Automobile and Truck Manufacturers

Note on colors: Blue indicates a current General Motors company, Red indicates a current Ford company, and Green indicates a current Chrysler-Daimler company.   Black indicates a current non-Big 3 American company .   Brown indicates an existing foreign company.   Purple indicates a company that was liquidated.

Automotive industries comprise car and truck designers and manufacturers automotive research institutes and the industries that manufacture materials and components for their manufacturer.   it also includes the dealers who sell them, transportation companies, the companies who finance car and truck buyers, and car & truck service companies.

Cars are built in many countries around the world; in 2006 the U.S. and Japan are the largest automakers.   Manufacture began in German, soon followed by France.   The first car imported into the U.S. was in 1893 when a Benz car was displayed at the Chicago World's Fair.

1880-1889

The automobile industry began with the first commercially available Motorwagen Model 3 designed by Karl Benz, a German who arguably is credited with the invention of the automobile in 1885 and patented in 1886.   His company was the Benz & Company Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik, usually called Benz & Cie.   Many of his cars were built and sold in France by Messr. Roger because the Parisians were more eager buyers than those elsewhere. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1890-1899

In 1892 Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Daimler Engines Company, DMG) sells its first automobile. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Oldsmobiles were first manufactured by the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan, a company founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The Thomas B. Jeffery Company was founded by its namesake in Kenosha, WI in 1897 from a bicycle company.   It manufactured the Rambler and Jeffery brand cars. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The Columbia Automobile Company was created as a joint venture of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, CT, and the Electric Vehicle Company in 1899.   At the turn of the 20th Century they were producing and selling hundreds of vehicles a year under Pope's Columbia brand name, while most gasoline engine automobile manufacturers had made only a few dozen cars.   Columbia's basic runabout was typical of the time, resembling a horseless carriage steered via a tiller for $850, $200 more than the contemporary Curved Dash Olds.   The 1200 pound, single bench seat vehicle had a wheelbase of 64 inches, and rode on 30 inch wooden spoked wheels with leather fenders.   The drivetrain had clear evolutionary roots in Pope's bicycle business, driving the rear axle via a chain drive which accounted for virtually the only operating noise.   Between the motor and the chain drive was a transmission with three forward speeds and two reverse speeds.   Twenty batteries manufactured by Exide Batteries, also associated with Electric Vehicle Company, were placed above both axles so as to balance the weight.   Brakes on both rear wheels featured a bell, which rang when the vehicle reached a full stop.   Top speed was about 15 miles per hour.   In addition to the runabout, Columbia had a range of about 20 electric vehicles all the way up to electric buses, and including taxis and police cars.   The vehicles were most popular in cities where the relatively smooth roads made the superiority in smoothness and silence of the electric motor over the gasoline engine obvious, and where electrical supply for recharging was easily found within the runabout's 40 mile range.   Nevertheless, in 1903 a Columbia was driven from Boston to New York city, a 250 mile trip, accomplished in 23 hours.   In keeping with this urban orientation, the Columbia was positioned as a high-end vehicle, with its showroom across the street from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.   In 1908, the company was renamed the Columbia Motor Car Co. and in 1910 was acquired by United States Motor Company. ^{Wiki n.p.}   It failed along with that company.

