The South Bend NBC station is reporting tonight that the Enron collapse is affecting its workers like the Studebaker "bankruptcy" affected their employees in South Bend. I know there wasn't much left for the employees at Studebaker when the plants closed. I talked to a guy who worked there who told me about how he and his buddies loaded up on car parts before they left. However, I was under the impression that Studebaker didn't file for bankruptcy, they just plain closed up shop. When Studebaker quit the vehicle business beginning in South Bend, the company was well into diversification. The business did not fail. Correct. The Studebaker board of directors were really determined to take the corporation into diversification and out of the auto business years before the close of the main. Ron The McGraw - Edison absorbtion came Sept 1st 1979. There was a thread running several months ago that listed one or more companys in the string after that but I can't locate the darn info now. Who has that info ? Mickey It was Studebaker-Worthington that was absorbed by the smaller McGraw Edison which in turn was bought by Cooper Industries which is currently a candidate to be bought out by yet another corporation, (I forgot which though - It was a business news item a couple of days ago). -At the last South Bend International, there was a lengthy public discussion -with the president of the union local that represented Studebaker employees. -He stated that NO vested worker lost ANY retirement benefit, and you have to -wonder what reason a UAW official would have to lie in the company's favor. -Now, every corporate retirement system has a contractual definition of -"vested." You have to work for a company for a given number of years before -you are a part of the retirement fund group. This is also the case for -government employees. The magic number at Studebaker may have been 15 -years--the subject did not come up. But clearly, lifetime employees near -retirement were not turned out penniless into the street. -Posts on this group show that business commentators are as vague about -Studebaker history as those experts who tell you all about your car in a -shopping center parking lot. Regrettable as some events may be, there is -nothing in Studebaker business history to be ashamed of, including the -end-game strategies. It behooves us to have an answer to those who take -cheap shots. It was 20 consecutive years i.e "People were shocked to hear about one employee who worked for ten straight years. After a short break in service, he worked another ten years. But guess what? His years working for the company did not satisfy its 20 year service requirement -his service had to be consecutive. And the employee got nothing. So many stories like this forced Congress to act." The article is here: http://www.unclefed.com/Tax-News/1995/Nr95-14.html Twenty consecutive years was a long time to become vested even in the early 1960's. When I worked for Kaman aerospace, (a non-union company), the service length to be vested in the retirement program was ten years. Incidentally, the program was entirely financed and administrated by the company, (no employee contributions). The real cure to retirement plans is simply that they should all be alike and follow the individual throughout his/her lifetime. NO early withdrawals for ANY reason except death where the proceeds go to a designated beneficiary. The term "vested" has to be transportable, not tied to any given employer given that many jobs don't last for the minimum current vested requirements. The days of life-long employment with a single employer are gone forever. Channel 22 here in South Bend interviewed Les Fox, who at the time of Studebaker's closing had something like 15 years tenure with the company. I believe Mr. Fox was the President of Local 5 in December 1963, and may have been the speaker Mike Seery is talking about. Mr. Fox was given a lump sum payment of about $300 at the closing, which represented the value of his pension as of 12/63. I believe he said the cut off for full benefits was 20 years of service. Remember, the Studebaker pension was wholly company funded. Ed. Note / I've been advised that many did not receive anything, even with as much as 27 years of service...) The most glaring difference between Enron and Studebaker that I see is that Enron's failure meant the loss of employee contributions to their retirement plans. Employees lost money that was earned and in their hands at one time, and then voluntarily given to the company to be invested in a retirement plan. I have read where Enron's 401K plan required a certain amount of employee contributions to be invested in Enron stock (up to 100%!). Frankly, I was shocked to hear that. Most companies have