What happened to Studebaker

[@bill90405]

Studebaker also defaulted on their workers pension plan and left their former workers (and those of Packard) with practically nothing. This resulted in the passage of ERISA a few years later.

[@wendellworth353]

They also never updated their equipment when they were building cars, and their designs were terrible. They built junk for years, THAT is why they were forced out of business. No body wanted that trash. I owned a 1964 Stupidbaker Commander..289 V/8 w/three on the tree, sedan. Worst car I ever claimed ownership of. Damn thing almost bankrupted me trying to keep it on the road. I took it to a Ex Stupidbaker dealer for repairs and they told me to make a planter out of it. I drove it to a junkyard and they gave me a hundred dollars for it. I then went and bought a real car. The company went defunct and the workers went unpaid, BUT, the people at the top still left with millions.

[@fossil-bit8439]

@@wendellworth353 so you are an expert on the entire company based on the fact that you owned one car from them? What specifically was bad about their design? Sounds like you personally just did not care for them. I was a mechanic for over a decade and I can’t tell you how many people like you would buy a car from a particular make and completely ignore the maintenance recommendations on the vehicle, drive it into the ground, then proceed to blame the manufacturer and say. “I’ll NEVER buy from them again!!! They are complete trash!” All manufacturers build cars that were great and ones that were not so great. And even every so often a lemon does make it out of the factory; it’s bound to happen. Most anyone I’ve every talked to that’s ever owned a Studebaker hasn’t really had too much bad to say about the car. I think you’re just butt hurt because you had one bad experience that could’ve been your fault entirely.

[@erickrobertson7089]

I've owned two and was happy with both, a 55' Commander and a 62' Lark, both with the 253 (?) V8. Very durable design. Timing gears instead of chains. Smart.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

You are probably correct. I used to work as a mechanic, and most of the time, it really was the owner's fault.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Studebakers were generally good cars, they were just too small after the war.

[@robertking3130]

Studebaker had a limited presence in Australia and were highly regarded by their owners. However they did not have the clout of the other brands, especially of the locally made Holden. No matter how good any brand of car is or was, if you can't get people to change allegiance they struggle to survive.

[@jeffking4176]

Robert King Yes, Studebaker had a very loyal following, but, like there, they just didn’t have the clout. Many were afraid to buy one for fear they would go out of business shortly. And yes, Australia had some great cars already.

[@wallyplumstead614]

For several years before Studabaker closed the South Bend plant, they spent millions on buying up other smaller companies that were not involved in auto production. They had planned to pull out of the auto industry years before, but if they had invested that money into producing new models it just might have saved them.

[@dansmusic5749]

Don't you think that is wishful thinking? I want Studebaker to live, but listen to this video, they did not have the resources to compete at the level of the big three. Three year styling cycle, price wars, deep pockets for image building, oodles of dealers, they could not possibly compete in the long run. The handwriting was on the wall and the smart guys at the top knew it, so they diversified.

[@CJColvin]

@@dansmusic5749 Had Studebaker as well as Packard merged with Hudson and Nash to create AMC then I'm 100% sure Studebaker would've competed with the big 3 easily.

[@dansmusic5749]

@@CJColvin Not so sure. Studebaker Packard had serious management and labor problems. I love Studes but Packard would have probably fared much better without them. The original Mason plan was to include Packard but not Studebaker. Romney wanted to merge but Nance wanted the throne and disliked Romney. Nance knew little about the car industry and proved that. Before he was let go he bragged to the press that he would put AM out of business in two years all this while negotiations with AM were ongoing and had yet to be finalized. BTW, Romney had been offered the presidency of Packard for more money than Nash and complete control in two years. He turned it down as Packard management was retiring soon. He knew he would get better training from George Mason at Nash and that the training period would more than twice as long. Romney was key to American Motors making it through the dark years to profitability. Humility triumphs over pride.

[@CJColvin]

@@dansmusic5749 Yep you got it brother.

[@CJColvin]

@@dansmusic5749 Also believe it or not Ford also thought about buying both Studebaker and Packard to fill in they're gaps to compete with GM'S Brands (like Studebaker would compete with Chevy and Plymouth, while Packard would compete with Buick and Chrysler which there for making Ford the mid-level brand to compete with Pontiac and Dodge) but then Ford decided to turn down the offer and created the Stupid Edsel brand instead.

[@vonrikkor]

I learned to drive in a1959 Studebaker Lark, six cylinder, three on the tree.

[@autocamping5057]

Sad that such an industry has ended ,,, distinctive, beautiful and practical design !!!

[@Valor_73737]

My first new car was a 1963 Gran Turismo Hawk. A superb road car. I owned it for 30 years, and put over 240,000 miles on it before I sold it, still running. Something I deeply regret!

