//////I've heard that in a few localities, one of the better Studebaker dealers could sell as many cars as, if not more than, the Big Three dealers. I've heard second hand info about this in either Denver or Greeley, a suburb of Chicago, and some town mentioned in "American Graffiti". Apparently, these locals were scratching their heads about Studebaker going under, when every third car and pick-up on local streets was a Studebaker. You are quite correct. There were a number of exceptions to the rule among Studebaker dealerships. I can't help but wonder if Studebaker wasn't partially a victim of pre-computer era FUD. A potential buyer goes comparison between Studebaker and the Big Three dealers, and the Big Three dealers keep saying something like "You don't want to buy one of those! Haven't you heard? They're going out of business!" Constantly repeat this until it becomes true. The Wintel people have been battering Apple with this crap for years. As somebody who has been lied about until the lies are believed as true in the regional Fandom rumor mill, I find Apple and Studebaker to be very sympathetic. That, and getting nailed in the marketplace for that "ahead of its time" thing. Anybody wanna buy an unpopular sci-fi parody comic book, replete with "Cyclops babe" and tons of pop cultural in-jokes, that I drew way back during the Reagan era? Matt Groening even read a few in Gary Panter's living room!//// Indeed! But it wasn't only other dealers that hammered Studebaker. From the mid-50s onward, the news media carried frequent articles about the imminent demise of Studebaker. Even when the Lark pushed sales upward, writers and TV/radio commentators wondered whether the Lark would be enough to prevent the eventual collapse of the corporation. Studebaker also was hurt by the low resale value of their vehicles. This fact was mentioned prominently in such publications as Consumer Reports and newspaper auto sections. However, the low resale situation was really the result of predatory practices by the Big Three dealers (and even AMC, to an extent). Big Three manufacturers encouraged their dealers to place a low value on their competitors' cars and trucks, especially Studebaker and AMC. Thus, a Studebaker owner could only get decent trade-in value at a Studebaker dealership. No, this didn't instill loyalty, but rather encouraged people to get rid of their Studebakers and never buy another one. Ironically, a real Studebaker enthusiast knew he/she could get the best deal on a used Studebaker by going to a Big Three dealer. By the same token, this situation forced many Studebaker dealers to lower prices on their used Studebakers, thus cutting their profit margins. /////// What's really freaky about the Japanese is that, during the '70s, they figured out what American car buyers wanted better than the clueless suits in Detroit. That is really weird when you consider the geography and the cultural differences! Did they really understand our market - or where they at the right place at the right time? Back in the late 70s, I had the opportunity to host 10 Japanese government officials who were visit the firm for which I was working at that time. We did talk cars. They attributed the success of Japanese cars to three factors, as follows: 1. At the time, Japanese cars were of a higher quality than most U.S. cars, especially in the area of fit and finish. 2. With gasoline prices having taken a big jump during the Arab oil embargo, Japanese cars offered better fuel economy. 3. The Japanese hired the best American ad agencies and con- sultants to help them effectively market their vehicles. Interestingly, every one of these Japanese officials was taking a new car home - a new Lincoln. They liked big American cars. The Daimler Chrysler thing reminds me of when Deutz bought Allis Chalmers in the middle '80s and unintentionally did everything they could to destroy any heritage and brand loyalty over night. Oddly, Deutzes apparently sell well in Canada, but are always a funny foreign also-ran in the U.S. You make a very good point. At the time this happened, I was just beginning my 15 years of residency in Wisconsin. Allis-Chalmers was big name in that state, especially the Milwaukee area. The new German owners did everything they could to eradicate the Allis-Chalmers name. They succeeded and, in the process, destroyed all sense of brand loyalty. In this Studebaker History thread, one point has been ignored. Studebaker's fate well may have been sealed when the company elected to put its money into a new post-war car rather than in plant improvements (i.e., replacing antiquated manufacturing facilities with new plants). This decision saddled Studebaker with a woefully inefficient manufacturing facility - and that meant Studebaker was saddled with higher operating costs than its bigger competitors. At the same time, Studebaker did nothing to rationalize its labor union contracts. As a result, Studebaker workers were highly paid, but were less productive than workers at other plants. Finally, Studebaker failed to capitalize on the sterling war record of its Truck Division. It took Studebaker until 1949 to introduce a new truck line, and this was a watered-down version of what originally had been planned. The Truck Division received precious little marketing support. Yet, the potential can be seen in market acceptance of the 2R Series trucks. 2R Series sales were greater than all previous truck sales combined, and were greater than all subsequent truck sales. After the auto market shifted from a sellers' market to a buyers' market, Studebaker never again had the financial resources or the corporate will to do what was needed to assure the long-term survival of the vehicle manufacturing operations. Nonetheless, it was during this time of decline that Studebaker produced some of its most significant products and vehicle features. This was the time of the C&K bodies (from the 53 coupes to the 64 GT Hawks), the light and medium duty Diesel trucks, the Lark, Transtars (what a name, what a grille), the Avanti, awesome power, numerous safety features, sliding - roof wagons, the Scotsman and a lot more. Sadly, many people look at Studebaker and pronounce it a failure. In reality, the company produced vehicles for 114 years - a remarkable length of time. The company survived the end of auto production, merged with Worthington and was considered a prize when acquired by McGraw-Edison. Leighzer 1950 2R6 Pickup 1955 Commander 4-Door Sedan