a mandatory limit to the amount of money their 401K plan can put in their own company stock (usually 25%). Most companies would have never allowed this to be policy. Enron is the only case I have heard of where a company would allow such a risky policy to exist. Now, a law will be passed almost for sure to legislate what is really just sound business practice, and a practice that is followed by most businesses today. One bad apple is all it takes. My Uncle worked had several years in as a welder.He had no benefits when the main closed. I'm personally convinced the board of directors moving Lark only production to Canada after 1963 had everything to do with avoiding U.S. dealer litigation than car production. As I've offered before, when Lark sales began to sag and Egbert was brought in, the handwriting was on the wall from the big shots to move fast for the stock holders on corporate diversification and get out of the car business.The man did that job. If the board was really serious in keeping Stude in the car business, it would have put Lark profits into the auto end of things instead of buying other companies.Hell, as early as 1961, some Studebaker dealers could not even get credit to buy and sell vehicles. Their problems were ignored by the big shots. Ron ========= I'd like to set the record straight regarding Studebaker's closing and comparisons with Enron. 1. Studebaker never declared bankruptcy from the time it was founded in 1852 until the day it was absorbed by McGraw-Edison in 1979. Studebaker did enter voluntary receivership in 1933, but this was not a bankruptcy! In contrast, Enron has sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Whether it will ever emerge is subject to debate. 2. Actually, Studebaker had a long history of diversification. For example, the acquisition of Pierce-Arrow was an earlier example of it. However, until the early 1950s, diversification was always related to the core business. By the mid-1950s, the board decided the company would survive only if it diversified its way out of the auto business. Sherwood Egbert was brought in to speed up the diversification process. Enron went from a rather small pipeline operator to an energy trading firm. Utility deregulation initiatives by various states fueled Enron's transformation. 3. In a shameful move, the Studebaker Board of Directors changed the vesting criteria from 10 years of service to 20 years. This was done because the board already had spent nearly all of the pension money on diversification. The union leader who said every vested Studebaker worker received his/her pension was correct - they did, but they had to have at least 20 years of service! Enron, like many companies, encouraged employees to invest their 401(k) dollars in Enron stock. Enron matched 401(k) contributions with more stock. Toward the end, Enron changed 401(k) administrators. When it did this, employees were not allowed to move investments out of any 401(k) fund, including Enron stock, for 30 days. By the time the period had passed, a share of Enron stock had about the same value as yesterday's newspaper. 4. The pension decision by Studebaker's board was legal. It also was applauded by many in the investing community. Studebaker stock prices rose following the announcement that the South Bend facilities would be closed. On the surface, it appears Enron acted within the law with regard to the 401(k) plan. However, as investigators probe deeper, illegal actions regarding the 401(k) plan may be found. 5. The pension decision was met with stern congressional criticism. Nonetheless, it took the Congress until 1975 to pass the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Throughout the ERISA debate, Studebaker's name was evoked time and again. Some legislators wanted to find a way to punish the company, but nothing came of that idea. It seems likely that Congress will do something in the wake of Enron's 401(k) plan actions. Leighzer 1950 2R6 1955 Commander 4-Door Sedan =============== If my memory is working tonight, I recall reading something on that a long time ago. Egbert was brought in to be a scape goat as he had no previous knowledge of how an auto company should be run. After walking around the plant and talking to the workers and learning how the Studebaker Company was so nice a place to work that many of the workers were third generation or more having been employed there that He did whatever the committee would allow him to do to improve the auto division of Studebaker. In my opinion if Sherwood had been given full reign, the workers hadn't gone on strike disrupting the production of the Avanti, the advertising dept. had come out of it's coma and the parent company had sold off one or two of it's non auto divisions, you