1900-1909

In 1900 Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (Daimler Engines Company, DMG) builds the Mercedes (Daimler-Mercedes) car.   It is produced in 1902. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1901, Oldsmobile produces 425 cars, making it the first high-volume automobile manufacturer of the day.   It will lead all carmakers for the next few years.   It introduced the first assembly line to the automotive industry. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1901, Max Grabowski formed a company called the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, which developed some of the earliest commercial trucks using 1-cylinder engines. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Charles T. Jeffery, founder Thomas's son, experimental prototypes of 1901 (Models A & B) used at least two radical innovations, steering wheels and front-mounted engines.   By the time Charles was ready for production in 1902, his father had talked him out of these wild dreams and convinced him to stick with tillers and engines under the seat.   From 1902 until 1908 Jeffery moved steadily to bigger, more reliable models.   Jeffery cars were built on assembly lines (the second manufacturer to adopt them; Ransom Olds was first) and in 1903 Jeffery sold 1,350 Ramblers.   By 1905, Jeffery more than doubled this number.   One reason may have been because Charles went back to the steering wheel before 1904.   In 1907, Jeffery was building a large variety of different body styles and sizes.   Among them was a 5-passenger, $2,500 Rambler weighing 2,600 pounds and powered by a 40-hp engine.   The company will be bought in 1916 by Charles W. Nash and renamed the Nash Motor Company. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Cadillac was formed in 1902 from the the Henry Ford Company was dissolved following financial difficulties.   Henry Ford departed along with several of his key partners.   Ford's financial backers, William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen called in engineer Henry M. Leland to appraise the plant and equipment prior to selling them.   Instead, Leland persuaded them to continue the automobile business using Leland's proven 1-cylinder engine.   Henry Ford's departure required a new name, the Cadillac Automobile Company. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Buick originated as an independent motor car manufacturer, the Buick Motor Company, incorporated on May 19, 1903 by the Scottish-American David Dunbar Buick, who invented the overhead valve engine on which the company's success was based, in Flint, Michigan.   In 1904, the financially distressed company was taken over by James Whiting, who brought in William C. Durant to manage his new acquisition.   Durant later became president of the company. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Jonathan Dixon Maxwell, who once worked at Oldsmobile, and the Briscoe Brothers Metalworks.   He and Benjamin Briscoe formed the Maxwell-Briscoe Co. with Brisco as president.   They produced their first 532 Maxwell cars in 1904, in Tarrytown, NY.   They later built cars in New Castle in 1907, which was then billed as the largest automobile manufacturing facility in the United States.     The Maxwell car lasted from 1904 to 1925, but under other company names. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The REO Motor Car Company was founded by Ransom E. Olds in August 1904 in Lansing, MI, after he left his namesake Oldsmobile Coompany when it was in financial distress.   Olds became the first president and general manager.   To ensure a reliable supply of parts, he organized a number of subsidiary firms like the National Oil Company, the Michigan Screw Company, and the Atlas Drop Forge Company.   REO manufactured automobiles from 1905 to 1936, including the famous REO Speed Wagon light delivery truck, an ancestor of the pickup truck.   Becoming noncompetitive in cars, REO began to build trucks in 1936. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Stoddard-Dayton was a high quality car manufactured by Dayton Motor Car Company in Dayton, Ohio, USA, between 1905 and 1913.   John W. Stoddard and his son Charles G. Stoddard were the principals in the company.   In 1904, John Stoddard decided to exit the agricultural implement business from which he had earned his fortune and instead to manufacture high quality automobiles for the emerging market in the United States.   He sent his son Charles to Europe to tour continental automobile manufacturers.   Charles returned convinced that electricity and steam were outmoded forms of propulsion.   The earliest cars used Rutenber engines and had 4605cc engines.   Six-cylinder engines appeared in 1907.   The final range consisted of three four-cylinder models and a Knight sleeve valve six.   The company adopted a strategy of building the highest quality motor cars with powerful engines.   Henry J. Edwards (b. ca 1872 England–) was the auto designer and Chief Engineer of the company.   Low-end models were dressed in 15 to 18 coats of paint, each coat hand sanded and rubbed out.   The limousine model had 27 or 28 coats of paint, similarly applied.   After assembly each car was driven on public roads for 150 to 400 miles, then the engine was disassembled, the cylinders re-honed, valves touched up, and then reassembled and road tested again.   Cars began to be delivered in late 1905, sold as 1906 models.   In 1906 there were three models: Runabout, $1,250, equipped with 15-horsepower "T"-head engine; Touring car, $2,250; Limousine, $3,200, equipped with 35-horsepower engine (and 28 coats of paint).   In 1909 Stoddard-Dayton formed the Courier Car Co in Dayton to produce a smaller, lighter, and lower-priced version of the Stoddard-Dayton, called the Courier.   By 1911 Stoddard-Dayton offered 20 models with four different engines—limousines, landaulets, coupes, touring, torpedoes, roadsters, trucks, taxicabs, delivery wagons.   Examples include: "Savoy," $1,350, equipped with 28-horsepower engine; "Stratford," equipped with 38-horsepower engine; "Saybrook," equipped with 48-horsepower engine; "Special," equipped with 58-horsepower engine; "Stoddard-Dayton-Knight limousine," $6,250, with six-cylinder 70-horsepower engine.   In 1912 about 25,000 automobiles in 26 models were manufactured.   In June 1912, Stoddard-Dayton became part of the United States Motor Company.   They made an advance purchase of a large volume of engines from Atlas Engine Works of Indianapolis, Indiana, and made commitments for 30,000 chassis, factors that contributed to financial instability.   In February 1912 Charles Stoddard resigned as Vice President of United States Motor Company and Henry Edwards resigned as Chief Designer to form the Edwards Motor Car Company.   Stoddard remained a Director of USMC and continued his financial holdings.   However, United States Motor Company went into receivership in late 1912 and failed in bankruptcy in 1913.   The Stoddard-Dayton went down with it.   The assets of the Dayton Motor Car Company were purchased by the reorganized Maxwell where parts were manufactured for assembly at New Castle, Indiana, and later Detroit, Michigan.   In 1913, Maxwell continued to offer the Stoddard-Dayton models 30, 38 and 48 (Savoy, Stratford and Saybrook), although these may have been leftover 1912 models.

