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67-458: In 1953, Kaiser bought the ailing Willys-Overland company, mainly for its Jeep brand, and merged the Kaiser and Willys operations under the "Kaiser-Willys Corporation". The Willys-Overland branch was renamed "Willys Motors", until ten years later, in 1963, it was renamed Kaiser Jeep . The company was founded on 25 July 1945, and in 1946 Kaiser-Frazer displayed prototypes of their two new cars at

134-581: A Brazilian company, even selling a large portion of their company to Brazilian stockholders to forestall a possible nationalist backlash, and to become eligible for various government incentives. The little tail-engined Dauphine was a result of Kaiser's Renault connection, and was produced by Willys do Brasil from 1959 until 1968. Willys–Overland was one of the first companies to enter the Brazilian passenger automobile market, and their early entry originally paid off, with sales spiking in 1954 when Willys became

201-484: A January 1941 newspaper article, mentioning "Bantam" as the manufacturer. In January 1941 American Bantam was the only manufacturer that had actually fulfilled purchase orders to deliver jeeps to the US Army. Some people believe "jeep" is a phonetic pronunciation of the abbreviation GP, but Ford did not start manufacturing jeeps until February 1941, after news of "jeeps" made by "Bantam" had already been widely reported in

268-485: A company 100% owned by Kaiser Industries Corporation. This operation (which included stakes in Willys-Overland du Brasil and Industrias Kaiser Argentina ) became Kaiser Jeep Corporation in 1963 and remained 100% owned by Kaiser Industries. In 1970 Kaiser-Jeep Corporation was sold to American Motors Corporation through purchase of certain assets and assumption of certain liabilities by AMC. In 1987 American Motors

335-706: A contract from the U.S. Army, Willys produced a small one-man four-wheeled utility vehicle called the Jungle Burden Carrier which evolved into the M274 Utility 1 ⁄ 2 -ton vehicle. Willys later produced the M38 Jeep for the U.S. Army, and continued the CJ series of civilian Jeeps. One variation was the Jeepster , which came with a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder engine, but only with two-wheel drive to

402-502: A jeep, began in November 1941. Ford, American Bantam , and Willys together produced 8,598 units in 1940. Willys–Overland ranked 48th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts. In total, 647,870 military Jeeps were manufactured by the end of World War II , 362,841 by Willys, 280,448 by Ford and 2,675 by American Bantam. The word "Jeep" was first used to describe US Army "midget cars" in

469-536: A larger sports car called the "Capeta" (Devil) in 1964, powered by the 2.6-litre six-cylinder Aero engine. In 1965, Willys–Overland do Brasil and Renault began collaborating on a new front-wheel drive car, called "Project M" and meant to replace the aging Dauphine. Developed in parallel with the Renault 12 , which it antedated, the car eventually saw light as the Ford Corcel . Early Corcels had "Willys" stamping in

536-472: A massive reorganization. Only the main assembly plant and some smaller factories remained the property of Willys–Overland. The other assets were sold off to a new holding company that leased some of the properties back to W-O. The parent company was thus able to ride out the storm. In 1936, the Willys–Overland Motor Company was reorganized as Willys–Overland Motors. In 1937, Willys redesigned

603-526: A million dollars, and Ilin formed a group that invested the other two million dollars. Kaiser production began in Israel in 1951. By 1956, Kaiser-Frazer was responsible for 28% of Israeli exports. The factory built Kaiser-Frazer products, along with Mack trucks, under license. By the end of the 1950s, the operation was known as Kaiser-Ilin, named after Efraim Ilin , the Israeli entrepreneur who had negotiated

670-516: A need to improve the firm's 4-cylinder engine to handle the abuse to which the vehicle would be subjected. This objective was brilliantly achieved by ex- Studebaker chief engineer Delmar "Barney" Roos , who wanted an engine that could develop 15 horsepower at 4,400 r.p.m. and run for 150 hours without failure. What he started with was an engine that developed 48 horsepower at 3,400 r.p.m., and could run continuously for only two to four hours ... It took Barney Roos two years to perfect his engine, by

737-581: A small production run in its final year (1955) with models called Custom and Bermuda. The bodies for the Willys Aero were supplied by the Murray Body Corporation , which also made the bodies for the short-lived Hudson Jet . Also in 1952, CJ-3B Jeeps went into production. By 1968, over 155,000 were sold. In 1953, Kaiser Motors purchased Willys–Overland and changed the company's name to Willys Motor Company. The same year, production of