would still be able to buy a car with a V8 engine a frame and a roomy interior built by an automobile company that helped settle the west by building more and better covered wagons then any other company or in other words a new Studebaker! Terry Lee Brandli ============ Good summary and well stated. Would you agree that if Sherwood Egbert was brought in to "speed up the diversification process," that someone forgot to tell him that's what he was there for? Or did he so fall in love with the cars and the automobile business after he got to South Bend that he decided to "go for it" and try to make a go of automobile manufacturing? I don't profess to know the answer, so the second question is asked in seriousness. Happy Birthday to Our Company! ============ If my memory is working tonight, I recall reading something on that a long time ago. Egbert was brought in to be a scape goat as he had no previous knowledge of how an auto company should be run. After walking around the plant and talking to the workers and learning how the Studebaker Company was so nice a place to work that many of the workers were third generation or more having been employed there that He did whatever the committee would allow him to do to improve the auto division of Studebaker. In my opinion if Sherwood had been given full reign, the workers hadn't gone on strike disrupting the production of the Avanti, the advertising dept. had come out of it's coma and the parent company had sold off one or two of it's non auto divisions, you would still be able to buy a car with a V8 engine a frame and a roomy interior built by an automobile company that helped settle the west by building more and better covered wagons then any other company or in other words a new Studebaker! Terry Lee Brandli As Leigh explained so well, Egbert's actions were just what he was hired to do.If he had more 'control' it would have been for nothing given his cancer diagnosis.I've concluded that the auto division 's problems were beyond any real repair by 1960. The terminal sales problem and the companies poor support of the dealer network was beyond real repair from the middle 1950'S on. Ron When Sherwood Egbert came to Studebaker, he had no knowledge and little interest in the auto industry. He was recruited for his management skills, which the board wanted to use to step up the diversification effort. However, Egbert fell in love with the cars. To the surprise of the board, Egbert got it into his head that he could save the Automobile and Truck Divisions. Though he failed in that effort, Egbert did prolong the inevitable and gave the world the Avanti, GT Hawks and the very attractive 64 line of cars. Egbert, who was a heavy smoker, had cancer. He put up a brave fight, but the illness sapped his strength by mid-63. Leighzer ============================= Studebaker's Board of Directors, awash with profits from the Lark in 1959-1960, narrowly made a decision that sealed the fate of the Automotive Division. They decided to use those profits to diversify the Corporation away from autos, instead of reinvesting them back into automotive operations. Sherwood Egbert was responsible during his term for evaluating takeover targets, and making purchase recommendations to the board. Part of the storied history behind our car is that Egbert, once on board, became enormously enamored with saving the Automotive Division. He worked very feverishly to revive it, (to the dismay of several board members), producing the car we all have come to love. Studebaker's corporate remains are still around today. The biggest chunk of the company became a division of McGraw-Edison in the early 1970's. Studebaker-Worthington Leasing company still exists today, the only remnant that still carries the name. Studebaker's stockholders did not suffer the huge losses the employees in South Bend and Hamilton did. Studebaker's stock never became worthless. The diversification plan the Board took in the early 60's worked in it's own "evil" way! Studebaker's Divisions in the Annual Report of December 31, 1963 included: Chemical Compounds Division (STP) Clarke Floor Machine Company Division CTL Division (Aerospace Products) Franklin Division (Home Appliances) ///////Franklin division (appliances) became part of White-Westinghouse Consolidated Industries which still uses some Franklin designs in today's washers from Westinghouse, Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator and some Kenmore branded machines. ////// Gravely Tractors Division (Garden Tractors) Mercedes-Benz Sales Division (Yes, exactly what it says and was) Onan Division (Generators & Engines) Paxton Products Division (Superchargers) Studebaker Automotive Sales Corporation Studebaker of Canada, Ltd. Studebaker International Division (All divisions, worldwide sales support) Trans International Airlines, Inc.