Studebaker prepared well in advance for the anticipated post-war market and launched the slogan First by far with a post-war car. Exner's concepts were spread through a line of models like the Studebaker Champion Starlight coupe[17] The new trunk design prompted a running joke that one could not tell if the car was coming or going.
Hamilton, Ontario plant On August 18, , surrounded by more than employees and a battery of reporters, the first vehicle, a blue Champion four-door sedan, rolled off of the Studebaker assembly line in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Having previously operated its British Empire export assembly plant at Walkerville, Ontario, Studebaker settled on Hamilton as a post-war Canadian manufacturing site because of the city's centrality to the Canadian steel industry.
Industry price war brings on crisis Studebaker's strong post-war management team including president Paul G Hoffman and Roy Cole vice-president, engineering had gone by [2]:p and was replaced by more cautious executives who failed to meet the competitive challenge brought on by Henry Ford II and his Whiz Kids.
Massive discounting in a price war between Ford and General Motors could not be equalled by the independent carmakers, for whom the only hope was seen as a merger of Studebaker, Packard, Hudson, and Nash into a third giant combine.
This had been unsuccessfully attempted by George W. In this scheme, Studebaker had the disadvantage that its South Bend location would make centralization difficult. Its labor costs were also the highest in the industry. There was enough momentum to keep going for another ten years, but stiff competition and price-cutting by the Big Three doomed the enterprise.
From , Studebaker declined rapidly and, by , was losing money. It negotiated a strategic takeover by Packard, a smaller but less financially troubled car manufacturer. However, the cash position was worse than it had led Packard to believe and, by , the company renamed Studebaker-Packard Corporation and under the guidance of CEO James J.
Nance was nearly bankrupt, though it continued to make and market both Studebaker and Packard cars until Contract with Curtiss-Wright A three-year management contract was made by Nance with aircraft maker Curtiss-Wright in [19] with the aim of improving finances.
Hurley, attempted to cure Studebaker's ruinously lax employment policies. C-W gained the use of idle car plants and tax relief on their aircraft profits while Studebaker-Packard received further working capital to continue car production.
Last automobiles produced The automobiles that came after the diversification process began, including the redesigned compact Lark and the Avanti sports car , were based on old chassis and engine designs. The Lark had provided a temporary reprieve, but nothing proved enough to stop the financial bleeding. There was a labor strike at the South Bend plant[21] starting on January 1, and lasting 38 days. Egbert and Walter P.
Reuther, president of the UAW. Exit from auto business Closure of South Bend plant, After continued poor sales of the models and the ousting of president Sherwood Egbert, the company announced the closure of the South Bend plant on December 9, , and produced its last car in South Bend on December The engine foundry remained open to supply the Canadian plant until the end of the model year, after which it was also shuttered.
They revived the car in under the brand name "Avanti II". See main article Avanti cars non-Studebaker. They likewise purchased the rights and tooling for Studebaker's trucks, along with the company's vast stock of parts and accessories.
Trucks ceased to be built after Studebaker fulfilled its remaining orders in early Limited automotive production was consolidated at the company's last remaining production facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, which had always been profitable and where Studebaker produced cars until March under the leadership of Gordon Grundy.
It was projected that the Canadian operation could break even on production of about 20, cars a year, and Studebaker's announced goal was 30,—40, models.
While production was just shy of the 20, figure, the company's directors felt that the small profits were not enough to justify continued investment. Rejecting Grundy's request for funds to tool up for models, Studebaker left the automobile business on March 16, after an announcement on March 4.
In reality, the move to Canada had been a tactic by which production could be slowly wound down and remaining dealer franchise obligations honored.
The closure adversely affected not only the plant's employees, who had developed a sense of collegiality around group benefits such as employee parties and day trips, but the city of Hamilton as a whole; Studebaker had been Hamilton's tenth largest employer.
Studebaker's General Products Division, which built vehicles to fulfill defense contracts, was acquired by Kaiser Industries, which built military and postal vehicles in South Bend. Studebaker's proving grounds were acquired by its former supplier, Bendix Corporation, which later donated the grounds for use as a park to the St.
Joseph County, Indiana, parks department. As a condition of the donation, the new park was named Bendix Woods. The grove of 5, trees planted in that spelled out the Studebaker company name still stands and has proven to be a popular topic on such satellite photography sites as Google Earth.
After , Studebaker and its diversified units were acquired by Wagner Electric in Subsequently, Studebaker was then merged with the Worthington Corporation to form Studebaker-Worthington. McGraw-Edison was itself purchased in by Cooper Industries, which sold off its auto-parts divisions to Federal-Mogul some years later. As detailed above, some vehicles were assembled from left-over parts and identified as Studebakers by the purchasers of the Avanti brand and surplus material from Studebaker at South Bend.
The museum opened its doors to the public in and features three floors of exhibits. Visitors can see the carriage used by President Abraham Lincoln, along with a Studebaker Electric car. The curator of the museum is Aaron Warkentin. Museum display featuring a Studebaker truck and a Packard Predictor show car.
The hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 10 a. For more information, call Although things looked bleak for Studebaker, the company secured some financial backing to help it dig itself out of debt. Within a year, Studebaker was back to being profitable. As the Great Depression drew to a close, more than new Studebaker dealerships were opened.
Studebaker switched gears to help with the war effort. Source: usautoindustryworldwartwo. For a five-year stint in the s, Studebaker built a two-and-a-half-ton truck for military use.
The company would revisit this design again for the Korean War in the s. A bullet-nose Studebaker. Source: hemmings. A fleet of shiny, new, sleek Studebakers rolled off the assembly lines in the late s and s. The bullet-nose grills and gun-sight ornaments on the hood helped Studebaker establish the automotive design trends that dominated the car industry of the era. Studebaker offered vehicles at every price-point, from the Starliner to the lavish President Speedster. A Studebaker-Packard partnership.
Source: library. A Crumbling Dream It seemed that Studebaker was unstoppable in the s, but behind the scenes, things were starting to crumble.
Studebaker was facing stiff competition from Ford and GM. In fact, these two companies were engaged in a price war and Studebaker was inadvertently affected.
0コメント