Nash Motors

Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of Nash-Kelvinator. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in the wake of the domestic Big Three automakers’ (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) advantages in production, distribution, and revenue, Nash merged with Hudson Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Nash automobile production continued from 1954 through 1957 under AMC.

Innovations by Nash included the introduction of an automobile heating and ventilation system in 1938 that is still used today, unibody construction in 1941, seat belts in 1950, a U.S.-built compact car in 1950, and an early muscle car in 1957.

Nash Motors was founded in 1916 by former General Motors president Charles W. Nash, who acquired the Thomas B. Jeffery Company. Jeffery's best-known automobile was the Rambler whose mass production from a plant in Kenosha began in 1902.

The 1917 Nash Model 671 was the first vehicle produced to bear the name of the new company's founder. Sales for 1918 were 10,283 units. More models were added in 1919, and sales rose to 27,081.

Number of motor vehicles produced by Nash Motors:

The decades of success enjoyed by Nash were said to be due to its focus on building cars "embodying honest worth [at] a price level which held out possibilities of a very wide market."

The four-wheel drive Jeffery Quad truck became an important product for Nash. Approximately 11,500 Quads were built between 1913 and 1919. They served to move material during World War I under severe conditions. The Quad used Mehul differentials with half-shafts mounted above the load-bearing dead axles to drive the hubs through hub-reduction gearing. In addition, it featured four-wheel steering. The Quad achieved the reputation of being the best four-wheel drive truck produced in the country. The newly formed Nash Motors became the largest producer of four-wheel drives. By 1918, capacity constraints at Nash meant the Paige-Detroit Motor Car Company began to assemble the Nash Quad under license and Nash patents. Nash became the leading producer of military trucks by the end of World War I. After the War ended, surplus Quads were used as heavy work trucks in fields such as construction and logging.

Charles Nash convinced the chief engineer of GM's Oakland Division, Finnish-born Nils Erik Wahlberg, to move to Nash's new company. The first Nash engine introduced in 1917 by Wahlberg had overhead valves, which Nash had learned about while working for Buick. Wahlberg is also credited with helping design the flow-through ventilation used since then in nearly every motor vehicle.