Roy D. Chapin Jr.

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Roy D. Chapin, Jr. (b.1915, d. August 5, 2001) was the one-time Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Motors Corporation. Chapin's father, Roy D. Chapin Sr., was one of the co-founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company; Hudson later merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation in 1954 to form American Motors.

Chapin received his degree in Business Administration from Yale University in 1937 and began his automotive career as an experimental engineer for Hudson in 1938. Later, he also served as an assistant treasurer and a director of American Motors.

Chapin was appointed to fill the CEO position at AMC following the departure of Roy Abernethy. Chapin slashed prices on AMC vehicles, and for the 1968 model year took the bold step to make air-conditioning standard on the AMC Ambassador at a time when air conditioning wasn't standard on Cadillac or Lincoln-brand luxury automobiles.

While at the head of AMC, Chapin spearheaded the acquisition of Kaiser Jeep from Kaiser Industries in 1970. Chapin was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1984. Chapin retired from AMC in 1978. He remained on AMC's Board until 1987, when then Chrysler acquired the company. Chapin also served on the board of directors of other companies, including Whirlpool Corp.

Chapin was also known for his persuasion powers with AMC's investment banks; winning concessions on many occasions that helped the company remain afloat.

Roy Chapin died of heart failure on Nantucket Island, off the coast of Massachusetts on August 5, 2001, at the age of 85.

[edit] References

• Fracassa, Hawke. "Roy D. Chapin Jr., ex-AMC chairman gambled to save Jeep". The Detroit News. August 7, 2001
• Higgins, James V., "Roy Chapin Jr. mastered how to survive in auto industry". The Detroit News, August 12, 2001

[edit] Further reading

The Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan has a collection of Chapin's papers:

   http://www.umich.edu/~bhl/bhl/mhchome/detroit/detcomm.htm

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People	Roy Abernethy | A.E. Barit | Roy D. Chapin Jr. | George W. Romney | Richard A. Teague | George W. Mason | Gerald C. Meyers | Edmund E. Anderson | François Castaing | Robert B. Evans | Richard E. Cross
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