WILLARD VELIE grandson of JOHN DEERE graduated from Yale in 1888. He followed Horace Greeleys admonition to "Go WEST YOUNG MAN" and took the journey to Montana. There he met and married his college roommate's (William Flowerree) sister Annie Flowerree. Within fifteen years he would form the Velie Motor company in Moline ILL.
The Velie Car Co. became a leader in quality, not size. Today the Velie is remembered only by automobile buffs, but in its day it was prized for its combination of quality and low price.
In 1922 the U.S. Navy Dept. in New York tested 76 foreign and domestic cars. Its goal was to select the best features of automobiles motors for the adaptation to aircraft.
Only eight passed thetest. Duesenberg, Fiat, Packard, Brewster, Hispano-Suiza,Isotta-Fraschini and the VELIE. For the first six years the Velies were advertised in the John Deere catalogue.
Velies were made from 1908 to 1928.Willard Velie died on Oct.24, 1928. His son closed the Velie factory in Nov. he said "that he could not run the Velie plant and the aircraft plant, at the same time".
The Velie Register is dedicated to finding and tracking of all surviving Velies. There are 230 Velies left in the world. USA, South Africa, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Finland, South America, New Zealand ,Australia, Norway, and Canada.
Willard Velie Helped run the JOHN DEERE plant with members of the Deere family.
Before Willard Velie made his autos, he manufactured Buggies and wagons from 1902 to 1909.
Willard Velie had a ranch near HIGHWOOD Montana he would spend the summers at the ranch.
