No. 054 of 207
In 1939, a Crosley was an odd duck of a car. Built by home appliance magnate Powell Crosley, who was 6'4' tall, these diminutive cars were powered by a 12 horsepower, two-cylinder air cooled engine. Weighing in at less than 1,000 pounds, the Crosley was as about as bare bones and utilitarian as a car could get. The only real luxury you could get in a Crosley was one of the company's famous radios. But these 80-inch wheelbase wonders did have two things going for them.
The first was the low entry price of $325 for a convertible coupe and $350 for a convertible sedan.
Second was the fuel economy these lightweight runabouts provided. Crosley claimed that they were capable of 50 miles per gallon, but 40 miles per gallon was more realistic.
Crosley's dreams of selling 50,000 of the cute cars through department stores and the dealer network for his other appliances was a bit optimistic. They ended up selling 1,200 cars in 1939. Combined production from 1940 through 1942 added up to around 5,000 cars.
12 horsepower Waukesha engine
Rear wheel drive
3-speed transmission
80-inch wheelbase
Rick DeBruhl's commentary - This 1939 Crosley was too small to be big!
Pre-War Classics / 1916–1941