[@tedlawrence4189]

In addition to many other factors, I believe, that the Studebaker name sounded old and antiquated to the 60's generation. My grandfather worked there from '42 to '56. He did some door hanging etc. He drove his '50 Champion until '73. It just got too rusty being driven in So. Bend. Only had 38,000 miles. A lot of nice cars of all makes rusted away in the 'Rust Belt'

[@godofbrats151]

My great grandmother studebaker, oh how I wish I could have met her. I would love to hear everything about it.

[@inlandwatchreviews5745]

I was in south bend for the 25th anniversary, they blew the steam whistle at 4 pm like it was quiting time. I was 6 years old when the plant closed. I remember in 1968 my dad was still convenced that they would reopen.

[@OsbornTramain]

Well, they were in business until 1967 manufacturing cars around the world (last car build was in 1967 in Israel at the Haifa plant).....so that wouldn't have been wrong to think in 1968 that it would be reconstituted. The Avanti division was spun off and selling cars and the Military Division was still making trucks but owned by AMC now called AM General whos still builds cars today.

[@Patchuchan]

One thing that bit them is even though they got a modern V8 out in a mass produced car years before most of their competitors they did not design in the ability to easily increase it's displacement to keep up with the horsepower wars of the late 1950s to late 1960s.They didn't have the funds to design a greatly modified or a completely all new engine design every few years like GM,Ford, and Chrysler did.

[@CJColvin]

Right.

[@senorkaboom]

I was 9 years old when they closed. I got a bicycle for Christmas that year. We drove a 1958 Chevrolet Nomad wagon. I was in the third grade and my teacher was Mrs. Duffy. We moved out of the house we lived in at that time in 1969, the same year we got our first color TV. It was the color blue.

[@PAHighlander24]

Don’t you wish you still have the Nomad???

[@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu]

you color TV must have needed fixing if it showed only the color blue

[@michaelbenardo5695]

I think he meant the Nomad.

[@Jay-vr9ir]

The last Studebaker was made in 1966 , in the Hamilton , Ontario factory up in Canada .

[@jeffking4176]

I wonder what would have happened if the deal would have gone through with the merger of Nash, Hudson, and Packard. Studebaker did merge with Packard. But....

[@seed_drill7135]

I think AMC could have used Packard, but I think Studebaker itself would have been folded into Rambler the same way that Hudson and Nash were phased out.

[@edarcuri182]

@@seed_drill7135 I agree. Studebaker had a very expensive union contract, an obsolete plant (they all did) and had invested little in product or retailing. Packard bought Studebaker. Packard and Nash both had a spot of cash on hand in 1954. All four had needs. Together, with some very tough restructuring and decisions made, they could have competed. That said, Studebaker moved on from the auto business. AMC, and its predecessor Nash, never went broke, never got a government guaranteed loan, nor was liquidated in bankruptcy as both Chrysler and GM did.

[@fossil-bit8439]

I read a very interesting article once about how Studebaker could had been saved or at least lasted longer had they merged with International Harvester. I wish I could remember the name of the article. They talked about how the dealership network of bringing Studebakers to rural America when IH started making trucks (like the Scout) and IH would’ve been marketed to the cities where Stude’s were sold. It would have complemented each other. Since at the time many dealers from the big three were just in the bigger towns and cities. It may have flopped anyways but still woulda been interesting!

[@OsbornTramain]

What kill me is that Newspaper Heading, "Studebaker will assemble cars in Canada"...…..The folks in South Bend always acted like they were the only Studebaker Factory, oblivious to manufacturing going on in other Studebaker Plants in Canada for 15 years previously. The AMC folks in Kenosha were exactly the same, they always acted like they were the center of the Universe, When Chrysler bought AMC, they kept Kenosha going for a while as promised, three years, but it was the other AMC plants in the USA and Canada that kept going other USA locations with the Kenosha folks acting like AMC died when merely, Chrysler bought it and closed Kenosha down but kept everything else going. That's what happens when Unions within an organization become too strong. They think they call the shots and are always surprised when the company moves away with out them.

[@CJColvin]

What state was South Bend located in.

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

Indiana ,

[@MrShobar]

The merger with Packard was a horrible mistake. Post-merger, Studebaker found that Packard was in worse shape than they were. Studebaker failed to perform their due diligence before agreeing to the merger.

[@PAHighlander24]

In it’s final years Studebaker had a very limited range of family vehicles. The Lark was competing basically only with Rambler in the small economy market. Then in 59 and 60 the Big 3 all joined in, and there wasn’t enough demand in that segment for Studebaker to survive, as they had nothing to compete with the larger cars with larger profit margins. Union and management issues also contributed to their demise. It’s a shame because they were a very innovative car company in the late 40’s and early 50’s.

[@RGD0756]

When the Lark came out in ‘59, some of the big three dealers sold them for a year or two until they came out with their own compacts.

[@maryrafuse3851]

Studebaker's were built in Hamilton Ontario, Canada until mid March of 1966. The last car built was a turquoise Lark. Studebaker was the 10th largest company in Hamilton, a Steel City. Canadians loved their Studebakers.

[@steveproctor1748]

I read somewhere once that they built such a good truck that they should have changed to just building trucks only.

[@julianelcash2261]

Imagine now that we only have like three American companies I wish Studebaker was back and give us something different because I'm tired the Ford GM and crappy quality of Chrysler it'd be awesome to have like a Studebaker sports car

[@danielbell9779]

A true shame! The Lark could have been the car to Studebaker what the K-car was to Chrysler; it's saving grace. But, too little, too late. One thing that Studebaker isn't well known for, and should be, was it's contribution to the war effort of WWII. They built the engines for the B-17 "Flying Fortress."

[@stephenarling1667]

Also built a few hundred thousand US6 military trucks, most of them sent to our then-ally the USSR. Joe Stalin himself wrote to the company praising their workers' invaluable contribution to the war effort.

[@javieroliveras344]

Pitty those cars were really pretty and good

[@MidKid61]

The demise of a great company yet doubtful they would have survived the Japanese invasion throughout the 70's and 80's which led to the demise of AMC and crippled the Big Three. Too many people buying Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans instead of Fords, Chevrolets and Plymouths much less AMC or Studebaker.

[@CJColvin]

I know which really broke my heart.

[@1982kinger]

The old studebaker plant in hamilton Ontario is still there

[@kpadmirer]

Not any more....

[@OsbornTramain]

I thought Hamilton got torn down and a Shopping Center is there now?

[@Cyberpuppy63]

@@OsbornTramain [The old studebaker plant in hamilton Ontario is still there? ] 3 "fabrication" facilities closed down by late 2007. The Hotpoint factory; Stelco (temporary restructured); plus a couple others. Not counting the Leamington Factory, and the Kellog Factory in London. Stelco lost ~ 3,000 employees and the two others lost about 1,000 each.

[@Gator1699]

I had a 65 Cruiser and a 61 Lark Cruiser in Australia both 259 V8's loved the 65 it had overdrive tranny.

[@neildickson5394]

Put a Chevy or Ford name on any one of their cars and they would have sold like hotcakes. The public were afraid of buying an independent, or buying something fewer people bought. It was a popularity game like any brand. One day it's K-Mart, the next Wal-Mart, and then only weirdos went to K-Mart. GM had the public in their pocket then, but their day came too, when the sheeple shunned them for imports, and they declared bankruptcy. When you watch any old period film, on the streets it was GM, Ford, Chrysler. Once in awhile you'd see an independent, ususally a Studebaker. But, the sheeple were not strong enough to buy different, even when those cars were better. Aside from that, Burls Burlingham killed Studebaker. After Sherwood Egbert got sick, Burlingham didn't have the balls ro run a big company that was producing a full line of cars, trucks, government Postal Vans, Diesels, and a dozen divisions. After that he starved the Canadian operation out of existence, even tho they made a profit.

[@seed_drill7135]

It cost Studebaker more to make a car than it cost to build a very comparable Ford, Chevy or Plymouth. GM and Ford got into price wars that took away sales from the others. Back then cars tended to be built on three year cycles. But after their '53 redesign didn't prove profitable, Studebaker couldn't afford a true redesign. Cars all the way from '53 to the very end in '66 have interchangeable doors and ride on the same platform. Everything else was window dressing.

[@neildickson5394]

@@seed_drill7135 I hardly think a 53 door would fit a 66. I've owned 3 66's, and one 64, as well as other years. They were all contemporary to other makes of the same years. Yes, Studebaker did more with their designs than anyone else. It cost them 3 times the cost to advertise their lines than GM, or Ford. Had the American Motors plan worked out with Studebaker, Nash, Hudson and Packard, it would have worked. But, eventually probably all but perhaps Packard would have still been gone now. Chrysler has had more then it's share of lives. Eventually, it too will cease to exist. Ford is nothing now but a truck builder. GM is a ghost of it's former self. I think Cadillac's future is very dubious. It another truck builder, who would've ever guessed? It's image is forever tarnished.

[@edarcuri182]

@@neildickson5394 I agree. In 1954 Nash had money and it was the only independent to increase market share (not sales) that year. Packard had a couple of ducats too. Hudson was moribund and Studebaker had cost challenges (to be kind). There are a number of scenarios in which those four could have combined to stay in business. It would not have been easy as egos were involved. Nash Kelvinator absorbed Hudson and changed its corporate name to American Motors. It never went broke. Packard bought Studebaker and that company, through a number of name changes and differing businesses, also never went broke. Of course, Studebaker did stop making cars largely at the direction of the Board of Directors. Ironically, product had little to do with any of the various failures we have seen in the auto making world. It's two words: auto business. that business thing, that's the rub. By the bye neither the GM of 1954 nor its Chrysler competitor is in business today. Both companies were liquidated in bankruptcy court. New companies, entitled to use some of the assets of the liquidated companies, were created.

[@tomsriv]

Good point on the people moving on and buying what other buy. It reminds me of Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and Cadillac trying to compete with BMW and Mercedes today. You can't complain about reliability and then go buy a BMW. Its the keeping up with the jones. Most aren't bold enough to extoll the virtues of the lesser known, they just want to be part of the club.

[@CJColvin]

Both Packard and Studebaker should've merged with AMC (like Hudson and Nash did to form into the AMC Corporation).

[@GMCTIM]

My dad loved Studebaker ! He passed in 2014 😥💔 still have his 41 champion & a 39 suicide 4 door that belonged to his dad he bought in 61 ! Can still drive the 41, 39 a basket case ! 👍🏻

[@joevald3]

It's a shame companies like this disappeared . Studebaker was a great company in a good cars .

[@CJColvin]

Right, had they (along with Packard) merged with Hudson and Nash then AMC would've been part of the big 4 and would've beat the big 3 at they're own game.

[@michaelquinones-lx6ks]

Things would have gone differently in '54 had they went with then newly merged Nash/Hudson/American Motors Corporation instead of Packard.

[@CJColvin]

For me to be honest both Studebaker and Packard should've merged with Hudson and Nash to create AMC and to let AMC be part of the big 4 and also beat the big 3 at they're own game while the Rambler would've competed with Toyota and Honda as well.

[@MrJwhitmore]

My grandmas dad owned the Studebaker Company

[@OsbornTramain]

Ah, no! lol he didn't, Studebaker was a public company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was formed in 1852 and owned by the Studebaker Family for many years before it went public. He might have been a Studebaker Share Holder, but he didn't own the company unless his name was "Studebaker and he had some brothers as partners.

[@MrJwhitmore]

Thank you for the clarification. You are correct, I should not have said owned. Albert Russell Erskine was my great grandfather and he was President of Studebaker for many years.

[@HRM.H]

Shame the company dissolved. I loved the curvy and original designs. Absolute classis's

[@James-e3k5i]

Imagine is we had corporate welfare back then! We would still have Studebaker

[@erickrobertson7089]

Well Curtis had a great deal of involvement at the end. I think they were more interested in the other Studebaker plants and its defense contracts. Lots of things wrong with Studebaker management at the end.

[@Thinker669]

I would like to drive a Studebaker truck with a 3 on the tree.

[@CharlesCoderre-yv1cu]

the main issue was ugly designs-Lowey had the styling talents of Helen Keller

[@jakekaywell5972]

Not really, no. In fact, Loewy's 1953-54 coupes were so popular that Studebaker physically couldn't make enough of them to meet demand (same with the Avanti), which caused quality to dip across the range that only really rebounded once Sherwood Egbert was at the helm. Couple that with the Chevrolet-Ford price war that also happened that year, and you've got a crippled Studebaker. Everything afterwards just forestalled the inevitable.

[@michaelbenardo5695]

I believe that Studebaker would have done much better if they had brought back their straight 8 after the war and made their all-new post war car longer and wider. That car was as low as the step-down Hudson, but it's shortness and narrowness made it look tall and stubby.

[@eutimiochavez415]

Sad because they made a super car ??❤❤

[@sarah-katehicks4715]

I can't wait until the public realizes what actually happened. Lol.

[@bogee4u]

Would be interested in your take..on what really happened

[@ohboy2592]

They couldn’t compete, public already knows.

[@jvolstad]

They should come back making EVs.

[@manoelteixeira4936]

UM automóvel maravilhoso, o mesmo com o seu desenho e estilo. maneco - Brasil.

[@joseyneighbors5230]

My dad have a lark

[@packingten]

I remember uncle had one Dad had a 50 or 51,Champion?... had bullet nose....I remember dad going 100 mph it had overdrive I dont remember a lot about it. Uncle Earl called his a Stoodee baker....lol

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Probably a 51 Commander. No way a stock Champion could even break 90. Engine was only 170 - 185 cubes.

[@yuh2015]

ill be right back

[@yuh2015]

my wife divorced