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	~~aUiZYr~~		'''Charles Warren Nash''' (January 28, 1864 — June 6, 1948) was a United States [[automobile]] entrepreneur and served as an executive in the [[automotive industry]].

			== Early life ==

			Nash was born to a farming family in Cortland, Illinois on what is now Route 38 — Lincoln Highway. His mother was Anna E. "Annie" Cadwell (b. 1829 NY - d. 1909 MI) who married David L. Nash. Other Nash siblings included Mazovia (b. 1862), George C. (b. 1866) and Laura W. (b. 1868). After Charles' parent's separation, at age 6, Charles worked as a farm-hand in Michigan as an indentured servant. He later became a shepherd to the owner of hay-bailing machinery. He then moved to Flint, Michigan where he was noticed by [[William C. Durant]] of The Flint Road Cart Company. Durant hired him in 1890, and Nash became a supervisor.

			In 1897, Nash had a chance to drive an early [[automobile]], and became very interested in the commercial potential of this newly developed contraption.

			== Automobile industry ==

			Nash co-founded [[Buick\|Buick Motor Company]] with [[David Dunbar Buick\|David D. Buick]] and [[William C. Durant]], and in 1908 became Buick's president and general manager.

			In 1910, he was hired as general manager of [[General Motors]] (GM). He took over a debt-ridden company suffering losses and increased profits to US$800,000 as early as 1911 to over $12 million by 1914, as well as secured the firms financial footing.<ref name=motorbase>{{Cite web \| url = http://www.motorbase.com/manufacturer/by-id/1420049980 \| title = Overview: Charles Warren Nash \| publisher = Motorbase \| accessdate = 18 June 2010 }}</ref> However, his reluctance to pay dividends to shareholders resulted in Nash being voted out of his position in 1915.

			Nash, who took control of General Motors in 1910 from William Durant, was now fired by him when Durant regained control in 1916.

			Nash then resolved never again to work for someone else. He bought out the [[Thomas B. Jeffery Company\|Jeffery Motor Company]] in August 1916. In 1917, re-named it as [[Nash Motors]]. The 1917 Nash Model 671 was the first vehicle produced to bear the name of the new company's founder.<ref>{{cite book \| last = Lewis \| first = Albert L. \| last2 = Musciano \| first2 = Walter A. \| title = Automobiles of the World \| year = 1977 \| publisher = Simon and Schuster \| page = 280 \| isbn = 9780671224851 }}</ref> The new company was successful, with sales totaling 31,008 trucks and cars by 1919.<ref name=motorbase/>

			In addition to running Nash Motors, Charles Nash was also president of the luxury car company [[LaFayette Motors]] until that company was bought out by Nash Motors in 1924.

			== Retirement ==

			Charles W. Nash retired in 1936. His successor at the company was [[George W. Mason]], who was recommended by [[Walter Chrysler]].

			He lived in retirement for twelve years later and died at the age of 84 in Beverly Hills, California. His health failed at the death of his wife in 1947.<ref>{{cite news \|title = C.W. Nash Near Death As His Wife Succumbs \| page = 25 \| url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0E10FE3E5E17738DDDA90A94D0405B8788F1D3&scp=3&sq=%22Charles+W.+Nash%22&st=p \| quote = Charles W. Nash, one of the nation's pioneer auto makers, took a turn for the worse and was near death himself today after he was told that the wife he had married sixty-three years ago had died last night. \|publisher = The New York Times \| date = 20 August 1947 \|accessdate= 18 June 2010 }}</ref> He died in 1948, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale.

			== Legacy ==

			Nash is best known for responding to public demand by building a smaller, more economical and affordable cars.<ref name=ahf>{{Cite web \| url =http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honors/index.php?cmd=view&id=102&type=inductees \| title = Charles W. Nash - 1975 Inductee \| publisher = Automobile Hall of Fame \| accessdate = 18 June 2010 }}</ref> Nash Motors was very successful marketing cars to North America's middle class. He is also recognized for lean operations in business that included scheduling production and material orders closely, carrying a small inventory, and having flexibility in meeting the changing market needs during the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name=ahf/> Nash, is also credited with developing the straight-line conveyor belt assembly system that he first introduced at the Durant-Dort carriage factory.<ref>{{cite book \| last = Lewis \| first = Albert L. \| last2 = Musciano \| first2 = Walter A. \| title = Automobiles of the World \| year = 1977 \| publisher = Simon and Schuster \| isbn = 9780671224851 }}</ref>

			Charles W. Nash's achievements have been summarized in the word "success":<ref>{{cite book \| last = Forbes \| first = B.C. \| last2 = Foster \| first2 = O.D. \| title = Automotive Giants of America: Men Who Are Making Our Motor Industry \| year = 1926 \| publisher = Forbes Publishing (Kessinger Publishing, 2003) \| isbn = 9780766161771 \| page = 224 \| url = http://www.pnwnash.org/nashbio.htm \| accessdate = 18 June 2010 }}</ref>
			{{quote\|A man who, in the short space of nine years, has built up a business on which there is not a dollar of bonded indebtedness, whose stocks have a market value approximating $137,000,000, whose profits have exceeded $56,000,000, and whose bank balance tops $30,000,000, surely must be regarded as a very practical authority on what makes for success.\| \|''Automotive Giants of America: Men Who Are Making Our Motor Industry''}}

			== Timeline ==
			* 1910 — Charles Nash takes control of General Motors from William Durant.
			* 1916 — William Durant re-gains control of General Motors and fires Charles Nash.
			* 1916 — Charles Nash buys the Thomas B. Jeffery Company.
			* 1917 — Thomas B. Jeffery Company is re-named Nash Motors.

			==See Also==
			{{Nash Motors}}

			== External links ==
			* [http://www.kenoshacounty.com/community/book3folder/nash.html Nash biography at kenoshacounty.com]
			* [http://www.pnwnash.org/nashbio.htm Nash biography at the Pacific Northwest Region of the Nash Car Club of America]
			* [http://www.kenoshacounty.com/community/book3folder/nash.html Reproduction of Nash's obituary from Nash Motors in house newspaper]

			{{start box}}
			{{s-bus}}
			{{succession box \| before=[[Thomas Neal]] \| title=President [[General Motors]] \| after=[[William C. Durant]] \| years=1912 – 1916}}
			{{end box}}

			[[Category:Chief executives in the automobile industry]]
			[[Category:American Motors people]]
			[[Category:Nash Motors people]]
			[[Category:People in the automobile industry]]
			[[Category:Automotive pioneers]]
			[[Category:General Motors former executives]]
			[[Category:Automotive company founders\|Nash, Charles Warren]]

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Charles Warren Nash - Revision history

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