(Kirk Kerkorian of Chrysler fame was division president in '63!) I forgot the Schaefer Division, which made commercial refrigeration units. ////////// (What about TransAmerica Financial?) ///////Trans America Financial may have been an acquisition after 1963, or maybe one made before 1963 and sold off before 1963. I don't know. Some of Egbert's acquisitions were duds, most notably, Domowatt, a European appliance manufacturer that was essentially bankrupt when Studebaker bought them. This, along with Egbert's love for the Automotive Division, sealed his fate with some members of the board. Strict financial types on the board were very upset that a man they had supported to diversify the company away from autos was so distracted with saving the Automotive Division, he wasn't paying full attention to the diversification plan. As most of us know, Egbert went in for abdominal surgery in November of 1963 and was replaced by Byers Burlingname, a strict financial accountant type, as President of the Company. Richard Nixon was also an advisor to the Studebaker Board during this time, seemingly only on legal matters. He wasn't involved in decision making it most likely seems. Egbert's health problems were a convenient excuse for his disappearance. He passed away in 1969. //////////// The cars disappeared, but the company didn't! ------ AM General connection - This is the way I understand the connection to AM General. If someone has a better understanding, please explain it to me. There hasn't been a whole lot written in old car hobby books about it. When Studebaker closed South Bend, they had several contracts with the military to build military trucks. These were the thing of most value that remained after the closing. The Chippewa plant had plenty of room to build both pickups and military trucks. After December 1963, no pickups or non military trucks were built in South Bend. I'm not sure of the exact timeline of the following events. It is my understanding that the contracts to build military trucks were sold to the Kaiser Corporation, and they more or less took over the portion of the Chippewa Truck Plant that contained military truck plant assembly operations. Kaiser Corporation (famous for Jeep) was purchased by American Motors Corporation in 1970. At that time, AMC either was not interested in the military truck portion of Kaiser's business, or that business was split off for some other reason, and AM General was created. They continued to operate the Chippewa Plant and they built a new plant on the east side of Mishawaka. Today, the portion of the Chippewa plant that AM General occupies is simply offices and storage and warehousing. AM General also uses the test track at Chippewa. Just a few years ago, Chippewa was used to rebuild big 6X6 trucks under contract to the military. This contract ended, so no vehicular activity is taking place there now. Hummer production and the new, almost completed, and GM supported, H2 plant all are on the east side of Mishawaka. The Chippewa Plant was huge, and was the nicest Studebaker facility in South Bend, being built for war production in the 40's by the government. It's modern, fully air conditioned, and has solid hardwood floors throughout. Wright Cyclone and Jet engines were among the things produced there along with trucks. Right now, if you go by it, there's a huge sign with a "circle S" proclaiming it the "Studebaker Business Center". The Tire Rack, and several other businesses occupy space there. It's a "business incubation center", and space is available for lease. The Tire Rack has built a new facility out by the Airport, so it will soon be leaving Chippewa. There was a group locally, before the events in Georgia, that tried to buy the rights to the Avanti from the Caffaro's and hoped to bring production back to South Bend in a small portion of the Chippewa Plant. That was when the sign was erected in front of the Chippewa plant. This ill fated venture even proposed to name their new venture "The Studebaker Corporation". I don't know what exactly happened. I'm not even sure of the ownership of the Chippewa Plant. It may belong to the city or county, I'm not sure. AM General can claim some connection to Studebaker. They certainly wouldn't be in the area if it weren't for Studebaker. ----- The Hummer isn't built in an old Stude factory. The original Hummer Plant was built in the 1970's on the East side of Mishawaka, IN. Parts are stored in old Stude facilities (Chippewa & South Bend Main Body Plant) that are taken to Mishawaka and used to build the Hummer, though. The H2 plant is almost completed, and sits right next to AM General's Hummer Plant on the East side of