The Kissel Motor Car Company was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 manufacturing company founded by Louis Kissel and his sons, George and William, on June 5, 1906 in Hartford, Wisconsin

Hartford, Wisconsin

Hartford is a city in Dodge and Washington Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 10,978. The city is growing at estimated rate of 10.66% annually, resulting in an estimated population of 13,900 by January 2009.-Tornado of 2006:The city was the...

. The company custom built high-quality automobiles, hearse

Hearse

A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...

s, fire trucks, taxicab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s, and utility vehicles from their plant at 123 Kissel Avenue, Hartford. They offered trucks of 1½, 2, 3, 4, and 5 tons. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the company produced trucks for the military and prospered after the war but with stiff competition and the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, mounting losses, and an attempted hostile take-over by New Era Motors

Ruxton (automobile)

The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York, New York, USA during 1929 and 1930. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Moon Motor Car factory in St. Louis, Missouri...

' president Archie Andrews forced Kissel to file for receivership protection in November, 1930.

History

Often called "Kissel Kars," of the 35,000 automobiles the company produced, only 150 are known to exist today. The Wisconsin Automotive Museum of Hartford has several of these remaining cars on display. The most famous car was one the company donated to Hollywood

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

 actress Anita King

Anita King

Anita King was an American stunt driver, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Early life:Born Anna Keppen to German immigrants in Michigan City, Indiana, her father committed suicide in 1896 when she was twelve years old and two years later her mother died of pulmonary tuberculosis...

 for her transcontinental trip in 1915 that marked the first-ever such trip by a female driving alone. The most popular Kissel model was the 1919 Speedster, nicknamed the Gold Bug. The two passenger Gold Bug was owned by famous personalities of the time such as actor Fatty Arbuckle and aviatrix Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

. Beginning in 1927, Kissel also produced the sporty White Eagle Speedster.

Kissel used Mercury

Mercury (mythology)

Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...

 as its logo. In the late 1930s, Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...

 requested use of the logo for a new marque the Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 was planning to introduce, and permission was granted.

West Bend company

In 1935, the Kissels manufactured outboard motors and were major suppliers of Sears, Roebuck. In 1942 the business was sold to the West Bend Aluminum Company

West Bend Company

The West Bend Company was a West Bend, Wisconsin company from 1911 to 2003. It manufactures aluminum cookware and electrical appliances, but also made two-stroke cycle engines including outboard boat motors. Art Ingels used a surplus West Bend engine to power the first kart...

.

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Sources

• Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950.