Jeep and Toledo

eblade special E EDITION TOLEDO, OHIO THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011 CHRYSLER TO EXPAND TOLEDO PLANT JEEP ROLLS FORWARD THE BLADE Ken Wieland and Dave Pixley put the finishing touches on the first Wrangler TJ to come off the line at the Stickney Avenue Jeep plant on Jan. 26, 1996. By SHEENA HARRISON is expected to be completed by 2013, according to the ployment to its highest levels since 2008. Blade BUsiNess Writer application, and add $36 million in payroll to the To- The automaker did not officially confirm details of ore than 1,100 new auto assembly jobs are ledo area. its tax abatement application, pending approval of a expected to boost Toledo’s economy in the According to Chrysler’s application, up to 327,000 vehi- state incentive package. next couple years, thanks to an expect- cles would be made per year at the expanded Liberty and Chrysler has sought other aid to help with the planned ed $365 million investment by Chrysler Nitro plant, up from about 92,000 produced last year. Toledo plant expansion. The Ohio Environmental Pro- MGroup LLC at its Toledo Assembly Complex. Chrysler’s Toledo Assembly Complex has two plants tection Agency last month issued new air-quality permits The Blade has learned that the automaker will add — the Toledo North Plant, which makes the Jeep Lib- sought by Chrysler for the Liberty and Nitro factory. a second shift at the plant that builds the Jeep Liber- erty and Dodge Nitro, and the Wrangler plant, which The automaker could be planning more local invest- ty and Dodge Nitro SUVs, which currently has about produces the Jeep Wrangler. The Wrangler plant has ment. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority was scheduled to 1,050 Chrysler employees. two shifts and a combined 1,500 workers employed by consider incentives last month for Chrysler’s Toledo New jobs would be added at the plant over the next Chrysler and its parts suppliers. Machining Plant in Perrysburg Township, though a 16 months, according to a tax abatement application Chrysler’s planned upgrade to Toledo North would state spokesman said the incentives are still in negoti- Chrysler has filed with the city of Toledo. The project add a second shift there and boost the facility’s em- ations. Details of that potential project are unclear. Jeep and Toledo By ZOE GORMAN company sent another 1,500 vehi- and LARRY VELLEQUETTE cles for testing. Willys-Overland’s BLADE STAFF WRITERS 1,500 MAs were produced in Tole- Jeep is Toledo’s heritage. do. The final MB product was 400 First it became instrumental for pounds overweight. the United States in World War II. Willys-Overland obtained the Then it became the genesis of to- first major production contract in day’s prevalent sport utility vehi- July, 1941. The three bidding com- cles by every automaker. panies produced 642,000 Jeeps dur- Toledo is still the only place in ing the war, and 361,000 came from the world making the Jeep Wran- the Willys-Overland plant in Tole- gler and Jeep Liberty. do. The Spicer Manufacturing Co., The brand was born when the Ar- another Toledo firm, is credited my wanted a reconnaissance and with developing Jeep’s four-wheel message-dispatching vehicle to re- drive. place the motorcycle with some- These Jeeps were used not only by thing more rugged. the United States, but were among “The Jeep had a personality the the most valuable items sent to soldiers bonded with,” said Brandt Great Britain and Russia. The Brit- Rosenbusch, manager of historical ish, who attached machine guns to services for Chrysler Group LLC. the vehicles to attack German fuel “Soldiers get attached to things that supply lines, nicknamed the Jeeps work.” “desert rats.” Those Jeeps, precursors of the Production of the military vehi- Wrangler, were in the gliders that cle kept Toledo’s Willys-Overland landed in Normandy on D-Day and plant busy during the war. A Jeep were the first vehicles off the land- rolled off the assembly line every ing crafts in the South Pacific when two minutes. A typical work shift the Allies invaded islands. Intend- was 10 hours, six days a week, in ed to run messages to the front line hot, dirty conditions. and to scout out the enemy before With many men overseas in the an attack, the military was quick to THE BLADE war, the plant hired women, paying use the first Jeeps as ambulances, March 7, 1943. A Jeep vehicle is unloaded from a World War II cargo glider. Published in The Toledo them 95 cents an hour, or a nickel weapon carriers, and more. Times. Acme Photo from Acme Newspictures Inc. NY. less than men. The Jeep was lower than trucks For many women, it was the first used in combat, so soldiers could The