Darrel Watson emigrated to the United States in the mid-1920s. Thanks to a solid experience of 10 years acquired at General Motors, this brilliant engineer decided to found Watson Motors in New Orleans in 1936. During the Second World War, this company provided troop transport vehicles to the United States military. At the end of the war, thanks to his significant profits accumulated during the war, its founder directed production towards the manufacture of passenger cars and light trucks.
Wednesday, March 7, 1952
Somewhere at the Watson Motors headquaters in New Orleans, Darrel Watson meet the team who’s working on the future entry-level model. They have a prototype to show him.
James Stephenson, the design team manager, is proud to show their car to their CEO.
J.S. : “This car is powered by a 200 ci inline-six engine.”
D.W. : " Power ?"
J.S. : “Around 90 PS”
D.W. : “Wheight ?”
J.S. : " Around 2650 lbs. "
D.W. : “It’s quite light, isn’t it ?”
J.S.: “Not really. This car is based on a ladder frame with double wishbone front suspension and a rear solid axxle coil. It’s quite simple and low cost.”
D.W. : “Let’s take a look at the body style! I like it!”
J.S. : “Thank you sir.”
D.W. : “What’s the scale of this model?”
J.S. : “…” After a long silence “This is… a 1:1-scale model…”
D.W. : “Are you kidding ? Can you remind me the design brief ?”
J.S. : “We have to design an entry level car which have 6 people capacity, for the american market.”
D.W. : “We said american market… This car is designed like a sardine can! So… 
… Or… we could sell this design to european carmakers like Courageux Motor Company!” 
J.S. : “Or we could sell it by ourself to european customers…”
D.W. : “May be or may be not… American market is our top priority. It remains four years to our company to design an entry level car. Keep the body style, design a larger wheelbase chassis, a powerfull engine and we’ll have it!”
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Not a bad start. Its design and engineering features are generally typical of the era, but its coil-sprung live rear axle might give it better ride and handling than a leaf-sprung one if tuned correctly.
1956 Watson Antlia
This 2-doors sedan is the all new 1956 entry-level car of Watson Motors.
It is powered by a 235 ci Inline-six engine. Hydraulic power steering and AM radio are standard across the range.
| Model | Watson Antlia |
|---|---|
| Layout | Front longitudinal RWD |
| Chassis | Chassis steel ladder / steel panels |
| Suspension | Double wishbone (front) / Solid axle leaf (rear) |
| Brakes | front and rear drums |
| Length | 5,16 m |
| Width | 2,05 m |
| Wheelbase | 3,25 m |
| Weight | 1 569 kg (1575 kg) |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual gearbox (optional 2-speed automatic transmission) |
| Engine name | 1956 Watson I6-235 |
| Type | OHV 2V Inline 6 |
| Capacity | 3847cc - 235 ci |
| Bore x stroke | 85 x 113 mm |
| Fuel system | 2 barrels twin carburetor |
| Power | 133 hp @ 4100 RPM |
| Torque | 255 Nm @ 2500 RPM |
| RPM limit | 4300 RPM |
| 0-100 km/h | 15,1 s (20,4 s) |
| 80-120 km/h | 10,0 s (20,0 s) |
| 1/4 mile time | 20,41 s (22,20 s) |
| 1 km time | 36,31 s (40,21 s) |
| Top Speed | 179 km/h (172 km/h) |
| 100-0 braking distance | 87,90 m (88,20 m) |
| Fuel Economy | 22,7 L/100 km (23,7 L/100 km) |
1956 base price : 1,250 $ (optional 2-speed automatic transmission 65 $)
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1956 Watson Trucks Cargo
This Watson Trucks Cargo series is the first pick-up designed by our company.
It is powered by a powerful 235 ci Inline-six engine. It allows the payload to rise up to one ton. AM radio is standard across the range.
| Model | Watson Trucks Cargo |
|---|---|
| Layout | Front longitudinal RWD |
| Chassis | Chassis steel ladder / steel panels |
| Suspension | Front and rear solid axle leaf |
| Brakes | front and rear drums |
| Length | 4,80 m |
| Width | 1,89 m |
| Wheelbase | 2,92 m |
| Weight | 1 303 kg |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual gearbox |
| Engine name | 1956 Watson I6-235 |
| Type | OHV 2V Inline 6 |
| Capacity | 3847cc - 235 ci |
| Bore x stroke | 85 x 113 mm |
| Fuel system | 2 barrels twin carburetor |
| Power | 133 hp @ 4100 RPM |
| Torque | 255 Nm @ 2500 RPM |
| RPM limit | 4300 RPM |
| 0-100 km/h | 11,9 s |
| 80-120 km/h | 10,8 s |
| 1/4 mile time | 18,91 s |
| 1 km time | 35,1 s |
| Top Speed | 163 km/h |
| 100-0 braking distance | 71 m |
| Fuel Economy | 23,7 L/100 km |
1956 base price : 1,100 $
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1956 Watson Auviera
This 4-doors sedan is the all new 1956 senior car of Watson Motors.
It is powered by a powerful 353 ci V8 engine. Hydraulic power steering, AM radio & automatic transmission are standard across the range.
| Model | Watson Aviera |
|---|---|
| Layout | Front longitudinal RWD |
| Chassis | Chassis steel ladder / steel panels |
| Suspension | Double wishbone (front) / Solid axle coil (rear) |
| Brakes | front and rear drums |
| Length | 5,30 m |
| Width | 2,05 m |
| Wheelbase | 3,25 m |
| Weight | 1 873 kg |
| Transmission | 2-speed automatic gearbox |
| Engine name | 1956 Watson V8-353 |
| Type | OHV 2V V8 |
| Capacity | 5781cc - 353 ci |
| Bore x stroke | 85 x 113 mm |
| Fuel system | 2 barrels triple carburetor |
| Power | 230 hp @ 4100 RPM |
| Torque | 442 Nm @ 2500 RPM |
| RPM limit | 4300 RPM |
| 0-100 km/h | 11,6 s |
| 80-120 km/h | 9,24 s |
| 1/4 mile time | 19,39 s |
| 1 km time | 34,51 s |
| Top Speed | 211 km/h |
| 100-0 braking distance | 97,8 m |
| Fuel Economy | 25,3 L/100 km |
1956 base price : 1,100 $
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Hey! I had to personally make an account to leave this comment. The work you have done is amazing and I hope you keep it up. It’s just amazing!
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