The Kissel Motor Car Company was an American

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

and

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

manufacturer founded by Louis Kissel and his sons, in

Hartford, Wisconsin Hartford is a city in Washington and Dodge counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,223. All of this population resided in the Washington County portion of the city. The portion of the cit ...

. The company custom built high-quality automobiles,

hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...

fire trucks A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a 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 trucks from their plant at 123 Kissel Avenue in Hartford.Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925'' (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.127.

History

Conrad Kissel (b.1812, d. 1872) emigrated from

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...

in Washington County, Wisconsin in 1857. His son, Louis C. Kissel, moved to Hartford, Wisconsin, in 1883. In 1890, Louis, in a partnership with his four sons Adolph P., Otto P., William L. and George A., opened Kissel Hardware Store, the Hartford Plow Company that manufactured and distributed farm machinery, Kissel Manufacturing Company, and the Hartford Electric Company. Through Kissel Manufacturing Company, they distributed engines for various manufacturers and developed their own gasoline engines including outboard boat motors. The partnership was also involved in home building and sales through, a stone quarry, sand pit, and facilities for milling their own finished lumber. In 1906 Otto formed the First National Bank of Hartford as a principal shareholder and became Vice-President. In 1925 Otto was elected president and held that position until retiring in January 1933. In 1906 the Kissel Motor Car Company was incorporated by Louis, his four sons, and US District Attorney H. K. Butterfield. The company began production in 1907. Kissel prospered after the war but with stiff competition and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, mounting losses, and an attempted hostile take-over by

New Era Motors The Ruxton was a front-wheel drive automobile produced by the New Era Motors Company of New York, New York, United States, during 1929 and 1930. The car was the brainchild of William Muller and was built in the Board Machine plant in Philadelp ...

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

Kissel Kar, Kissel

In 1907 the Kissel Motor Car Company, advertised as "Kissel Kar". Approximately 200 of the 35,000 automobiles the company produced are known to exist today along with at least one of the Kissel-built FWD Model B trucks. 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 usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

actress

Anita King Anita King (August 14, 1884 – June 10, 1963) was an American stunt driver, actress, and thoroughbred racehorse owner. In 1915, she became the first woman to drive a car unaccompanied across the United States, with her 49-day journey f ...

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 thru 1927 Speedster, nicknamed the ''Gold Bug''. The two passenger (sometimes four-passenger) Gold Bug was owned by famous personalities of the time such as actor

Fatty Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...

and aviator

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

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

Gold Bug

The car Kissel referred to as a "speedster" was widely known as the ''Gold Bug''. The car was popular with many other celebrities including

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,0 ...

Eddie Duchin Edwin Frank Duchin (April 1, 1909 – February 9, 1951), commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American jazz pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. Early career Duchin was born on April 1, 1909 in Cambri ...

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, ...

Gladys George Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in ''Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...

Ruby Keeler Ethel Ruby Keeler (August 25, 1909 – February 28, 1993) was an American actress, dancer, and singer who was paired on-screen with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Bros., particularly ''42nd Street (film), 42nd Str ...

William S. Hart William Surrey Hart (December 6, 1864 – June 23, 1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integ ...

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

Mabel Normand Amabel Ethelreid Normand (November 9, 1893 – February 23, 1930), better known as Mabel Normand, was an American silent film actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She was a popular star and collaborator of Mack Sennett in their K ...

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, and

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

. A 1923 Gold Bug (model 6-45), one of four survivors from that model and year, was owned by Andrew Kissel and William Ruger. The 1927 Kissel Gold Bug Coupe Roadster was used in the movie ''

The Eddy Duchin Story ''The Eddy Duchin Story'' is a 1956 Technicolor film biopic of band leader and pianist Eddy Duchin. It was directed by George Sidney, written by Samuel A. Taylor, and starred Tyrone Power and Kim Novak. Harry Stradling received an Academy Award ...

'' in 1956. The only remaining 1921 Kissel Gold Bug Speedster won "Best in Class - Vintage Era Sporting" at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and won "Best in Class - American Spirit - 1920 to 1931" at the 2019 Elegance at Hershey. Kissel used Mercury as its logo. In the late 1930s, Henry Ford requested use of the logo for a new marque the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

was planning to introduce, and permission was granted.

Kissel Trucks

Kissel manufactured trucks of 3/4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 tons, and maintained a sales office at 2515 Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois in early 1913. In 1915 the company (542 Kissel Ave.) advertised in the ''National Lumberman'' the new models that included a 1000 lb. and 6 ton replaced the 5 ton. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the company produced trucks for the US military and for the allies prior to the U.S. entry into the war. In June 1915 Kissel shipped 30 ambulances and 50 heavy service trucks to the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

. By 1918 Kissel was producing

FWD Model B The FWD Model B was an American built four-wheel drive truck produced by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company that saw widespread service with American and British forces during the First World War. Design The FWD Model B was a cab over engine tru ...

3 ton "Buddy" trucks (not to be confused with the Standard B "Liberty" 3-ton truck) under license from the Clintonville, Wisconsin based

Four Wheel Drive Auto Company Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

for the U.S War Department.

West Bend Company

Kissel car factory Hartford Wisconsin 1921

In 1935, the Kissels manufactured outboard motors and were major suppliers of

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

, Roebuck. In 1942 the business was sold to the West Bend Aluminum Company.West Bend Company
Retrieved March 29, 2015

References

Sources

*Clymer, Floyd. ''Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925''. New York: Bonanza Books, 1950. {{Commons category, Kissel Motor Car Company Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Wisconsin Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct companies based in Wisconsin 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars 1930s cars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1906 1906 establishments in Wisconsin Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Pre-war vehicles