Their station wagons were the most popular model, but also offered were sedans, pickups, convertibles, a sports car, and even a tiny jeep-like vehicle.

All of Crosley's models were lightweight (1,100 to 1,400 pounds (500 to 640 kilograms)) body-on-frame cars with rigid axles front and rear, and engines with less than 1 litre (61 cubic inches) displacement.

With exception of the late introduced Hotshot and Farm-O-Road models, the vast majority of all Crosleys were built on an 80-inch (2.03-meter) wheelbase,[nb 1] and with leaf-springs.

During World War II the Crosley company discontinued civilian automobile manufacturing and began production of war-time materials, including development of experimental vehicles.

In 1946 Crosley resumed production of compact and subcompact vehicles at its facility in Marion, Indiana, in addition to introducing new models and innovations to its offerings.

Crosley built a prototype of the "Marathon Six," a six-cylinder automobile priced at US$1,700, which was at the low end of the luxury car market, but failed to fund its production.

The wealth that Crosley amassed from sales of these products provided the funds to diversify into other areas, including automobile manufacturing.

With the assistance of his brother, Lewis, a graduate engineer, Crosley also designed assembly plants for his manufacturing operations at Richmond and Marion, Indiana.

The engine was connected to a three-speed transmission that provided power directly via a torque tube to the rear axle, eliminating the need for joints.

[7][12] For 1941 a range of new, body-style variations of the 48-inch (1.22 m) wide[12] car were introduced to expand the line-up: a station wagon, two panel vans (one called the "Parkway Delivery" had no front cabin roof), and a pick-up truck and "Covered Wagon" model that could convert into a truck by means of a removable back seat and detachable soft-top over the rear section.

The company made a variety of products, ranging from proximity fuzes, radio transceivers, field kitchens, and quarter-ton trailers, to gun turrets, among other items.

Six of the 1,125-pound (510 kg), 2-cylinder Pups were deployed overseas after undergoing tests at Fort Benning, Georgia, but the project was discontinued due to several weak components.

The purpose of differentiating the exported Crosleys was to avoid confusion or conflict with Great Britain's non-related Crossley marque.

Crosley sales peaked in 1948, with 24,871 or 27,707 cars sold, depending on the source;[7][12] however, the CoBra copper and stamped steel "tin block" engine proved a major misstep.

[34] Together with the Frazer / Kaiser of the same year, the 1946 Crosley CC was the first American mass-produced slab-sided / ponton-style bodied car.

Although not much larger in displacement than its predecessor, power output was doubled to 26.5 hp (20 kW), improving the car's performance, with a claimed cruising speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), while fuel economy remained excellent at 35–50 mpg‑US (6.7–4.7 L/100 km; 42–60 mpg‑imp).

The panel delivery also had a side opening rear door, as opposed to the Station wagon's above/below split tailgate, while the basic sedan had no outside trunk lid – access to the luggage space was only from inside the car.

[34] In 1948 Crosley added bolt-on grille-bars and a chromed bull-nose to the front for the '48½ model year,[34] and introduced a new convertible wagon variant without doors, dubbed the "Sports Utility."

[34] A 1947 test of the Crosley sedan and convertible determined that "There is leg room for a man as tall as six feet two or three but due to the over-curve of the top and the window design, he may have to duck to see left or right", and unless he is narrow-shouldered "he will have to ride these things side saddle or not at all".

The alloy disc material was found to rust, and had freeze-up problems in parts of the country where salt was used on the roads.

The rear suspension used a combination of coil springs, assisted by single leaf quarter-elliptical leaf-springs that doubled as torque-rods, and the car had disc brakes on all four wheels.

But to go racing, the weight was further reducible to 991 lb (450 kg), by temporarily discarding such things as the detachable windscreen, and the non-folding (stowed) soft-top and side-curtains.

[40][41] A Super version of the HotShot was added in 1950, featuring solid hinged doors and a fold-down top that didn't have to be stowed,[11] and "full red plastic leather upholstery and lining".

A Hotshot won the Sam Collier Memorial Endurance Grand Prix,[43] (averaging 52 mph (84 km/h)), as well as the "index of performance" — an award which took speed and engine size into account — at the 1950 Six Hours of Sebring;[41] and a Siata 300 fitted with Crosley power won the SCCA's 12 hour Vero Beach race.

[32][45] In 1950, to broaden its line-up into the commercial and agricultural market, the Farm-O-Road was introduced – an ATV sized utility vehicle that looked like a small Jeep.

The Farm-O-Road was powered by the same 26.5 hp (20 kW) 44.2 cu in (724 cc) CIBA engine as the other Crosley models at the time, mated to a three-speed Warner T-92 transmission with a two-ratio, PTO-capable range box mounted behind it.

[24] An extensive range of farm-implement attachments was available, including a 10 in (250 mm) single bottom plow, a moldboard plow, snow plow, a cutter-bar mower, sickle-bar mower, three-gang reel-type mower, a rolling coulter, disc harrow, cultivator, hay rake, row crop seeders, fertilizer unit, row guide, velocity governor, hand throttle, radiator chaff screen, post-hole digger, and spring blocks.

This was done to get a thin, uniform wall thickness and thus avoid the creation of hot spots around the combustion chamber that could ignite the fuel, causing pre-ignition (knocks), which in turn limited the compression ratio.

It was a small, lightweight engine with single overhead camshaft driven by two sets of bevel gears and a vertical shaft at the front of the block.

[49] Longevity was measured in hours and was strictly controlled by equipment maintenance schedules for the wartime duties,[citation needed] but corrosion became a problem for these engines in civilian service.