J.N. Willys purchased the Marion Motor Car Co., Marion, Ohio, early in 1909. The Marion was kept in production until 1915. A 1910 advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post called the higher priced Marion the “Prince of Overlands” and made reference to a “Marion Overland” for $1,850 compared to $1,000 for the 102 inch and $1,230 for the 112 inch wheelbase Overlands of the day.
The same advertisement went on to describe why Overland had bought the Marion Motor Car Co. ;

—We bought the Marion because it contained some immensely desirable features which no other car ever had. We needed those features, and needed the men who designed them, to bring the Overland line to the pinnacle place which it holds.

One was a silent transmission which never gets out of alignment. There is no oscillation, no grinding of the gears, no scraping when the gears are shifted. One can run on the gears to the limit of speed as quietly as on direct drive.

Another is a system of four powerful brakes, expanding within large, well protected drums. They are wonderfully effective, and they cannot, like most brakes, get out of commission.

These features of silence and safety – the most important in a motor car — gave the Marion a vital advantage.

The makers of Marion combined their inventions with the best of all other features brought out by engineers. They selected the best from European models and the best from American.

Then they put the car to the test in some great events and won over all competitors. We, as well as all others, quickly recognised a rival who had to be reckoned with.

So we bought the car and employed the men who made it. Then we brought to bear on the car all the experience, skill and facilities of our enormous organization. The result is the Marion Overland — prince of the Overland line.

Interested readers should also refer to WOKR Starters:
number 107 1st Quarter, 1989
number 108 2nd Quarter, 1989
number 109 3rd Quarter, 1989

See also WOKR Library