Even though he made his millions from refrigerators, radios, scalp exercisers, bed coolers and sundry other gadgets, Powel Crosley Jr.'s first love was always the automobile. Seven years ago, the 6 ft. 4 in. Cincinnati millionaire decided to satisfy his passion. For $19 million he sold all his other interests to Aviation Corp. (now Avco), concentrated on making midget Crosley autos. His goal was to produce 150,000 cars a year, eventually bring the price down to $500. But Crosley fell far short of the mark.
Caught by rising costs, he could never bring the price below $800, and even then...