A Far Too Brief History of Crosley Motors

#crosley
Crosley had a brief 13 year history of making cars, but their story is absolutely fascinating and the entrepreneural brothers touched almost everyone in the early 1900s with their varied products.
From radios to appliances to helping the war effort to finally small cars that could be sold in appliance showrooms, these were early 1900s innovators known world wide!

This is a far too brief history of Crosley!

Start 00:00
Crosley Brothers 01:09
Early Business Life 02:20
Early Business Success 04:18
Phonograph 06:01
Crosley Radio 06:30
Cincinnati Reds 08:23
1930s 09:20
Crosley Cars 10:20
Crosley in WWII 12:02
Crosley CC 13:46
1950s 15:46
Crosley Hotshot 16:27
Crosley Farm-O-Road 17:29
End of Crosley 18:15
Conclusion 19:00

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[r.a.monigold]

At 77, I remember my dad in the 1950's - a true odd car collector - he bought a Crosley Wagon Delux. It was red with "woody" trim. He then traded it for two Crosley sedans. One night on our way to a friend's house he spotted that red woody wagon with a for sale sign. We finished the trip to our friends place with TWO Crosleys, mom drove the beige sedan with dad proudly at the wheel of the wagon. We ended up with another grey wagon until one day my dad traded all four cars for two Studebakers. One time he bought all the cars from a funeral home - five 1949 Buicks...

[chuckmadden]

Crosley is a hero of mine. In the 1990s someone let me into his abandon factory, a couple of Crosley cars were in the basement. I went into his office which still had his AC unit in the window. I took the last unbroken tube from the WLW transmitter on the roof. Good job honoring an amazing man.

[donaldscott]

In the early 1950s, Dad was a volunteer fireman and the manager of a manufacturing plant in the Malta-McConnellsville area (SE Ohio). The annual Memorial Day celebration in McConnellsville was a major event, and the volunteer fire department always used that as a chance to raise funds. Dad got the idea of building a small firetruck and charging a dime for a ride (think Disneyland Fire trucks, but smaller). So they found a Crosley and converted into a perfect red fire truck, ladders on the side and all. It was the hit of the weekend. Still have a Kodacolor print of Dad sitting in the truck with a fire hat on.

[richardross]

Good video. My brothers' first car was a 1951 Crosley wagon. It was a cool car and easy to work on. When he needed to change the clutch, the two of us picked up the engine and put it on the radiator support. I held the engine while my brother changed the clutch and then we just slipped it back in. One of the common problems with the engine was the cylinders pulling off of the crank case. My brother drove the car for a couple of years while he saved for a 1968 El Camino. Then he sold it with a bunch of spare parts. Good Luck, Rick

[justajo]

Watching this I knew there would be a reference to the Crosley Icyball refrigerator and there was. I first saw an article about this innovative refrigerator in a 1980s issue of The Mother Earth News magazine but never expected to see one. Then in 1992 I moved to the small town of Bowie, TX which had a museum. While visiting the museum I saw an Icyball in the corner of a storage room. I asked the museum operator why it wasn't on display and she replied that she no idea what it was. When I told her what it was and how it operated, she was delighted and would put it on display right away. My little contribution to the knowledge of Crosley's history.

[johnstewart]

Jon: I was born in 1945. My father, who was killed in a train crash in 1950, owned a Crosley. One of the few memories I have of him was driving from Albany to Long Island with him in the Crosley. I remember him barrelling down the Taconic Parkway in it. The floor of the car was just a few inches off the road and you coulod really feel the speed even though by today's standards it was fairly slow. John (Weeks) Stewart

[SBCBears]

I remember seeing Crosleys on the streets of my home town in the 50's. Also Hudsons, DeSotos, Studebakers, Nashs, Kaisers and even a King Midget. Post-war was an amazing time.

[djquinn]

I grew up in Detroit, 3rd generation auto industry worker, and thought I knew my American auto industry history but I had never heard of a Crosley. So interesting, he was a remarkable man. Thanks for the great history lesson!

[Smarty]

Nice to see a video with someone who can narrate without stopping and editing every sentence 👍

[thomrobitaille]

I clicked on this channel to learn more about a little known auto maker. For the first 10 minutes I received a history lesson on entrepreneurship in the first half of the 20th century. And thoroughly enjoyed it. Great job!

[jackdernorsek]

My wife and I have attended the Crosley convention when it was in Wauseon, Ohio fairgrounds. I highly recommend an event like this. It was fun and informative. They made forklifts, too!

[T-]

Jon, This is your best historical video. Good job researching and presenting the story of Crosley (Henry Ford of Radio) Powel Crosley Jr. was a classic American success story. As you describe, there is much more to it than his auto business.

[albertjones]

A young lady in our town who was a school teacher had the station wagon version in the early to mid 1950s. I had several rides in the car and I being young, thought it was the perfect toy. I still remember that mounted just below the front of the hood there was a small propeller that would spin in the wind. I thought that was really neat.

[edwardjohnson]

I had a 1951 3:45 Crosley Convertible. My father sent all the chrome off for recrome. Had it painted Robin Egg Blue, and recovered the seats with red vinyl. Found a new top too. It was a beauty. 36 hp. as I recall. Drove it on a trip from East Tawas, Mi to Winchester, IN and back. Would go 70mph. top end.

[aaronwatkins]

One time I snuck in to the old Crosley factory when I lived in Camp Washington. His office was in the base of the tower. It was clad in wood, had a personal bathroom and a fireplace. Even in it's current state of decay, it was an amazing site to see.

[calburnIII]

When I was a kid in Cheyenne, WY, about 9 or 10 in 52 or 53, we often ate at Kelly’s diner, a couple blocks from our house. Kelly had a fellow working there named Earl, who everyone called Lightning because he was a bit slow-witted, who drove a spiffy Crosley station wagon. He kept it clean and shiny, so it looked very new. What was striking was that Earl was a very tall, skinny man—hard to say how tall, because of course I wasn’t all that big at the time, but I remember that he had to duck going through doorways—and watching him get in and out of that little car was sort of like watching clowns get in and out of a little car at the circus. He sort of folded up, scrunched in, and then he could stretch out once he was inside. I remember sitting in the car, but I never got to ride in it.

Thanks for the history lesson. Good information.

[wolin]

Love the icyball refrigerator. My aunt lived without electricity and mentioned having one of these as it was her daily chore to heat it up on the kerosene heater. Then one end was placed inside the insulated container and for a time she had off grid refrigeration. Genius.

[philwarner]

My dad was a Crosley affectionado beginning in the late 40's. He could buy a ring set for a Lincoln V12 and have enough parts to overhaul the Crosley 3 times. I learned to drive on a 1952 Crosley station wagon. In 1984 I found a 1948 Crosley in Fresno, CA that became my Dad's last Crosley. When he passed away in 1998, the car went to my youngest sister and ultimately out of the family. They were indeed "A Fine Car"

[marknewman]

Jon, I love this style of video. I was surprised to see you have been at it for so long. Keep it up as I'm sure this channel will take off before long!

[silectric]

I was reading about an car that could be converted to a plane and it mentioned the Crosley Engine. I assumed this was from the UK as I had heard of Crossley and motors. Note the spelling difference I subsequently found so now I know where the Crosley motor came from. It just drove the car on the road, there was a separate aero engine. Credit where credit is due, they were certainly first with the bug eyed sports car look. Excellent video and I have certainly learnt something I did not know.