The 1913 model 48 offered a self-starter and electric lighting for an additional $200.   When Maxwell later was itself reorganized, it became part of Chrysler Corporation and the Dayton division became Chrysler AirTemp.   Stoddard-Dayton was slow to react to the emergence of a mass market and maintained a high-quality strategy after automobiles ceased to be exclusively rich men's status symbols.   They were building cars as good as possible while Ford and General Motors were building as cheap as possible.   Stoddard-Dayton continued to expand model offerings at all price points, but never changed fundamental manufacturing methods.   The classic example of this was the 11-part radiator cap on the limousine - body, two pins, gasket, gasket retainer, screws, and latch.   It was permanently attached to the radiator so that it could not be lost or stolen and could be opened with a flip of the locking lever, even when the engine was hot.   Meanwhile in Detroit a Ford punch press was punching out caps and then an operation applied threads.   True, the threads sometimes stuck and it could not be removed when the radiator was hot, but the Model T was selling for $399. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The McLaughlin Automobile Company began life as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, a blacksmith shop in Enniskillen, Ontario, Canada, founded by "Colonel" Sam McLaughlin (1871-1972).   The company began making horse-drawn carriages in the mid-19th century but moved to Oshawa, Ontario in 1876.   The most successful of their time, it produced more than 25,000 carriages a year.   The company incorporated as the McLaughlin Carriage Company, Ltd. in 1901.   In 1907 the company began the manufacture of automobiles, eventually forming an alliance with William C. Durant, who had acquired the Buick Motor Company that later would become General Motors. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Brush Motor Company based in Detroit, Michigan, was founded by Alanson P. Brush in 1907.   He designed a light car with wooden chassis (actually wooden rails and iron cross-members), friction drive transmission and "underslung" coil springs in tension instead of compression.   Although there were many makes of small runabouts of similar size and one to four cylinders at this time (before the Model T Ford dominated the low-price market), the Brush has many unusual design details showing the inventiveness of its creator.   Power was provided by a large single-cylinder water-cooled engine.   A feature of engines designed by Brush (who also designed the first Oakland Motor Car, ancestor of Pontiac) was that they ran counter-clockwise instead of the usual clockwise, which, in those days before the invention of the electric starter, was Brush's idea intended to make them safer for a right-handed person to crank-start by hand.   The company formed part of Benjamin Briscoe's United States Motor Company from 1910 and ended when that company failed in 1913. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The Oakland Motor Company and Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works Company erged in November 1908 under the name of the Oakland Motor Car Company.   The operations of both companies were joined together in Pontiac, Michigan to build the Cartercar.   The Oakland was a brand of automobile manufactured between 1907-1909 by the Oakland Motor Car Company of Pontiac, Michigan and between 1909 and 1931 by the Oakland Motors Division of General Motors Corporation.   Oakland's principle founder was Edward P. Murphy, who sold half the company to GM in January 1909.   When Murphy died in the summer of 1909, GM acquired the remaining rights to Oakland.   As originally conceived and introduced, the first Oakland used a vertical 2-cylinder engine that rotated counterclockwise.   This design by Alanson Brush (inventor of the Brush Runabout) lasted one year and was replaced by a more standard 4-cylinder engine. ^{Wiki n.p. Wiki n.p.}