Mishawaka. ------- I'm sure Egbert drove more than one Avanti while at Studebaker. He had an early one, which had no drip rails on it, if one story about the Avanti is true. Egbert is said to have opened the door on a rainy day and soaked his pants before an important meeting. It's said he stopped the line immediately after the meeting until drip rails were developed and installed. The Avanti he took away with him from Studebaker (R4130) is described in the Summer 1999, Issue 108, Avanti Magazine. It was used as a running prototype for proposed 1964 changes. A frail Egbert is said to have sold this car to a Country Club employee in 1968. Egbert enraged several union and management people at Studebaker by choosing to drive a Mercedes before the introduction of the Avanti. I have no idea about the Daytona his wife drove. Both claims the gentleman made are possible. Living in the South Bend area my whole life, I've seen several Studes sell with stories attached of their history as company or celebrity cars. A good Stude friend of mine owned the last company car used in South Bend, a white '66 Daytona with factory air and vinyl roof. ------ I was looking to rent a storeroom and got talking to the landlord about cars. Turns out he has a '64 Avanti that his dad won in a sales contest when he worked for Clarke. His father busted tail to win the contest and when he won they announced that there were no cars to give as a prize since the Avanti was dropped by that point. As a compromise they gave him Sherwood Egbert's '64 (R1, auto with air) but he had to go to the east coast (from Pittsburgh, PA.) to pick up a Mercedes and deliver it to South Bend to Egbert then take the Avanti. His father did this and has pictures with Egbert. He still has the car although it hasn't run for awhile. He says he is planning to put it back on the road some day. I told him I'd write an article for the magazine but he said that he plans on writing one complete with pictures. ------ June 2002- Actually, Studebaker did not own TWA. It did own Trans International Airways, which was primarily a charter and freight operation based in (if memory serves me) Oakland, California. TIA was acquired in 1962. Though Studebaker's big acquisition push began in the late 1950s, the company's history of acquisitions was almost as old as the company itself. The motive behind the final drive to diversify was to get Studebaker out of the automobile business. In addition to STP, Onan, Paxton, CTL and TIA, Studebaker acquired Gravely Tractors, Gering Products, Schaefer Co., Wagner Electric, (refrigeration) and a few others. Studebaker was not acquired by Consolidated Edison, which is a New York utility. Rather, it was purchased by McGraw-Edision, another conglomerate, in 1979. This was the effective end of Studebaker. McGraw-Edison later was acquired by Cooper Industries. This gets a little confusing. What fell into the public domain were the Studebaker trademarks, such as the distinctive logos, etc. However, once McGraw-Edison acquired Studebaker-Worthington and dissolved the corporate entity, anyone was able to incorporate a business as the Studebaker Corporation or derivation thereof provided no one else had already done so. In theory, a company could organize as the Studebaker Corporation and manufacture motor vehicles under the Studebaker name. They could defend the use of that name for all new vehicles. However, they could not control the name or trademarks as they apply to vehicles and accessories produced by Studebaker between 1852 and 1966. In other words, there is no threat to our hobby. Leighzer 1950 2R6 1955 Commander 4-Door Sedan ---------------------------------- aug2003 the Russians started calling trucks, any truck, a Studebaker due to the numbers and reliability of the Studebaker trucks brought to the country during WWII. The Russian Military copied the design of the trucks for their own locally built units up to the end of the USSR. It's also been shown here on the group that the standard Russian luxury car of the 50's-70's was a direct knock off of the '55 Packard. =========================== Sep 2003 A couple of years ago a group of the Chicago-AOAI took a tour of the NEON plant in Belvedere, IL; they crank out 1,000 NEONS/hour, and it's nearly "untouched by human hands" while robotics assembling those little "sardine cans on wheels" -- it was a "state of the art" auto assembly plant. But in a far corner of the plant a "bicycle chain" driven, clanking and squeaking, assembly unit moved door windows to the NEON door assembly robot. It was ancient, and painted the distinctive "Studebaker Green"! Our tour guide sheepishly admitted it had been purchased from Studebaker in 1965 in South Bend, and even with the sleek assembly line no one had the heart to scrap it -- unlike the modern "state of the art" units this vintage Studebaker material mover had NEVER broken down in nearly 35 extra years of service -- the Avanti wasn't the ONLY "Studebaker" that has refused to die! Mike Shutko ================================= A few years ago former Avanti Service Manager Tom Taberski showed me a photo he had in some files that was sent to Nate Altman; a couple accidently drove off a cliff in Europe; when it came to rest on the roadway below the entire front end to the, and including, the dashboard, and windshield was GONE. The middle-aged couple simply unbuckled their seatbelts and exited the "totaled" Avanti walking straight ahead out of the Avanti! :-) Mike Shutko =========== Studebaker Sliding roof Wagonaire////vs GM 2004 SUV w/sliding roof/// GM can't come up with anything original.... they have to copy a 40+ year old Studebaker design!! I was talking with a couple of GM designers last month at Tom Kellogg's memorial service, and several of the top designers there are Studebaker fans and admirers and that is how they know about our favorite car's unique features. When Tom Kellogg was working on the AVX, he walked into one of the top GM designer's office and was handed the plans, blueprints and drawings for the Firebird.... They thought a great deal about Tom and Studebaker over in GM design headquarters. ============== The rear sliding roof in the Studebaker station wagon received wide admiration in Detroit. While we were trying to develop more OEM business for Sky-Top (besides Avanti) we had a sales rep in Detroit. One day (possibly in '86 or '87) we visited Ford engineers in Dearborn. Among other things we had a drawing of a moonroof opening up the rear of a station wagon with a tent over the opening and tailgate to create a mini-camper. That brought smiles to the engineers and they took us to their garage to show us a Studebaker station wagon in very good condition - with that sunroof (metal panel of course). It was part of their collection of memorabilia that they could study in their design center. I wouldn't be surprised if it was still there. Incidentally, Lew, the drawing was done by a friend who used to be the cartoonist for the Post-Dispatch. Ernie Wolf '82 Avanti II RQB 3479 ---------------------- ------------------------ "Kelvenator" appliances was a Studebaker subsidiary that lasted the longest as a non-automotive entity. Blame Mercedes-Benz, they entered into an agreement for the old German-American Studebaker Corporation to sell their Mercedes line in the Studebaker dealerships, what there were of them for $1 million about 1953 -- because following World War II NO American firm would touch Mercedes-Benz with a "10-foot pole"! The famed "Gullwing" Mercedes would have never seen the "American light of day" with out Studebaker's limited aid. The red "Gullwing" that had been in the Studebaker National Museum was among the first to "abandon the sinking ship" as it's owner now displays it in the world renowned Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum, in Auburn, Indiana, FYI! But, I digress! When Studebaker went "belly-up" in 1966 Mercedes-Benz paid the survivors $10 million to regain the American marketing and sales rights to sell their, now sought after, Mercedes' motorcars from their own American dealerships! And today they swallowed-up Chrysler whole -- why are we calling them among Detroit's "Big Three"? Technically it's now the American "Big Two" automakers -- in another couple of years of foreign acquisitions it will soon be America's automotive "Big ZERO"! :-) Anyway, with this $10 million influx of cash, it allow Studebaker's "fortunate few" to keep the name alive and functioning until 1980 when the dying Studebaker finally drew it's last breath! :-) ---------------------- You are right about Nash-Kelvinator, but Studebaker did have a hand in appliances sort of. One of it's many subsidiaries built refrigeration for grocery purposes, the name escapes me now. And, Studebaker SOLD it's rights to distribute Mercedes-Benz in 1964, not 1966. Studebaker NEVER went out of business, was making a profit when it discontinued production in March 1966 of automobiles, and existed as Studebaker-Worthington in 1967, then Magraw- Edison, and one or two other incarnations, and today as Cooper Industries in Houston, Tex. which makes Anco wiper blades and other auto related products. One of Packard's offshoots still exists as Packard Electric Co. Neil Dickson Louisville ----------------------- Studebaker's commercial refrigeration products company was Schaefer, owned from 62-75 or 76. From 62 to 67 they also owned the largest 'large' appliance manufacturer in Canada, Franklin, who also built 'house brand' appliances for other