Derek put together a great multiple-article look at the Kaiser’s purchase of the Willys assets.
https://cj3b.info/History/KaiserWillys1953.html
Below you’ll find some added some additional info and research as well.
First, my only quibble with one article is that there is the implication that Willys-Overland was humming profitably along. Despite profits, it’s my understanding that the company was dealing with some cash issues, hence why they (especially Ward Canaday) might have been interested in selling. At the time, Canaday controlled Empire Securities, the single largest shareholder in Willys-Overland. For some background on Empire Securities, read this 1946 Fortune article.
In regards to some of the issues raised in the final article of Derek’s the post, Edgar Kaiser addresses some of them in this 1955 Congressional testimony, particularly one reason the company lost money during the first two years.
Here are a few more reports from 1953, organized by the University of Toledo:
And more from the University of Toledo:
And, here’s Leslie Gould’s take on Ward Canaday in a March 30, 1953, article:
