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N0KFQ > TODAY 07.01.16 17:22l 57 Lines 2687 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 81087_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - Jan 7
Path: IW8PGT<CX2SA<N0KFQ
Sent: 160107/1521Z 81087@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.65
1929
Chrysler is Time magazine's Man of the Year
Walter Chrysler, the founder of the Chrysler Corporation, one of
America's Big Three automakers, is featured on the cover of Time
magazine as its Man of the Year. In 1928, under Walter Chrysler's
leadership, his company had acquired the Dodge Brothers Company,
thereby becoming the world's third-largest automaker. Also that
year, Chrysler launched the low-priced Plymouth line and the
mid-priced DeSoto brand. Additionally, Walter Chrysler had
bankrolled construction of the Chrysler Building in New York
City. When it was completed two years later, in 1930, the
77-story art-deco skyscraper was the world's tallest building.
Walter Percy Chrysler was born on April 2, 1875, in Wamego,
Kansas. The son of a railroad engineer, Chrysler worked his way
up in the railroad industry, from sweeper to machinist to plant
manager of American Locomotive Company, before making his mark on
the auto industry. He worked as a plant manager for General
Motors' Buick division, and eventually become head of Buick. In
the early 1920s, he reorganized and saved the Willys-Overland
company. He then went on to rescue the Maxwell-Chalmers Company,
which in 1924 launched the Chrysler Six, a mid-priced car that
would help earn the Chrysler brand a reputation for performance
and advanced engineering. In 1925, Maxwell-Chalmers was renamed
the Chrysler Corporation. Between 1925 and 1940, Chrysler built 8
million cars and trucks and had 80,000 employees at its peak,
according to "Chrysler: The Life and Times of an Automotive
Genius" by Vincent Curcio.
Walter Chrysler became a wealthy, powerful business mogul with a
reputation for working hard and playing hard. One of the few
flops of his career was the 1934 Airflow car, which featured an
innovative design and engineering but experienced production
problems and lost money. Chrysler retired as president of his
company in 1935 but kept his title of chairman and CEO. After
suffering a stroke, he died on August 18, 1940, at the age of 65.
By the end of the 20th century, the Chrysler Corporation had
undergone significant changes. In 1998, German automaker
Daimler-Benz acquired Chrysler for $36 billion, to create
DaimlerChrysler AG. In 2007, Daimler sold an 80 percent
controlling interest in Chrysler to private-equity firm Cerberus
for $7.4 billion. In April 2009, Chrysler, which along with the
rest of the auto industry had been hard hit by the global
economic crisis of 2008, filed for bankruptcy protection and
announced it would enter a partnership with Italian automaker
Fiat.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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