AN_ AUTONEWS 09-15-08 B 18 AUTONEWS 6/27/2008 12:04 PM Page 1

General Motors Story 12/100 ‘Body by Fisher’: A family affair 6 sons of an Ohio carriage maker became a vital part of the GM tradition

John K. Teahen Jr.

here were six brothers: from the T eldest, Fred, Charlie, Bill, Larry, Ed and Al. There also was a baby brother, Howard, © GM Corp. who wasn’t in the auto business, and there were four sisters. Howard worked for the family company that managed the joint finan- cial interests. They came from Norwalk, Ohio. Their fa- ther was a blacksmith and carriage maker, and his boys became the world’s largest man- ufacturers of automotive bodies. The Fisher brothers built millions of bodies for General Motors, each of which wore a tiny badge on the body panel just ahead of the front door. It read: “Body by Fisher.” GM cur- rently has an insignia that it calls the “mark of excellence.” “Body by Fisher” was GM’s first mark of excellence. Fred was the first of the brothers to come to Detroit. That was in 1902, and he got a job at the Wilson carriage works. Brother after brother joined him in Detroit as each one came of age, and in 1908, they established Fisher Body Co. From $1,000 to $4 million Early on, the company struggled, but in 1910, it received an order for 150 bodies from Cadillac and was on its way. Fred Fisher’s official GM biography reports: “So swift was the Fisher company’s growth that an investment of $1,000 by one of Fred’s sisters was worth $4 million a few years later.” From the start, Fisher Body built closed bod- ies — for cars you could drive in the rain and in the winter. In 1916, Fisher Body hooked up with Alvar Ternstedt, inventor of the first The Fisher boys in 1922, three years after GM paid $27.6 million for a 60 percent stake in their company. From left: Ed, Al, Bill, Charlie, Fred and Larry. practical car-window regulator. Suddenly the windows could go up and down! It was, perhaps, inevitable that GM and and GM would buy all its bodies from Fisher The Fishers’ futures In 1912 Fisher Body built 105,000 bodies. In Fisher Body would get together, and in 1919, at cost plus 17.5 percent. But what of the brothers? Fred retired in 1916 it could turn out 370,000. It sold them to they did. For $27.6 million, GM obtained 60 In 1925, when annual capacity was 575,000, 1923, and Bill took over as Fisher Body presi- all comers — Ford, Hudson, Packard and percent of Fisher Body. The Fisher family Fisher Body acquired Fleetwood Metal Body dent (general manager after the GM buyout). Studebaker, as well as GM. would retain managerial control for 10 years, Co., which was famous for turning out special Bill bowed out in 1934, and Ed ran the show bodies for such notable for the next 10 years. makes as Packard and Five of the six became vice presidents of Pierce-Arrow and for General Motors, and five served on GM’s such luminaries as An- board of directors — all except Al, who was drew Carnegie, the Van- Fisher Body’s chief engineer. derbilts, the Rockefellers, Larry left the family store. He was general Theda Bara and Mary manager of Cadillac from 1925 to 1934. He Pickford. brought designer Harley Earl to GM, and he In 1926, GM paid $208 was Cadillac’s boss when it introduced the million for the other 40 LaSalle in 1927. percent of Fisher Body. Four of the Fisher brothers — Bill, Larry, Ed Fisher Body no longer and Al — retired from GM in 1944. Fred and exists as a GM division. Charlie had retired earlier. Ed and Larry con- It was folded into the tinued as directors. GM Assembly Division Ed, the final survivor, retired from the board in 1984. in 1969. Ⅲ

A personal note

The Fisher brothers were able to win and retain the lifelong loyalty of their employees. My father was one of them for 37 years. Dad knew every one of the brothers, and I do not exaggerate when I say that he loved every one of them — especially Bill, who hired him in 1916. He and Bill Fisher worked closely together for many years. On Dad’s watch, Fisher Body grew from a small family-owned operation to a giant corporation to GM’s second-largest division (after Chevrolet). But Dad never felt he worked for any of those outfits. Asked what he did for a living, he always answered: “I work for the Fisher boys.” — John K. Teahen Jr.

18 September 15, 2008 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS