1950 Crosley Hot Shot

Crosley was a pioneer in small cars. This was the convertible version...he also made a two door sedan, a station wagon and a utility vehicle. Mr. Crosley also manufactured radios and refrigerators. We had one of his original refrigerators, a Crosley "Shelvador"..one of the first to have shelves in the door. It had but one door, and the freezer compartment was very small..no wonder...there were very few frozen foods!
My how times change..the compressor never did give up before being replaced by a more modern "Philco" two door unit. These little Crosley cars never really caught on...they were a bit too early...and they had serious competition from Nash Rambler.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• raconter1
• antique
• car
• show
• Crosley
• Hot
• Shot
• convertible

[rx6180]

Do you know why the disc brakes rusted, Jack? A light coating of rust if left standing is normal, but it doesn't usually mean they have to be replaced if the car is in regular use. Maybe that's why Detroit persisted in fitting drum brakes to some of their big bruiser muscle cars when discs would have been much better! (LOL!)

[raconter1]

@rx6180 Hey, Mick. It was more than surface rust on the discs, I believe it was the pistons hanging up within the cylinder bores. It was hopeless..and they quickly fitted conventional brakes. The next car company here to use disc brakes was Chrysler's Imperial, in the early 50's, I believe. Still, discs didn't have much availability here until the late 60's. It was a serious deficiency, particularly for cars with such performance potential. Thanks! :) Jack

[JeffN727]

Neat little putt-putt! To bad the Crosley name has been reduced to producing cheap quality Chinese made retro-looking record players and radios.

[raconter1]

@JeffN727 Hey, Jeff! I didn't realize the name was still alive as a radio brand. Evidently names have a life of their own! Thanks! :) Jack

[RamblinAround]

It's kind of a cool looking little thing. Don't see those everyday.

[raconter1]

@RamblinAround Hey, Jeff! Yeah, this was the sporty model! It was rare when new...now double so! No figures for the 50 Hot Shot, but 646 were built in 51 and

358 in 52. I doubt many survive. Thanks! :) Jack

[raconter1]

@drewerz01 Hey, Mike! Even when new, these cars were not very plentiful. After the depressing war years, the emphasis was on bigger and fancier cars which would evolve into those massive cars of the 50's. People had a tendency to judge an individual's net worth by the car he drove...not as true today! Thanks! :) Jack

[raconter1]

@cheddyrod Hey, Chester! Indeed...the engine from this little car lived on to be a compressor in industrial refrigeration systems! The first tv (13 inch screen) was a Crosley, I believe! The little car was just a little to far ahead of its time. Didn't know about their war effort and the proximity fuzes. Thanks! :) Jack

[drewerz01]

A very strange, yet interesting little car, I've never seen one before, I've never actually heard of Crosley before to be honest, but it looks to be a nice, very rare, collectible car :)

[cheddyrod]

Powel Crosley was an extremely creative inventor and produced a vast array of appliances and unlike today’s businessmen he did it on his own without TARP – a real hero. During the war his company made proximity fuzes – a fascinating device. My grandmother had a Crosley radio and we used to watch (it had a green eye lol) the Jack Benny show. I can remember these cars in MI or PS at the time and I can remember dreaming of owning one when I was a kid. Anyway, I am a great fan of Powel Crosley.