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804-481: A very broad base of activities, including a group of television stations. In 1953, Kaiser bought the Willys-Overland company for US$ 63,381,175 and merged the Kaiser and Willys operations under the name Kaiser-Willys Corporation. The company left the passenger car market at the end of the 1955 model year. By 1956, Willys Motors built only utility vehicles, many for export, and was turning a healthy profit as

871-462: A whole complex of revisions that included closer tolerances, tougher alloys, aluminum pistons, and a flywheel reduced in weight from fifty-seven to thirty-one pounds. American Bantam was the sole manufacturer of serial production jeeps delivered to the US Army in 1940. Ford, American Bantam , and Willys all manufactured jeeps for the US Army in 1941. Production of the Willys MB , commonly called

938-855: The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in Buffalo, New York , by 1917, New Process Gear , and in 1919 acquired the Duesenberg Motors Company plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey . The New Jersey plant was replaced by a new, larger facility in Indianapolis , and was to be the site of production for a new Willys Six at an adjacent site, but the depression of 1920–21 brought the Willys Corporation to its knees. The bankers hired Walter P. Chrysler to sort out

1005-713: The Willys trademark was acquired by Italian Carrozzeria Viotti , declaration of Emanuele Bomboi (head of design of Viotti). Carrozzeria Viotti together with Fabbrica Italiana Maggiora introduced at the Bologna Motor Show 2014 the Willys AW 380 Berlineta, a concept car inspired by the original Willys Interlagos assembled by Willys in Brazil under license of the French Alpine. Viotti and Maggiora plans to produce

1072-684: The Willys–Knight nameplate. In the mid-1920s, Willys also acquired the F. B. Stearns Company of Cleveland and assumed continued production of the Stearns-Knight luxury car, as well. John Willys acquired the Electric Auto-Lite Company in 1914 and in 1917 formed the Willys Corporation to act as his holding company . In 1916, it acquired the Russell Motor Car Company of Toronto , Ontario , and

1139-401: The blackout lighting , and with the addition of a tailgate. Willys initially struggled to find a market for the vehicle, first attempting to sell it primarily as an alternative to the farm tractor . Tractors were in short supply, having been out of production during the war. However, sales of the "Agri-Jeep" never took off, mainly because it was too light to provide adequate draft. The CJ-2A

1206-573: The speedometer was recalibrated in kilometers with the temperature, oil, and fuel gauge annotations in Spanish and the spring rates were increased to accommodate unimproved Argentine roads. Oddly, the dash castings with annotations for vent, heater, headlight and wiper controls remained in English. No consideration was given to offering an automatic transmission due to the anticipated difficulty in obtaining service in remote towns. Production started on

1273-615: The 'jeep' military slang -word into the '(Universal)   Jeep ' marque. In 1908, John Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company and in 1912 renamed it Willys–Overland Motor Company. From 1912 to 1918, Willys was the second-largest producer of automobiles in the United States after Ford Motor Company . In 1913, Willys acquired a license to build Charles Yale Knight 's sleeve-valve engine, which it used in cars bearing

1340-456: The 4-cylinder model. It gained a semistreamlined body with a slanted windshield, headlamps integrally embedded into the fenders, and a one-piece, rounded hood transversely hinged at the rear. For 1939, the Model 39 featured Lockheed hydraulic brakes, a two-inch increase in wheelbase to 102 inches and an improved 134 DID four-cylinder engine with power increased from 48 to 61 hp. The Model 39

1407-840: The Automotive Industry (GEIA) had approved Willys–Overland for production of the Aero, the Willys MB Jeep, a truck version of the Jeep called the Rural, and the French Renault Dauphine small car. Also, an abortive plan was made to create a company called Chrysler-Willys do Brasil SA to build the 1956 Plymouth Savoy and a Dodge truck there, in the hope of taking advantage of Willys' "Brazilian-made" credentials. Willys went through considerable effort to appear as

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1474-646: The CJ had already been replaced with the Jeep Wrangler (also known as the YJ and later TJ ). The Jeep marque, owned by DaimlerChrysler and later Fiat S.p.A. and Stellantis , produces Jeep vehicles at a new Toledo Complex . DaimlerChrysler introduced the Overland name for a trim package on the 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee . The badging is a recreation of the Overland nameplate from the early twentieth century. In 2014,