companys. ---------------------------------------- Nash merged with/bought Kelvinator. Nash the merged with Hudson and Willys to become American Motors, the only current survivor being the Jeep. Pierce merged with Stude for a while but that never really worked and they went there own way again shortly. Stude owned Shaefer (sp) and Franklin for a while, along with SnoPony if you want to call that a company in the refrigeration field ................... Studebaker watches were an independent operation not related to the automotive or any of the other enterprises. Packard Electric was not part of Packard - it was part of GM! The light bulb business may not have been part of the business (run by a different family member) that went to GM and may have gone off separately, don't recall. Note that it was different family members involved in the various Packard enterprises. AFAIK Packard Motor Car Company pretty much limited itself to motor cars and trucks and motors for independent sale (primarily marine sales). As an aside at least up thru the early 70's the Avanti plant contained the filing cabinets with the Packard marine prints and the Mercedes prints. Dunno what happened to them, nobody seems to know. FWIW the PAckard marine filing cabinet was on the first floor, the Mercedes prints were up on the third floor. ====================== Nov 2003 Hindsight is wonderful, so we now know: Nothing really could have saved Studebaker after the postwar seller's market turned to a buyer's market in 1949. The seller's market was artifically propped back up for about a year by the Korean War threat in late 1950 ("...I'm not going to go through another war without a new car"). That short boon for sellers was soon over. The next war mortally wounded the independents: Ford declared production and market penetration war on General Motors in 1953. The General felt the threat no more than like an annoying flea. The real losers were the independents, who simply got slaughtered. George Romney's vision, though boring, was effective for American Motors. It bought American Motors more time than did the mismangement and confusion at Studebaker-Packard, with Curtis-Wright controlling much of Studebaker-Packard starting in the fall of 1956, or thereabouts, until they backed out. My father, Lu Palma, is an expert in marketing. He doesn't know a whole lot about the nuts and bolts of automobiles, but he knows marketing. During the period 1953 through 1956, he and his brother had franchises for Packard, Nash, Studebaker, Willys, and Kaiser. In fact, they had franchises for every independent, all under the same roof, except Hudson. It is Dad's firm opinion, and always has been, that the vision of Nash President George Mason was the last real chance for the survival of all the independents. By 1948, Mason accurately foresaw exactly what was going to happen to all the independents during the 1950s. Mason pleaded with the executives and Boards of Directors at Packard, Studebaker, and Hudson, to join with him at Nash and form American Motors in the late 1940s, when all four of those companies were financially strong from their war profits, and together could benefit from the manufacturing economies of scale that the "Big 3" enjoyed. Well, George Mason found out they didn't call 'em "independents" for nothing. The four companies were too fat and sassy to heed the prophet's call. By the time the mid-50s rolled around and Mason's prophecy was unfolding before their horrified eyes, the four just didn't have the capital to make it happen. Mason died in 1954 or 1955, too, so any chance of his vision coming to fruition died with him. American Motors survived on George Romney's vision. Studebaker survived as long as they did due to three factors: Momentum, V-8s, and Trucks. 1. Sheer Momentum, because they were fairly large with quite a few dealers. (Momentum had likewise carried Ford Motor Company from WWII through the marque-saving 1949 Fords, since the 1946-1948 Fords were hopelessly obsolete from a technological standpoint.) 2. V-8 Engine. Studebaker had their own V-8 engine, and it was a good one, right when the marketplace demanded it. Without their V-8, Studebaker would have been hard-pressed to survive into the 1960s. Developing their own V-8 was arguably the smartest single marketing move made by Studebaker after WWII. 3. The truck line. Although Studebaker didn't pay enough attention to the truck market after the mid 1950s, at least they had something to offer in markets where trucks were important. The Champ line in the 1960s helped a little, too, in keeping a truck presence before the market. Without those three items, Studebaker probably wouldn't have had the credit-worthiness, even as shaky as it was, to finance Harold Churchill's 