles. Willys took over, and using his salesmanship and management skills, he had production back on track, assembling cars in a circus tent because orders exceeded factory space. By 1910, Overland was the third-best-selling car in America after Ford and Buick. It would soon rise to second place. Production rose from nearly 5,000 vehicles in 1909 to nearly 15,600 vehicles in 1910. In 1912, the Willys company produced 28,572 vehicles, and this rose again in 1913 to 37,422.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2020