1541-702: The CJ-2A Jeep. The next year came a "Jeep" Utility Truck with four-wheel drive. In 1948, the wagon was available in four-wheel drive, making it the ancestor of all sport utility vehicles . Willys planned to re-enter the passenger car market in 1947 with the Willys 6–70 sedan. Its name came from the fact it was powered by a 6-cylinder engine that produced 70 hp. The 6–70 was touted as the 'first stock car' in America that offered independent suspension on all four wheels, but it never entered production. In 1948, under

1608-585: The Carabela on 25 July 1958 and, in the remaining months of that year, 2,158 cars were built. IKA was also building Jeep vehicles at the Cordoba factory and assembled 20,454 Jeeps in 1958 alone. The combined Carabela-Jeep production of 22,612 units was 81 percent of all vehicles manufactured in Argentina in 1958, with the only competition being the state-run utility vehicle manufacturer IAME. Many have questioned

1675-484: The Chrysler Six prototype were sold to William C. Durant , then in the process of building a new, third empire. The plant built Durant's low-priced Star , while the Chrysler Six prototype was substantially reworked to become the 1923 Flint . Walter Chrysler and the three engineers who had been working on the Chrysler Six all moved on to Maxwell - Chalmers where they continued their work, ultimately launching

1742-669: The Chrysler Six in January 1924. (In 1925, the Maxwell car company became the Chrysler Corporation .) In 1926, Willys–Overland introduced a new line of small cars named Willys–Overland Whippet. In the economic depression of the 1930s, a number of Willys automotive brands faltered. Stearns-Knight was liquidated in 1929. Whippet production ended in 1931; its models were replaced by the Willys Six and Eight. Production of

1809-627: The Haifa plant deal with Hickman Price Jr., the nephew of Joseph P. Frazer. In 1959, Kaiser-Ilin reached an agreement to assemble six-cylinder Studebaker Larks in Haifa, to help potential buyers bypass stiff Israeli duties on imported vehicles. Earlier that year, the Kaiser-Frazer plant at Haifa laid off 400 workers and suspended operations for two weeks because of a lack of parts. In 1947, the Dutch company Nederlandse Kaiser-Frazer Fabrieken (NEKAF)

1876-528: The Israeli government. While the government was searching for alternatives, Lord Marcus Sieff of London, contacted Efraim Ilin , an Israeli security expert and tycoon, and put him in contact with Hickman Price of Kaiser-Frazer. The company had recently built an automobile plant in Holland, and were planning to build one in Greece. Ilin met Price and negotiated a $ 2.5 million project. Kaiser-Frazer invested half

1943-453: The Jeep in the Popeye comic strip, known for his supernatural abilities ( e.g. , walking through walls). It was also the name of a small tractor supplied to the U.S. Army by Minneapolis-Moline in 1937. Whatever the source, the name stuck and on February 13, 1943, Willys–Overland filed a trademark application on the use of the term "Jeep" with the U.S. Patent Office. After several denials by

2010-407: The Kaiser car was moved from Willow Run, Michigan, to the Willys plant at Toledo, Ohio. Although Jeep production was steady, sales of the Willys and Kaiser cars continued to fall. Willys–Overland established its Brazilian operations in 1953, just before the Kaiser-Frazer takeover. The tooling for the Aero went to Brazil, where it entered production in 1960. In 1956–1957, Brazil's Executive Group for

2077-719: The Netherlands. One of these sole surviving UNIFIL NEKAFs is now in the collection of the Legermuseum Delft (the Dutch Army Museum). Willys Willys (pronounced / ˈ w ɪ l ɪ s / , "Willis" ) was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors , an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys . It was best known for its design and production of World War II –era military jeeps (MBs), Willys M38 and M38A1 military jeeps as well as civilian versions (Jeep CJs) , and branding

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2144-456: The US with some local content as with the 1949 Kaiser assembly. NEKAF delivered an additional 1,624 vehicles to the army through 1959 until production was taken over by Kemper & Van Twist Diesel who delivered another 2,237 jeep vehicles through 1963 although these were still commonly known as NEKAFs. The NEKAF jeeps differed from the US version by adding side reflectors (white in front and red at

2211-544: The US. Groundbreaking for the new factory was in March 1955 with the first Jeep vehicle rolling out of the plant on 27 April 1956. The new Argentine factory was built in the city of Santa Isabel in the province of Córdoba with the Kaiser Manhattan being rechristened the "Kaiser Carabela" — named after a type of Portuguese sailing ship . The US vinyl and fabric interior was replaced with a more rugged leather interior,

