AHC/AHQ: Can Willys-Overland be saved?

Willys produced some really interesting products, including the drag racers' choice, the '33 Model 77, & the great-looking '52-5 Aero, not to mention the Jeep.

So, could the company have made better decisions? Like, frex, introducing a *Ranchero in '46 or '47, styled close to the Aero, but with the Jeep 4x4 drive & the Aero's inline 6? In effect, steal a march on Ford & Chevy...

Or, frex, a 3- or 4-door pickup, based on the Jeepster, stealing a march on the '57 IHC Travelette?

Or, frex, a sedan-based *Ranchero (4dr v 2) with a shorter bed (or longer, station wagon wheelbase??

Or was Willys just too small?
 
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Willys tried to focus on civilian versions of the Jeep after the war until 1952, although there were stillborn standard passenger car projects. Long story short, the Willys Aero, introduced in 1952, was the return to standard passenger cars, by which point it was arguably too late and ripe for the plucking by Kaiser. IIRC, Kaiser saw the Jeep as a source of cash to bolster the faltering Kaiser line (perhaps to bankroll a V-8?), while the Aero was irrelevant--and probably too close to the late Henry J / Allstate for comfort.

So...if Willys had produced its 6-70 (a six cylinder car that developed 70 hp, and had four wheel drive) in 1947 as planned, it might have enlarged its niche somewhat, but still wouldn't have survived particularly long. My guess in those circumstances is that it would have been part of a three way Willys / Studebaker / Packard merger--and that might still be alive today, since it would address entry level / midrange / luxury vehicles.
 
Yay, an actual reply.:cool::openedeyewink:
Willys tried to focus on civilian versions of the Jeep after the war until 1952, although there were stillborn standard passenger car projects. Long story short, the Willys Aero, introduced in 1952, was the return to standard passenger cars, by which point it was arguably too late and ripe for the plucking by Kaiser. IIRC, Kaiser saw the Jeep as a source of cash to bolster the faltering Kaiser line (perhaps to bankroll a V-8?), while the Aero was irrelevant--and probably too close to the late Henry J / Allstate for comfort.

So...if Willys had produced its 6-70 (a six cylinder car that developed 70 hp, and had four wheel drive) in 1947 as planned, it might have enlarged its niche somewhat, but still wouldn't have survived particularly long. My guess in those circumstances is that it would have been part of a three way Willys / Studebaker / Packard merger--and that might still be alive today, since it would address entry level / midrange / luxury vehicles.
I'd say you're right, an independent Willys past the mid-'50s or early '60s, around the AMC merger, is improbable. I'm thinking this would expand a Jeep-like (Jeepish? :openedeyewink: ) product line, rather than try & get into small-car territory Chevy & Ford were far better equipped to fight for, & (at the time) more inclined to. Maybe this gets Willys to '63-4 with the Aero still on the drawing board, in time to beat Ford (& AMC?) to the *ponycar? (Or maybe the AMC merger is a bit sooner.)

There's a part of me that would like to see Rancheros & Caminos survive longr, & maybe even see 4-dr variants, unlikely as that seems. I'd also love a Gremlin version.:cool:

However....
 

kernals12

Banned
Do you mean survive as an independent company? Because obviously Willys is still with us as Jeep after a total of 4 ownership changes.
 

kernals12

Banned
Willys as marque, in the same way (perhaps) as Chevrolet, with Jeep as a brand of that company.
The only way I can see Willys surviving past 1955 is through mergers. Maybe they can try the AMC Eagle concept a few decades early of giving all wheel drive to a passenger car.
 
The only way I can see Willys surviving past 1955 is through mergers. Maybe they can try the AMC Eagle concept a few decades early of giving all wheel drive to a passenger car.
See the OP. I imagined everything from *Scout or *Blazer to Aero-based *Ranchero to crew cab *Jeepster.:)

Nor would I exclude an Aero-based *ponycar... The Aero was smaller than the OTL Mustang, which would have been popular with hot rodders; all Willys needed was an OHV V8. Would AMC's 250 (or, better still, 287) have been enough to steal a march on Ford? If it was built, I think so. So picture Willys selling 100,000 or so *Lark SSs in '63 or '64....:cool: (Much more, without Ford's extensive dealer network, seems unlikely.)
 
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