General Motors was founded in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant, and acquired Oldsmobile later that year.   Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland (later, Pontiac), Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and Reliance Motor Truck Company (Owosso, MI) are purchased by General Motors in 1909. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The Courier Car Co. was an automobile manufacturer formed in 1909 by the Stoddard-Dayton Company in Dayton, Ohio to produce smaller, lighter and lower-priced models.   It's advertisements were early advocates of the compact car: "Don't buy more car than you need ... Don't you buy a car of greater power or capacity than you need."   The cars were built on a 100-inch wheelbase and powered by a modest 22.5 horsepower engine.   Four-cylinder models (3245cc and 3638cc) were produced.   The car was comparable in size to the Ford Model T, but had three forward gears to Ford's two and the Courier was a snappier performer.   Only two body styles were offered: an open, four-passenger touring car and a sporty, two-seater sportster.   Like Stoddard-Dayton, Courier also formed part in the United States Motor Company.   After the acquisition by United States Motors, the 1912 models were called Courier Clermonts.   Production ceased in 1913, when United States Motor Company failed. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Maybach leaves DMG in 1907 to found Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH together with his son Karl in 1909, manufacturing Zeppelin engines.   After the Versailles Treaty, they produced large luxury vehicles, branded as Maybach, until the 1940s. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The Courier Car Co. was an automobile manufacturer formed in 1909 by the Stoddard-Dayton Company in Dayton, Ohio to produce smaller, lighter and lower-priced models.   It was purchaed by United States Motor in 1910 and failed along with that company in 1913. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1910-1919