2278-618: The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The Kaiser had an advanced front-wheel drive design, while the Frazer was an upscale, conventional rear-wheel drive car. However, production costs and development time constraints prevented the front-wheel drive design from entering production, so the new 1947 model year Kaiser and Frazer sedans shared their bodies and power-trains . Being some of the first newly designed cars on

2345-480: The Willys Aero. The factory was closed in 1954. The location is now occupied by Prologis Eaves Distribution Center. Willys–Overland was one of two bidders when the United States Army sought an automaker that could begin rapid production of a lightweight reconnaissance car based on a design by American Bantam . In 1938, Joseph W. Frazer had joined Willys from Chrysler as chief executive. He saw

2412-649: The Willys Rural/Pickup and its derivatives were built as the Ford F-75 until 1983. The only visual difference is that the post-1970 cars have a tailgate with "Ford" rather than "Jeep" stamped in it. The military version of the Jeep Pickup was called the F-85. In America, the company had already changed its name in 1963 to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation; the Willys name disappeared thereafter. Kaiser-Jeep

2479-697: The Willys-Knight ended in 1933. There was also a pickup truck version of the Whippet, called the Willys-Six C-113 (reflecting its wheelbase in inches). This was not a sales success, with a mere 198 units being built. This vehicle was picked up by International Harvester , who installed their own 213-cubic inch engine and offered it in 1933 as the International D-1. In 1932, Ward M. Canaday, who beginning in 1916 had done advertising for

2546-484: The company before becoming a full-time employee, had taken on the role of chairman. He helped guide the company through its current receivership . At this time, Willys decided to clear the boards and produce two new models – the 4-cylinder Willys 77 and the 6-cylinder Willys 99 – but since the firm was once again on the verge of bankruptcy, only the 77 went into production. It was forced to sell its Canadian subsidiary, itself in weak financial shape, and started

2613-403: The company's final year, making it a puzzle why it became popular: it was neither cheap nor plentiful. After the company revived, the 1937–1942 coupés, sedans, and pickups were again popular with hot rodders and gasser teams, and again, comparatively low production leaves unexplained why they gained so much attention. Ollie Olsen's Wil-A-Meaner 1940 coupé (driven by Bob "Rapid" Dwyer) won

2680-510: The doctors, bankers and other notables in Argentina. The Carabela had some stable mates in 1960-62 in the form of an Alfa Romeo 1900 sedan derivative named the Bergantín (another type of Spanish sailing ship) and an Argentine-manufactured Renault Dauphine (badged IKA Dauphine). In 1962, Rambler variants licensed from AMC would replace the Carabela and the Bergantín. The final form of the AMC variants

2747-537: The early 1960s, when they built an assembly plant for the Jeep in the state of Pernambuco . In 1962, Willys started building the French Alpine A108 as the Willys Interlagos. It was produced until 1966 and was the first Brazilian-made sports car. It was also the car in which many Brazilian racers cut their teeth, including greats such as Emerson Fittipaldi . Willys also designed and showed

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2814-461: The face of adversity, while Frazer was more pragmatic. As the market for Kaiser-Frazer products slowed in 1949 with the introduction of new designs from the Big Three, Kaiser pushed to increase production, creating an oversupply that took until mid-1950 to sell. Kaiser and Frazer had repeated disagreements over production until, finally, Joseph Frazer left the company in 1951 and the Frazer nameplate

2881-615: The facility, and the War Assets Administration searched for a lessee or buyer. K-F expressed interest in the facility and the WAA offered them an attractive five-year lease rate. K-F also had manufacturing facilities in Jefferson MI; Long Beach CA; Portland OR; Leaside, Ontario, Canada; Haifa, Israel; Kawasaki, Japan; Mexico City and Rotterdam (known as " Nekaf ", for Nederlandse Kaiser-Frazer fabrieken). U.S. production

2948-540: The glass, and the Corcel line (which continued in production until 1997 as the Ford Pampa ) always showed its French origins in its characteristic three-bolt wheels. In 1967, Ford took a controlling interest in Kaiser and thereby gained control of Willys–Overland do Brasil. The Aero-based Itamaraty continued in production until the early 1970s, in latter years wearing "Ford" badges. Dauphine production ended in 1968, but

3015-485: The holding company which in turn owned part of the newly created Industrias Kaiser Argentina S.A. (IKA), the manufacturing and marketing arm. Other partners in IKA included the government-owned vehicle manufacturer Industrias Aeronáuticas y Mecánicas del Estado (IAME) and private investors. In August, Kaiser applied for and received an import license to bring in 1,021 completed cars, manufacturing equipment and spare parts from

