Willys Americar

The Willys Americar was a line of automobiles built by Willys-Overland Motors from 1937 to 1942 as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or pickup truck. It grew out of the older Willys 77 after an internal reorganization turned the Willys-Overland Motor Company into Willys Overland Motors, and when Joseph W. Frazer joined the company in 1938 he decided that a modern-looking and cheap compact was the answer for the struggling firm. The models of 1937, 1938 and 1939 gradually took on a more Ford-like appearance, ending in the DeLuxe-like 1940 model. Only the 1941 and 1942 cars, the 441 and 442, carried the Americar name, following the patriotic trend of the time; Willys sold 22,000 in 1941 and 7,000 in 1942 at about 630 dollars each, and Consumers Union rated the 1941 car a Best Buy in the lowest-price group. Civilian car production stopped for the war, and the success of the civilian Jeep kept Willys from reviving the prewar models, so the 1942 Americar was its last civilian passenger car until the Willys Aero ten years later. The coupe later became a popular hot rod choice.