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Although very profitable, Willys' businesses were highly leveraged, expanded and/or acquired through massive borrowings. In 1921, Willys' nervous bankers forced him to consolidate in order to limit their exposure. To raise cash for debt reduction, the Willys-Overland plant in New Jersey was sold at
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to run the Willys-Overland operation at the then astonishing salary of $ 1 million a year. However, Chrysler tried to oust John Willys with an attempted takeover bid that backfired when the shareholders resisted his move and
Chrysler left in 1921 to go into business for himself.
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Willys' interest in cars came after an 1899 trip to
Cleveland, where he saw an automobile for the first time, and knew they would quickly replace bicycles. Willys returned to New York and opened his first car dealership in
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Labor difficulties began to emerge at the Willys-Overland Toledo plant that resulted in a violent strike in 1919, shutting down the plant for several months. Willys hired
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343:"sleeve valve" engine. Success saw his car company become the second largest carmaker in the United States and in 1915 he built a seven-story headquarters in
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Willys and his wife had at least one daughter, Virginia, who married a rancher, Luis
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vehicle, each relative to a specific type of engine or price range. Through his holding company, in 1918 John Willys acquired the
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in 1912, the next year John Willys acquired the
Edwards Motor Co of New York which gave him a license to manufacture the patented
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of the 1930s saw numerous carmakers go out of business, and the Willys enterprises went into bankruptcy reorganization in 1933.
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that made a line of luxury vehicles. In 1926 Willys introduced the "Whippet" model line that sold in the U.S.,
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In 2008, Willys was posthumously inducted into the
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The following year, John Willys and his wife of thirty-seven years divorced. He soon remarried.
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in his hometown and within a few years, expanded into manufacturing his own line of bicycles.
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after recovering completely from a previous heart attack that he had in May, at his home in
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Postcard with portrait of John Willys and view of Willys
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Well respected in the business community, John Willys was a strong supporter of the
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and a line of
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company primarily to get his hands on
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615:"How John Willys Built up a $ 200,000 Business on a Start of $ 50"
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where he planned to produce a new six-cylinder car.
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American automotive pioneer and diplomat (1873-1935)
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335:brand automobiles. After changing the name to the
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508:"» John N. Willys | Automotive Hall of Fame"
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664:The New York Times via carsandracingstuff
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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640:"John North Willys, Automotive Pioneer"
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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789:United States Ambassadors to Poland
658:Willys, John North (June 6, 1909).
613:Post, Theodore (October 14, 1916).
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443:1916 Republican National Convention
286:pioneer and diplomat. His company,
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733:United States Ambassador to Poland
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455:United States Ambassador to Poland
433:The mausoleum of John North Willys
148:United States Ambassador to Poland
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1201:People from Canandaigua, New York
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471:He died on August 26, 1935, of a
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660:"The Automobile as a Civilizer"
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337:Willys-Overland Motor Company
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743:Ferdinand Lammot "Mot" Belin
512:www.automotivehalloffame.org
445:. Following the election of
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369:Elizabeth, New Jersey
333:Overland Automomobile
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304:Canandaigua, New York
221:Canandaigua, New York
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43:improve this article
719:John B. Stetson Jr.
558:"U.S. Heiress Weds"
353:Moline Plow Company
181:John B. Stetson Jr.
588:The New York Times
485:Valhalla, New York
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58:"John Willys"
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1048:Filthy Forty
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233:(1935-08-26)
188:Succeeded by
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41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1176:1935 deaths
1171:1873 births
1134:John Willys
1088:Willys Aero
1073:Kaiser Jeep
725:as Minister
387:auction to
176:Preceded by
1165:Categories
1098:Willys M38
952:Brzezinski
737:1930–1932
491:References
365:Duesenberg
298:Early life
292:Henry Ford
284:automotive
214:1873-10-25
69:newspapers
1083:Willys 77
947:Mosbacher
932:Feinstein
892:Schaufele
877:Gronouski
669:March 16,
649:March 16,
629:March 16,
594:March 16,
537:The Blade
409:Australia
238:The Bronx
165:President
156:In office
1043:Allstate
1036:Products
882:Stoessel
625:(1): 7–9
308:bicycles
302:Born in
99:May 2019
1143:Related
1058:Henry J
852:Gallman
847:Griffis
817:Stetson
812:Pearson
449:to the
361:tractor
83:scholar
1112:People
1053:Frazer
1027:Willys
907:Simons
897:Meehan
887:Davies
862:Jacobs
837:Biddle
832:Cudahy
822:Willys
807:Gibson
644:Allpar
568:27 May
542:9 July
517:9 July
473:stroke
407:, and
405:Canada
395:," in
341:Knight
329:Elmira
314:Career
223:, U.S.
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942:Jones
917:Fried
902:Davis
872:Cabot
857:Flack
827:Belin
467:Death
90:JSTOR
76:books
1150:Jeep
937:Mull
927:Ashe
922:Hill
867:Beam
842:Lane
671:2016
651:2016
631:2016
596:2016
570:2019
544:2021
519:2021
414:The
228:Died
208:Born
62:news
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