Fleetwood Metal Body Co.

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1929 Cadillac V8 Series 341-B Imperial Sedan or Sedan with Fleetwood body

The Fleetwood Metal Body Co. was an American Stellmacher operation , which in Fleetwood (Pennsylvania) was established.

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The company was founded in 1909 by Harry C. Urich (1867–1947) in the "Dutch County" of Pennsylvania . Urich was previously in Co. Reading Metal Body busy. The company was sold and relocated in the same year, so that Urich started his own business with some of his colleagues.

In 1910, Fleetwood took over the buildings of the predecessor company Reading in addition to its own premises. Seven years later, most of the buildings burned down, but were immediately rebuilt. In the same year Fleetwood already had 375 employees. Early automakers for which Fleetwood supplied bodies included Alco , American Fiat (a luxury manufacturer), Chadwick , SGV , Simplex , Renault (which only imported the most expensive models to the US) and, a little later, FRP and its successor, Porter .

In 1918 a branch was established in New York City . The automobile designer LeBaron later moved into the same building , with whom Fleetwood intensified its cooperation. In 1920, 50 to 80 bodies per month (depending on size and complexity) were produced; the orders came from the New York Packard dealer and Pierce-Arrow . In 1921 and 1922, however, one-offs were also made of bodies on chassis by Duesenberg , Richelieu , Biddle (both with Duesenberg motors), Lincoln , LaFayette , Doble , Crane-Simplex , Daniels , Locomobile , Owen Magnetic and Fox ; In addition to the imported chassis, there were those of the brands Mercedes-Benz , Rolls-Royce , Isotta Fraschini , Hispano-Suiza , Lancia and Minerva . Fleetwood is best known for its luxurious wooden interior. From 1922 small series for Lincoln, later also for Ford , are built.

On July 18, 1925, the Fisher Body Corporation bought Fleetwood, the founder Urich retired from the company. At the same time, the New York office was relocated to Fisher's headquarters in Detroit . From then on, Fleetwood built almost exclusively for the General Motors brands Cadillac and LaSalle . From December 1925, the new, quick-drying wood coatings from DuPont were used for the first time at Fleetwood . In 1929 Fisher had a completely new plant built for Fleetwood in Detroit, to which much of the production was relocated from Pennsylvania. At the end of 1930 the main Fleetwood plant was closed, which meant a major loss for the Fleetwood community in the midst of the global economic crisis . The local GM dealer was boycotted by the population and eventually had to give up. Many Fleetwood, Pennsylvania residents still do not buy a GM-brand car.

In the same year, the new Cadillac V16 appeared exclusively with Fleetwood bodies. In 1931, at the instigation of Lawrence P. Fischer, who had meanwhile been one of the GM directors, the last bodies for Packard chassis were produced.

In 1932, Fleetwood was completely integrated into the Fisher Body Corporation . From this point in time until 1984, “Fleetwood” and “Fisher” were only luxurious trim levels of Cadillac models.

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