Army originally invit- ing column, low side body time they wore slacks to go to work. avoid some fire and stay more dis- ed 135 manufacturers to cutouts, two circular in- Ron Szymanski, a retired Jeep em- creet. Its light weight also allowed bid on production, given strument clusters on the ployee who worked at the Willys- it to be flown on airplanes. Jeeps a lengthy list of specifica- dashboard, and a hand Overland plant for 35 years, said could take damage and continue tions that required features brake on the left side,” ac- many women who had been work- running, and because they were such as blackout lights, a cording to the Walter P. ing in the plant during the war were standardized, parts could be quick- 600-pound load capacity, Chrysler Museum. entitled to keep their jobs when the ly exchanged. and a height of less than 36 The Army drew other war ended. The women, he said, “It was there in the trenches with inches. features from Ford’s Mod- did not work at any task that would them,” Mr. Rosenbusch said. “It American Bantam de- el GP (General Purpose), require them to lift more than 10 never let them down. It was as im- livered the first prototype The Wrangler known as the “Pygmy.” pounds. portant as their rifle at the end of after Ohio State Univer- The Army approved The origin of the Jeep name re- sity engineer Karl Probst spent 18 dent for a superior engine, the “Go- the three designs and requested 70 the day.” Devil,” when it sent the Army its mains unclear. Some say it came The brainchild of three com- straight hours designing the “Blitz test vehicles of each. They were de- from a phonetic version of the “GP.” Buggy,” a name later popularized “Quads,” later called “MAs.” The livered in 1940 to Camp Holabird, panies — American Bantam Car company approved a $40,000 ex- Others attribute it to the small Co., Willys-Overland, and Ford in Great Britain. The prototype was Md., but each model exceeded the character, Jeep, from Popeye com- complete within 49 days. penditure to send the Army the two Army’s weight limit. The limit was Motor Co. — the first model, the Quad prototypes. The prototypes ic strips. Like the car, Jeep the char- “MB,” was a combination of ideas. Willys-Overland set the prece- raised to 2,160 pounds, and each featured “a gearshift on the steer- See HISTORY, Page e-4 SECTION E, PAGE E2 eblade special THE BLADE: TOLEDO, OHIO ■ THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011 Jeep timeline 1910: John North Willys starts constructing what will become the Jeep Parkway plant in Toledo. 1912: Willys-Overland Motor Co. ranks as the second-largest automaker behind Ford Motor Co. and has 15,000 employees by 1915, making it Toledo’s largest employer. 1928: Jeep Parkway plant reaches an employment peak of 23,000 people, who work in a 7-million-square-foot facility that includes more than 90 buildings and covers 119 acres. 1910 1926 1941: Production of military Blanche Scott, known as ‘Lady Overland,’ John North Willys Jeeps begins, and about was hired by Willys-Overland to drive a 363,000 are assembled at Jeep Parkway during World car all around the country. War II. Trailers, 155mm shells, aircraft parts, rockets, and other military equipment also are made at the factory during the war. 1945: First civilian Jeep, the CJ-2A and a predeces- sor of the Jeep Wrangler, is produced at the Jeep Park- way plant. Station wagons, pickups, the sporty Jeepster car, and sport utility vehicles eventually follow. 1953: A Kaiser-Frazer Corp. subsidiary buys Willys-Over- land Motors Inc. and changes its name to Willys Motors Inc. 1954: Jeep Parkway plant builds its 5 millionth vehicle. 1964: The Stickney Avenue factory, which would later become part of today’s Chrysler Toledo Assembly complex where Wranglers are made, is purchased from The Electric Auto-Lite Co. 1925 1969: Kaiser Jeep is sold Willys Overland building, corner of 14th and Adams streets, Toledo. to American Motors Corp. for $70 million. The plant is renamed Jeep Corp. 1983: Production of the Jeep Cherokee and its twin, Wagoneer, begins. 1985: The CJ-7 is moved to Brampton, Ont., and is rede- signed as the Wrangler the next year, marking the first time none of a Jeep model’s production comes from the Jeep Parkway plant. 1987: Chrysler Corp. ac- quires AMC, including Jeep, for $1.5 billion. 1991: Chrysler announces it will discontinue production of the Grand Wagoneer and close the Stickney Avenue plant, laying off nearly 1,000 workers. Later, reports say Chrysler will reopen the plant to build Wranglers when the 1940 vehicle resumes production in The original Willys-Overland Quad 1928 Toledo the next year.

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