Interesting question. Similar to Chev/Pontiac or Dodge/Plymouth choices back then as those vehicles were pretty much the same except for cosmetics.

A buyer of a new outboard motor back then probably had previous experience with outboards and when the time came for a brand new one, a top of the line Evinrude or Johnson was the obvious choice. Dealer location may have played a part but the OMC motors were a step above what the department stores could offer and as long as you didn’t mind blue or white, it would be a new Evinrude or Johnson!

Here’s a ’59 Johnson and a ’60 Evinrude. That would be a tough choice.

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Were there pricing differences between the two brands? In say 1957, would an Evinrude 10hp be priced higher then the Johnson 10hp? I’ve always thought of it as the Johnson was like the "Chevy" motor, and the Evinrude would be the "Buick" motor, same platform but the Evinrude was a bit more fancy. Was that the case and the Evinrude priced slightly higher?

I couldn’t find ads for ’57 for price comparison but I did find some for ’55 and it looks like they were the same, for then anyways. Johnsons didn’t have the 7.5 or 15 and Evinrude didn’t have the 5.5 or 10, but the ones they had in common were the same price. I would imagine that if each had the complete line-up they’d be priced the same too.
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