The Mega Brands That Built America Recap for Road Warriors
The season premiere of The Mega Brands That Built America on The History Channel is titled Road Warriors and talks about the evolution of cars.
In WWI and WWII, horses were used as a main form of transportation. As this became outdated, military engineers decided to come up with something easier and more modern, yet still durable enough to use in battlefield.
The military began looking for people to work on this new project, asking those in the automotive industry for help.
Willys-Overland’s Ward Canaday decides to take on the project. They were a budget version of Ford and was trying to recover from near collapse during the Great Depression. Together with Delmar ‘Barney’ Roose, they decide to work on the vehicle, setting the bar for the automotive industry.
Using their Go-Devil as a model, they work on their version of the vehicle, while Ford, unbeknownst to them, is also working on their own version.
Edsel Ford, wanting to make his father Henry proud, and Charles Sorensen, one of the auto industry’s greatest minds, decide to collaborate and make it in 49 days. However, they need to figure out how to pull it off….using a tractor engine.
However, they need to adjust the horsepower to make it happen.
AND THE RACE IS ON between both companies.
Ward and Barney’s version is overweight by 250 lbs, so they must figure out a way to lighten it. They make it as basic as possible with no doors or top…..barely making the weight limit.
Edsel and Charles, for their part, work on not only the engine, but the design itself so there can be added protection.
In the end, Ward and Barney get the contract….and end up collaborating with Ford after all, each of them making their own version of the vehicle.
The vehicle is called the GP–and would later be known as the Jeep.
Edsel dies during this time and his son Hank takes over the family business. He ends up clashing with Charles, who ends up resigning from the company.
After the war ends, the Jeep becomes an icon….but there is worry that it can work in the real world.
Ward then brings in none other than Charles to make this happen.
Hank stops making his utility vehicle….giving Charles and Ward a leg up in making the Jeep a car Americans would come to love. They switch it to a utility vehicle and it becomes a hit for farmers…..leading to a lot of competition coming out….particularly from Toyota.
Stephen Girard and Brooks Stevens, the latter of whom came out with the Wienermobile, are now working with Ward and Charles. To get ahead, they decide to come up with a new design for their Jeep. It would be a luxury utility vehicle….and the idea is so crazy it may just work. A comfortable ride, four doors and automatic transmission. Enter the Wagoneer.
Donald Frey and Lee Iacocoa, the men behind the Mustang, now want in on the action. They do some market research to figure out what the people want, coming up with the idea of a sport utility vehicle.
Enter the GOAT–Goes Over The Terrain…..aka the Bronco.
The car is entered into off road races to prove its power and before long, it becomes a hit and the first sports utility vehicle available to the public.
The Super Wagoneer is then distributed, but doesn’t go over well. Desperate for a new product, Steve and Brooks want a Bronco killer…..coming out with the Jeep Cherokee, the car that would put the SUV on the map and making it the most popular car of all time.
Ford is now worth billions.
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