The United States Motor Company (USMC) was organized by Benjamin Briscoe in 1910 as a selling company to represent various manufacturers.   It had begun life as the International Motor Company in 1908 in an attempt to create the first major consolidation within the industry with Maxwell-Briscoe and Buick, which did not succeed.   International Motor was renamed USMC in December 1909.   By the end of 1910 there were 11 constituent companies, each still headed by the individual who had built each company originally.   During 1910, rumors surfaced that United States Motor Company was going to merge with General Motors, but Briscoe scotched the rumors by stating that any attempt to integrate General Motors into USMC would create chaos.   This was an effort to try to save several independent automotive manufacturing companies who were having great difficulty in getting the necessary financial backing.   Those companies included: Maxwell, Stoddard-Dayton, Courier Car Co, Columbia Automobile Company, Brush Motor Car Company, Alden Sampson Trucks, Gray Marine, and Providence Engineering Works, with the Thomas and other lines coming aboard later.   1910 production announced in mid-year included 15,000 Maxwells, 10,000 Brush Runabouts, and 10,000 of the Stoddard-Dayton, Columbia, and Alden Sampson Trucks.   Later in 1910, Briscoe formed United Motors International, Ltd. to handle international sales of the United States Motor Company, focused mainly on England.   The company stated that it had 18 plants with combined floorspace of 49 acres with 14,000 employees capable of producing 52,000 vehicles.   There were 52 models offered in 1911.   It was claimed that there was no leftover stock of unsold cars from the 1910 model year and that business was up 57% from the year earlier.   Briscoe several times complained that the antipathy of bankers to the automobile industry was hampering growth.   In early 1912, the company suspended dividend payments on its preferred stock and in September 1912 year went into receivership.   The bankers attributed the failure to bad management.   A conflict between two of its backers, who also had a financial interest in General Motors, led to the downfall.   Briscoe retired in late 1912 and was replaced by Walter E. Flanders as manager for the receivers committee.   The assets of the United States Motor Company and constituent companies were sold for $7,080,000 at a public foreclosure sale in January 1913.   The USMC assets were purchased by Walter Flanders, who reorganized the company as the Maxwell Motor Company, Inc.   This was the only surviving member of the group.   In the early 1920s this company was reorganized and became Chrysler. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Maxwell was the only profitable company of United States Motor Company formed in 1910.   Due to a conflict between two of its backers, the United States Motor Company failed in 1913.   Maxwell was the only surviving member of the combine.   In 1913, the Maxwell assets were purchased by Walter Flanders, who reorganized the company as the Maxwell Motor Company, Inc.   The company moved to Detroit, Michigan.   Some of the Maxwells were also manufactured at a plant in Dayton, Ohio.   For a time, Maxwell was considered one of the three top automobile firms in America along with Buick and Ford. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1907 Hugh Chalmers, the president of the National Cash Register Company, became a partner in a firm producing the Thomas-Detroit automobile.   Within a year Chalmers bought half of E.R. Thomas's stock and became president of the company, which he renamed the Chalmers-Detroit Motor Company.   Chalmers produced popular cars, with production rates hitting 20,000 units in 1915, but by the 1920s the auto industry was facing financial difficulties due to over-expansion and recession.   In 1922 Chalmers was taken over by Maxwell, a former competitor that had become a Chrysler subsidiary. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Following its alliance with General Motors, the "McLaughlin" automobiles were designed with the Buick Model F engine and a McLaughlin body and the "McLaughlin-Buick" in 1910 until 1942, after which the McLaughlin name was dropped for the name "Buick". ^{Wiki n.p.}

Chevrolet was co-founded by Louis Chevrolet, a prominent race car driver born in Switzerland, and William C. Durant, the founder and former president of General Motors who had been forced out in 1910   He planned to use Louis Chevrolet's designs to rebuild his own reputation as a force in the automobile industry.   As head of Buick Motor Company, prior to founding GM, Durant had hired Chevrolet to drive Buicks in promotional races.   On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet entered the automobile market to compete with the Ford Model T. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1918, the McLaughlin family sold its interests to General Motors, but Sam McLaughlin would continue to run the company in his capacity as chairman of the board of General Motors of Canada, in addition to being vice-president and director of the parent company. ^{Wiki n.p.}

GM Canada was founded in 1918 by the purchase of the McLaughlin Motor Car Co. by General Motors.   Prior to becoming GM Canada, McLaughlin had acquired the approval of William C. Durant, then owner of the Chevrolet Motor Co., to produce Chevrolet automobiles in Canada. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In May 1916, William Durant creates United Motors Corp., a combination of five parts and accessories manufacturers that include Hyatt Roller Bearing, led by Alfred P. Sloan, and Dayton Engineering Laboratories, led by Charles F. Kettering.   Sloan is named president of United Motors. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Nash Motors was founded in 1916 by former General Motors executive, Charles W. Nash, who acquired the Thomas B. Jeffery Company. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1919 United Motors Company acquires Delco, Dayton-Wright, and the Dayton Metal Products Company.   All of these companies were associated with Charles Kettering, Edward A. Deeds, and Harold E. Talbott. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1920-1929

The LaFayette Motors Corporation was founded in 1919.   LaFayette was originally headquartered in Mars Hill, Indianapolis, IN, and made luxury motor cars, beginning with 1920 models.   LaFayette innovations include the first electric clock in an auto.   For a time Nash and Lafayette remained separate companies, although Nash Motors was the principal LaFayette Motors stock holder.   In 1922 LaFayette's facilities were moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.   In 1924 Nash Motors became full owner of LaFayette Motors, and the name was retired soon after.

