Kissel Motor Car Company - History

History

Often called "Kissel Kars," of the 35,000 automobiles the company produced, only 150 are known to exist today. 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 actress Anita King 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 Speedster, nicknamed the Gold Bug. The two passenger Gold Bug was owned by famous personalities of the time such as actor Fatty Arbuckle and aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Beginning in 1927, Kissel also produced the sporty White Eagle Speedster.

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 was planning to introduce, and permission was granted.

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