Thursday 25th March 1920

Walter P. Chrysler resigned as executive vice president in charge of automotive operations for General Motors. Born in the western Kansas railroad town of Wamego, Chrysler grew up around Union Pacific engineers. Early in life, he formed the idea of becoming a locomotive engineer himself. Working his way up from the position of janitor, he achieved his lifelong engineering dream by the time he was 20. Chrysler’s attention gradually shifted to the automotive industry. “To me it was the transportation of the future,” he explained, “and as such I wanted to be a part of it. That was where I saw opportunity.” In 1912, while employed by the American Locomotive Company, Chrysler was offered a position in Flint, Michigan by Buick President Charles Nash. The job promised only half of his current salary, but he took it anyway. As a manager at Buick, Chrysler revolutionized the company’s mass production capabilities, and distinguished himself as an irreplaceable part of the GM team. However, in 1916, William C. Durant regained control of the company he had founded and Chrysler’s mentor, Charles Nash, was forced out. Recognizing Chrysler’s value, Durant offered him the presidency of Buick, a title worth $500,000 a year. Chrysler had previously made $25,000 a year. Heeding warnings from Nash that Durant was a micro-managing tyrant, Chrysler did not immediately accept the offer. Eventually, though, the money was too good to turn down. Among his many accomplishments as head of Buick, Chrysler’s greatest achievement may have been initiating GM’s purchase of the Fisher Body Plant, on which the company relied for its products. GM purchased 60 percent of Fisher’s stock, and gained control over one of its most important components. Eventually, William Durant lived up to Nash’s warnings. He began to meddle in Buick’s affairs, infuriating Chrysler to the point of despair on numerous occasions. One day, Chrysler reached the boiling point during a board meeting and walked out. Longtime GM President Alfred Sloan later recalled, “I remember the day. He [Chrysler] banged the door on the way out, and out of that bang came eventually the Chrysler Corporation.”