3082-580: The hope of offsetting their shrinking market and losses at home. However, unlike in the case of the Argentinian Kaiser operations, which were essentially developed around hand-me-downs, Willys built a very modern plant from the ground up in Brazil. The original promise was to build cars for export back to the United States, but such a situation never materialized. However, by late 1961, Brazilian-built Willys Jeeps began to be exported to Chile . Willys expanded into Brazil's impoverished northeast in

3149-476: The market while the " Big Three " were still marketing their pre-war designs, the Kaisers and Frazers made an exciting entrance. Kaiser and Frazer continued to share bodies and engines through 1950 with different exterior and interior trim. Henry Kaiser had no automotive marketing experience, but Joseph Frazer had held positions with Packard, GM, Chrysler, and Willys-Overland. Kaiser believed in pressing forward in

3216-474: The mess and the first model to go was the Willys Six, deemed an engineering disaster. Chrysler had three auto engineers: Owen Skelton , Carl Breer , and Fred Zeder (later nicknamed The Three Musketeers ) begin work on a new car, commonly referred to as the Chrysler Six . To raise cash needed to pay off debts, many of the Willys Corporation assets were put on the auction block. The Elizabeth plant and

3283-717: The military, started to enter service in 1956 and remained so well into the 1990s albeit on reservist duties. The NEKAF jeep saw action in the brief Dutch Indonesian war in 1962, but particularly during the UNIFIL operation in which an armoured infantry battalion participated from 1979 till 1983, the NEKAF turned out to be a robust and reliable vehicle in South Lebanon. Upon withdrawal of the Dutch battalion all UNIFIL NEKAFs were dismantled and sold locally as scrap, save three NEKAFs that were secretly withheld and privately driven back to

3350-418: The new state, and to facilitate the production of a large number of vehicles Israel would need for the military and the government. Ford announced plans to build an assembly plant in Israel. When Arab nations got word of Ford’s plans, they announced that if Ford didn't cancel the agreement, they’d boycott it by putting the company on the Arab League’s blacklist . Ford pulled out causing a moment of crisis for

3417-409: The newspapers nationwide. The Ford designation "GP" did not stand for "General Purpose", supposedly the "G" signifying government contract vehicle and "P" indicating the 80-inch wheelbase reconnaissance car. Ford may have chosen the letters GP because Bantam vehicles were already being called "jeeps", even in early 1941. The first documented use of the word "Jeep" was the name of the character Eugene

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3484-400: The number-one selling car. Being distributed by the family of Getúlio Vargas ' closest advisor Osvaldo Aranha also helped, and Willys–Overland reached a 52% share of Brazilian passenger car production in 1959. Willys held a market share of around 30% in Brazil from 1960 until 1966, its last full year as an independent, mostly Brazilian-owned company. Willys entered the Brazilian market in

3551-436: The patent office and appeals by Willys–Overland, the trademark "Jeep" was finally awarded to the company on June 13, 1950. Willys also built 1292 airframes for the JB-2 Loon . After the war, Willys did not resume production of its passenger-car models, choosing instead to concentrate on Jeeps and Jeep-based vehicles. The first postwar Willys product was the CJ-2A , an MB stripped of obviously military features, particularly

3618-445: The rear), low intensity "city lights" on the front fenders and front and rear mounted directional signals. In a bid to reduce the costs, the Ministry of War, having invested already in clothing for the crews, ordered the cabin heaters to be deleted. This modification entailed considerable redesign of the engine cooling unit which eventually led to increased cost of the vehicles (some 12,000 Dutch guilders each). The jeeps, dubbed NEKAF by

3685-477: The rear. In 1952, Willys re-entered the car market with a new compact car, the Willys Aero . At first available only as a two-door sedan, it was available with either an L-head or F-head six-cylinder engine. Export markets could get the Aero with a four-cylinder engine. A four-door sedan and a two-door hardtop were added for 1953 along with taxi models. The Aero cars were called Lark, Wing, Falcon, Ace, or Eagle depending on year, engine, and trim level, except for

3752-401: The vehicle in limited edition and relaunch the Willys marque. Stellantis reintroduced the Willys name as a trimline for the Jeep Gladiator pickup truck in the early 2020s. The 1933–1936 coupés and pickups were very popular gassers . The best-known would be the 1933 Willys 77 . Only 12,800 were sold in 1933, 13,234 in 1934, 10,644 in 1935 (including a new panel delivery ), and 30,825