Its factories were quickly put to a new, more profitable use: the manufacture of Ajax motor cars. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In a short period of time, Maxwell over-extended and wound up deeply in debt with over half of their production unsold in the post World War I recession in 1920.   The following year Walter P. Chrysler arranged to take a controlling interest in Maxwell.   Maxwell Motors was re-incorporated in West Virginia with Walter Chrysler as the chairman.   Around the same time that all of this was happening, Maxwell was also in the process of merging with the ailing Chalmers Automobile Company.   Chalmers production would end in late 1923.   In 1925 Walter Chrysler formed the Chrysler Motors Corporation.   That same year the Maxwell line was phased out and the Maxwell company assets were absorbed by Chrysler.   The Maxwell would continue to live on in another form because the new line of 4-cylinder Chryslers that were introduced for the 1926 model year were created largely by using the design of earlier Maxwells.   These former Maxwells would undergo yet another transformation in 1928 when a second reworking and renaming would bring about the creation of the first Plymouth. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1924 Nash absorbed LaFayette Motors of Milwaukee, WI, and converted its plant to produce Ajax automobiles. ^{Wiki n.p.}

For the 1925 model year Nash introduced an entry-level model named the Ajax.   A car of exceptional quality for its price, the Ajax was produced in the newly acquired Mitchell Motor Car Company plant in Racine, Wisconsin.   Mitchell was the manufacturer of Mitchell-brand automobiles between 1903-1923.   Sales of Ajax automobiles, while respectable, were disappointing.   It was believed that the same car would sell even better if it were called a Nash.   Thus the Ajax became the "Nash Light Six" in June, 1926, and sales did improve, just as expected.   In an unusual move, Nash Motors offered all Ajax owners a kit to "convert" their Ajax into a Nash Light Six.   This kit, supplied at no charge, included a full set of new hubcaps, radiator badge, and all other parts necessary to change the identity of an Ajax into that of a Nash Light Six.   This was done to protect Ajax owners from the drop in resale value their cars were sure to suffer when the Ajax marque was discontinued.   In this way Nash Motors showed the high value they placed upon their customers satisfaction and well-being.   Most Ajax owners took advantage of this generous move, and so "unconverted" Ajax cars are rare today. ^{Wiki n.p.}

In 1926 Daimler (DMG) merges with the Karl Benz company, forming Daimler-Benz. ^{Wiki n.p.}

The LaSalle was a General Motors automobile from 1927 to 1940. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1930-1939

In 1934 Nash re-introduces the LaFayette name, this time for a line of smaller, less expensive autos.   In 1935 Nash introduced a series known as the "Nash 400" to fill the perceived price gap between the LaFayette and the Nash.   By 1937 it was determined that this perceived gap wasn't so important after all and that Nash Motors was marketing too many models.   The LaFayette and the Nash 400 were combined into a single model called the Nash LaFayette 400 for 1937 and the LaFayette ceased to be regarded as a separate make of car.   For 1938 this became simply the Nash LaFayette and the LaFayette line continued as Nash's lowest-priced offering through 1940.   For 1941 the LaFayette was replaced by the all-new unibody Nash 600. ^{Wiki n.p.}

Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the result of a merger between Nash Motors and Kelvinator Appliance Company in 1937. Before retiring, Charlie Nash chose Kelvinator Corporation head George W. Mason to succeed him.   Mason accepted, but placed one condition on the job: Nash would acquire controlling interest in Kelvinator, which at the time was the leading manufacturer of high-end refrigerators and kitchen appliances in the United States.   The resulting company was known as the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation.   Nash as a brand name continued to represent automobiles for Nash-Kelvinator.   This was the largest merger of companies not in the same industry up until that time.   In 1938 Nash introduced an optional conditioned air heating/ventilating system, an outcome of the expertise shared between Kelvinator and Nash.   This was the first hot-water car heater to draw fresh air from outside the car, and is the basis of all modern car heaters in use today.   Also, in 1938, Nash, along with other car manufacturers Studebaker and Graham, offered vacuum-controlled shifting, an early approach at removing the gearshift from the front floorboards.   Automobiles equipped with the Automatic Vacuum Shift, supplied by the Evans Products Company, had a small gear selector lever mounted on the dashboard, immediately below the radio controls.   In 1936 Nash introduced "Bed-In-A-Car" feature, which allowed the car's interior to be converted into a sleeping compartment.   The rear seatback hinged up, allowing the rear seat cushion to be propped up into a level position.   This also created an opening between the passenger compartment and the trunk.   Two adults could sleep in the car with their legs and feet in the trunk and their heads and shoulders on the rear seat cushions.   In 1949 this arrangement was modified so that fully reclining front seatbacks created a sleeping area entirely within the passenger compartment.   In 1950 these reclining seatbacks were given the ability to lock into several intermediate positions.   Nash soon called these new seatbacks "Airliner Reclining Seats".   In 1939 Nash added a thermostat to its "Conditioned Air System" and thus the famous Nash Weather Eye heater was born.

The 1939 and 1940 Nash streamlined cars were designed by George Walker and Associates and freelance body stylist Don Mortrude.   They were available in three series - LaFayette, Ambassador Six and Ambassador Eight.   The 1941 Nash 600 was the first mass-produced unibody construction automobile made in the United States.   Its lighter weight compared to body-on-frame automobiles and lower air drag helped it to achieve excellent gas mileage for its day.   The "600" model designation is said to have been derived from overdrive-equipped examples of this car's ability to travel 600 miles on a 20-gallon tank of gasoline.   The design was improved by new front ends, upholstery, and chrome trim from 1942 to 1948. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1940-1949

1950-1959

In January 1954 Nash-Kelvinator announced the acquisition of the Hudson Motor Car Company as a friendly merger, creating American Motors Corporation (AMC).   To improve the financial performance of the combined companies, all production beginning with the 1955 Nash and Hudson models would happen at Nash's Kenosha plant.   Nash would focus most of its marketing dollars on its smaller Rambler models and Hudson would focus its marketing dollars on its full-sized cars.   For 1955 all senior Hudson and Nash automobiles were based on a shared common body shell but with individual powertrains and separate, non-interchangeable body parts like the Big Three's longtime practice allowing for maximum manufacturing economy.   The Metropolitan, which had been marketed under both the Nash and Hudson brands, became a make unto its own in 1957, as did the Rambler.   Rambler overtook Nash and Hudson as the leading model manufactured by AMC.   Soon after the 1954 merger, CEO George Mason died.   Mason's successor, George Romney, pinned the future of the company on an expanded Rambler line, and began the process of phasing out the Nash and Hudson by the end of the 1957 model year, and Nash and Hudson production ended on June 25, 1957.   From 1958 to 1965, Rambler was the only model sold by AMC other than the Metropolitan, which remained in dealer showrooms until 1962.   Under the tenure of Roy Abernethy, the Rambler name was phased out beginning in 1965 and discontinued after 1969. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1960-1969

1970-1979

In 1970 American Motors acquired Kaiser Jeep, the descendant of Willys-Overland Motors, and its Toledo, OH-based manufacturing facilities. ^{Wiki n.p.}

American Motors Corporation (AMC) unites with France's Renault in 1979, the latter looking for a re-entrée into the American market. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1980-1989

American Motors Corporation (AMC) is purchased on March 2, 1987, by the Chrysler Corporation.   It discontinues the use of AMC and Renault brand names in the United States.   The Jeep line is and some Jeep models are continued. ^{Wiki n.p.}

1990-1999