I think you know where this is headed, the man's name was Walter Chrysler. Some may say Walter came to the party too late, but I don't think so. While he may not have been a player until later on, Walter knew a lot about automobiles when he was hired to be the head of production at Buick in 1911. But he knew even more about how to produce higher quality goods for less money. One of the most significant changes he made was to eliminate the finishing of Buick undercarriages with the same quality of finish as the body.
In 1916, when Billy Durant had retaken GM back from the bankers, Walter submitted his resignation as he had close ties to the former administration. Durant made a special trip from NYC to Flint in an attempt to keep Walter at the helm of Buick. He offered Chrysler the unheard of (at the time) amount of $10,000 a month for 3 years, plus a bonus of $500,000 (cash or stock) at the end of each year! Apparently in shock, Walter asked him to repeat the offer, which Durant did, and so Chrysler immediately accepted. Walter was to report directly to Durant and would have full run of Buick without interference from anyone.
After this agreement ran it's course, Walter resigned his position as president of Buick. He did not agree with Durant's vision for the future of GM. At that time, Billy paid Chrysler $10 million for his GM stock. Walter Chrysler had started at Buick in 1911 for $6,000 a year and left in 1919 as one of the richest men in America! But as I'm sure you know by now, this is not the end of our story.
Walter decided he needed a little more jingle in his pocket, so he accepted an offer by bankers who were worried about their investment in Willys-Overland Motor Company to attempt a turnaround for that operation. He demanded, and got, a salary of $ 1,000,000 a year for 2 years. He left in 1921 after an unsuccessful attempt to wrest control of the company from John Willys.
Not to be denied his place in automotive history, Walter did manage to acquire a controlling interest in the ailing Maxwell Motor Company. He phased out Maxwell and absorbed it into his new venture, The Chrysler Corporation in 1925. In addition to his own line of Chrysler automobiles, Walter added the marques of Plymouth and DeSoto, as well as purchasing Dodge Brothers, Inc., in 1928.
Walter also financed construction of the Chrysler building in NYC in 1928, it was completed in 1930 and was, for a short time (11 months), the tallest building in the world. He had also been named Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1929. He ran the company until 1936 and considered himself semi-retired. He suffered a stroke in 1938 and died as a result in 1940 at his Forker House estate on Long Island, NY.
Did you know?
John Dodge died from pneumonia in January, 1920, his brother Horace died in December of the same year from Cirrhosis.
The Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth Binder Twine.
The DeSoto brand would have never been created if Chrysler had been successful in his first attempt to purchase Dodge in 1926.
Chrysler Corporation was the second-largest automobile producer in the nation in 1928.
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