Crosley – "The Car
Ahead of Its Time"
Photos and Story by Kathryn
Craig
Sussex County resident and
owner of two Crosley motor cars, Dan Klemm, occasionally cruises around town in one of the
midget cars. "We get a lot of double takes by other drivers on the road and huge
smiles always on peoples faces when they pass the little car," he says. "The
‘circus clown car’ is fun to drive around in and always creates a stir wherever
we go."
Crosley – "The
Car Ahead of Its Time" -- So nicknamed because the economic, lightweight, mini-car
boasted 50 miles to the gallon in 1947. Crosley Motors of Cincinnati, Ohio
manufactured seven models that included a station wagon, pickup truck, panel delivery
truck, sedan and a convertible. Prices ranged from $299 for the convertible to $450 for
the station wagon. Powered by a 2-cycle 12-hp motor, sales totaled 2289 for 1941. First
sold through appliance and hardware stores, they were also distributed through auto
dealers. The engine, a 2-cylinder valve-in-head-steel engine weighed only 59 pounds.
Crosley 1951
Fire Engine -- Dam Klemm currently operates
this unique vehicle as the Itty Bitty Fire Engine
The typical buyer of the low-income midget car prized
utility above vanity and status. For the first time, any family that could afford a car
could now afford a new one. At the age of 60, Powell Crosley of Cincinnati abandoned all
his other enterprises, which included radios and refrigerators, and produced the mini-car
between the years of 1939 and 1952. Crosley was the first to:
- put disc brakes on an American built car in 1949
- build a post-war American sports car
- build a Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, in 1947
- build more station wagons in 1948 than any other US
manufacturer
- put an overhead cam in a low-cost car
For more information about the Crosley and
the history of the company, check out http://www.ggw.org/cac. Also, if there are any Crosley owners and/or just fans of
the car, the Crosley National meet will be held on July 9 and 10, 1999 in Iowa.
Unless otherwise noted, all
works contained on this page are
(C) Copyright 1999, SmallTown Web Works, All Rights Reserved.
SussexCounty.Com
Is Proudly Published by the Folks At:
SmallTown
Web Works
928 Cedar Ridge Road, Newton NJ 07860
(973) 383-5041
Contact
Us Today for A Full Range of Web Site Services