Johnson outboard boat motors showed the Johnson brothers to be better engineers than business people

Johnson outboard boat motors have a solid reputation. The Johnson brothers were very good engineers and developed a range of air-cooled motors.

Some were marketed as Johnson outboard boat motors others as Johnson outboard motors, and some were sold to power light aircraft.

Eventually the brothers got into financial difficulties and Johnson outboards were bought out by the Evinrude Outboard Motor Company. Combined, these two brands became the OMC Corporation.

For many years a Johnson outboard was the motor that all others were measured by, because they required a minimum of outboard repair to keep them working well.

The Great Depression and World War II guaranteed the bankruptcy of both Evinrude and Johnson Outboard motor companies. Both were eventually picked-up by the Outboard Motor Corporation.

By now, The Outboard Motor Corp. accounted for about 60 per cent of US outboard motor production. There were three engine lines, suiting most needs: the ELTO line for the buyer seeking thrift; Evinrude, the prestige line; and Johnson Outboard Motors, offering special features.

Though there was co-operation, operations were largely independent. This left each division to award contracts to outside bidders as well as those sharing a place under the Outboard umbrella. Even export sales operations were handled differently; although they were all routed through the Waukegan headquarters, Johnson Outboards were sold directly to its dealers, while most Evinrude sales were passed through distributors and then to the dealers.

In 1956, the company changed its name to Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC). When the boat industry finally rebounded from its economic downturn, OMC did not have enough of the right kind of product for its customers.

OMC decided to consolidate the two engines into one brand name. It finalized a contract with a German firm to bring in new technology for high-pressure fuel injectors so that OMC engines could be more fuel-efficient, initiated a thoroughgoing advertising campaign to strengthen its brand name Evinrude and Johnson outboard boat motors, and began to develop a new generation of outboard motors that were environmentally acceptable, fuel-efficient, and easily repaired.

Unfortunately the new generation turned out to be unreliable and some times un-repairable, ending OMC as we knew it.

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