Overland automobiles
Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour cleverly hidden at the intersection of religion, art, science, food, and politics. This is an open thread where we can share our thoughts and comments about the day. I suspect that most people have never heard about Overland automobiles and so that’s today’s topic.
The Overland Automobile Company was one of the early American automobile manufacturing companies. The first Overland was produced in 1903 and featured a two-cylinder water-cooled engine that was mounted up front under the hood.
Overland stopped production when the 1907 Bank Panic hit. In Elmira, New York, John Willys had the Overland dealership. He took over the factory and restarted manufacturing Overlands. In 1909, Willys purchased a factory in Toledo, Ohio and moved manufacturing to this factory. At this time there were about 300 automobile manufacturing companies in the United States.
In 1912, Willys bought the Edwards Motor Car Company of Long Island, New York which gave him the rights to the Knight engine. Using a plant in Ohio, Willys began production of the Willys-Knight automobile. In 1912, the Overland Automobile Company was renamed the Willys-Overland Motor Company.
Overland cars continued to be produced until 1926 when they were replaced with the Willys Whippet.
The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon, has on display more than 100 antique automobiles. Shown below are some of the Overland automobiles which were on display.
1911 Overland Model 49 Touring Car
1915 Overland Model 82 Touring Car
1917 Overland Model 75B
1928 Willys-Overland Whippet
1932 Willys Overland Model 6-90
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