3819-432: The wisdom of building IKA automobile factory in remote Santa Isabel which was far from ports and transportation hubs but the primary reason is that Córdoba was General San Martín's home province and he had a close, influential relationship with President Juan Perón. In 1962, the Carabela, the "Gran coche argentino" (the Great Argentine Car), ended production with some 15,000 cars assembled providing elegant transportation for

3886-429: Was among the first civilian vehicles of any kind to be equipped with four-wheel drive from the factory, and it gained popularity among farmers, ranchers, hunters, and others who needed a lightweight vehicle for use on unimproved roads and trails. In 1946, a year after the introduction of the CJ-2A, Willys produced the Willys "Jeep" Utility Wagon based on the same engine and transmission, with clear styling influence from

3953-469: Was concentrated at Toledo, Ohio, upon the purchase of Willys-Overland starting in 1953; the Willow Run facility was sold to General Motors after GM suffered a disastrous fire at their Livonia, Michigan , Hydramatic automatic transmission plant and needed a facility quickly to resume production. In 1951, Argentina sent their emissary, Brigadier General Juan Ignacio San Martín, to the US to convince an auto manufacturer to build cars in Argentina. In 1954, Kaiser

4020-519: Was created with a new factory constructed in Rotterdam. NEKAF assembled 6,000 1949 Kaiser knock-down kits imported from the US using some local content (batteries, tires, interior, carpets, glass) and ignition and electrical system parts from France and Great Britain. Kaiser cars were assembled through 1954 with NEKAF exporting to Europe, South America and the Middle East. US-built Jeep vehicles were imported into The Netherlands by S.A. Ateliers de La Dyle under an agreement with Willys Overland. Once Willys

4087-449: Was dropped after a short 10,000 unit production run in 1951 that used up the remaining inventory of the 1949–50 bodies. In 1953, the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was renamed Kaiser Motors Corporation and continued building passenger cars through 1955. In 1955 Kaiser Motors Corporation had another name change to Kaiser Industries when it became a holding company for the major assets of the Henry J. Kaiser Company. The business then established

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4154-425: Was marketed as an Overland and as a Willys–Overland rather than as a Willys. In 1929, the company built a factory that built vehicles located at what is now 6201 Randolph Street, Commerce, California . During World War II , the factory built aircraft assemblies for Lockheed Hudson bombers. When the war ended, the factory resumed automobile production and was one of two locations to build the first CJ2A, as well as

4221-438: Was purchased by Kaiser, the Willys agreement was transferred to NEKAF. In March 1954, assembly of the Jeep CJ-3B started and was followed by the FC-150 , FC-170 , the pickup truck, station wagon, CJ-5 and DJ-3A . On 21 January 1955, NEKAF signed a contract with the Royal Netherlands Army to supply 4,000 M38A1 jeeps with the first delivery to the army on 28 May of the same year. The vehicles were knock down kits imported from

4288-435: Was sold to American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1970 when Kaiser Industries decided to leave the automobile business. After the sale, AMC used engines it had developed for its other cars in Jeep models to improve performance and standardize production and servicing. Renault purchased a major stake in AMC in 1979 and took over operation of the company, producing the CJ series until 1986. Chrysler purchased AMC in 1987 after

4355-418: Was sold to the Chrysler Corporation in a lock-stock-barrel (acquiring all assets and assuming all liabilities of American Motors) transaction. Production of Kaiser-Frazer (K-F) models was centered at Willow Run, Michigan , then the world's largest building. It was built by the U.S. government just prior to World War II for Henry Ford to make B-24 Liberator bombers. When the war ended Ford had no interest in

4422-403: Was the only one to accept the offer, with the remainder believing the market was too small to justify the investment. Also, they did not have the rugged products Kaiser did. On January 19, 1955, Kaiser and the government of Argentina signed an agreement to permit Kaiser to manufacture automobiles and trucks in Argentina. In February, Kaiser created a wholly owned subsidiary named Kaiser Automotores,

4489-407: Was the potent Torino which saw a lot of racing on international circuits. Built until the early 1980s, the Torino was based on the 1964 Rambler American 2-door hardtop and 4-door sedan, but had its own engine, front and rear end styling, and a more European-styled interior. In 1970, Kaiser sold IKA to Renault. With the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the Ford Motor Company sought to invest in

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