Evinrude vs Johnson

[steeleman]

Today while in a business meeting I was daydreaming about outboards…so a typical day at the office.

Anyway, I was wondering why, in let’s say 1960, would someone buy a Johnson over an Evinrude, or maybe the other way around.

They are virtually the same motors, but different cosmetically and maybe were in price?

Probably just also based on dealership availability locally as well.

I was not there in person to experience it and was just curious.

[frankr]

If you were to ask the average Joe back in the day about the difference, he likely would say Johnson is more dependable, but Evinrude is faster. Of course that wasn’t true. Much of the attraction to one brand or the other had to do with dealers, their reputation, deals, advertising, glitz, financing—-all the usual stuff.

[Mumbles]

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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[Buccaneer]

I have that 60 Evinrude, but I think the Johnson is classier looking!

Prepare to be boarded!

[fisherman6]

Strangely enough, I have that ’59 Johnson and the ’59 Evinrude. Neither of mine look quite that nice and my ’59 Johnson has a ’59 Evinrude powerhead on it. 😎
-Ben

OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

[outbdnut2]

Back in the 1950s, if you bought the other OMCs (Gale Buccaneer or their private labels, like Sea King for Wards) you got the advantage of having a fuel pump and no pressurized gas can. Otherwise the motors were pretty much the same as Johnson/Evinrude except for cosmetics. I often wondered why the private label models got this advanced feature many years ahead of Johnson/Evinrude??!!
Dave

[wiscoboater]

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?

[sydinnj]

My thought was they wanted to field test the fuel pump on the brands motor, if it failed it would not hurt the reputation of the Evinrude or Johnson

[Steve D]

quote wannabe outboard guy:

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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[frankr]

The girl in red didn’t even get her hair wet.

[Author]

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