1959 Lark projet. The 1958 Studebakers and Packards might well have been the last of BOTH marques, not just Packard. Bob Palma ========================= Buildings ============ I would say about 50-60% of "South Bend Main" remains standing. The large body plant along the N.Y.C. Railroad still stands and serves as a warehouse on the north side of the complex. Just about everything south of Sample Street remains standing, if you have a map to reference. The former Administration Building is home to the South Bend Community Schools Administration. The first Stude building to go down was the Powerhouse, where the City built a Central Police/Fire Station and Street Dept. complex in the early 1970's. Then came down the Transwestern Building (Former Truck/Stude Avanti Assy), and the former Avanti Motors buildings, in the late 80's. Most recent demolition (2000) included Bldg's 53&58 (Former Newman & Altman for the new St. Joseph County Jail), and a complex of buildings that were used to house the maintenance dept. for Studebaker just southwest of the main body plant along the railroad (which during the 70's & 80's housed Avanti Parts Corp.). Those gave way for a road salt storage dome and garage for the City. Other smaller buildings north of Sample Street have also been removed. The Chippewa Street Truck Plant, built during WWII on what was then the far south side, remains standing as a whole and houses many different businesses as an incubator site. A large "Circle S" sign stands at it's entry way. The complex is called the Studebaker Business Center. AM General has space there (NOT assembly, but testing and warehousing), and new Hummer H2's are tested on Chippewa's former Stude test track by GM/AM General. Also, The Tire Rack, which just built a new facility in the Blackthorne area (by Michiana Regional Airport), got it's start in South Bend at the Chippewa Plant. The Chippewa Plant is one of the nicest and well maintained of the remaining buildings. We also can't forget Bosch (Bendix) and it's utilization of the former proving grounds 10 miles west of the city! The current site of the Studebaker National Museum is the former Freeman-Spicer Stude Dealership, just north and across the tracks from the Administration Bldg. It was the largest volume Studebaker Dealership for years. Of course, discussing this matter any further may cause this thread to proliferate into eternity. Right now, plans are to demolish the current building and build a new museum, some blocks north and slightly west of the present location, next to a history museum on Chapin St. This will free the Freeman-Spicer property for another development. Like I said. That's the plan. Right now. Demolition is scheduled to start this spring on a series of buildings south of Sample Street. I'm sorry to say, it's probably for the best. Many of the buildings left have not been maintained much (if any) in the last 40 years, they've become home to vagrants, and they are too large and/or inefficient to house a modern business without breaking it's budget for heat and repairs. Right now, SASCO is housed in the Engineering Building, which is probably the most worthy building to be saved south of Sample (maybe in the whole complex). The former Main Assy Line (South Bend/Allied Stamping), just south of SASCO, will come down during the next phase of demolition. To avoid confusion, again, SASCO (the former Engineering Building), looks to be safe! A couple of weeks ago, vagrants trying to stay warm in the area close to the Main Assembly Plant (South Bend Stamping), set a building on fire. I drove by while that fire was burning on a Sunday afternoon not too long ago. The building was saved, despite the fact it had not had electric or water service for several years. It's location close to the Fire Station (Powerhouse) ironically saved it to be demolished next spring. If you want to see the area and get a feel for the way it was in 1963, I'd suggest doing it soon. You can still stand just west of the new jail and look down the corridor between the Engineering Building and the Engine Assembly Building and see where the photographer stood to take the picture that showed the last shift leaving the plant for Time Magazine. Some of the buildings will remain for a long, long time (maybe 15-25% of the complex). Some won't. I know many on the group will disagree with me, but chances are, if these buildings were in any other City, they would have been down long ago. The sheer size of the complex is one reason they still stand. The property wasn't worth the reclamation cost. Finally, property is becoming more valuable in the area, and recently renovated areas of the complex house businesses that wouldn't have gone there if the old buildings still stood. Removing the rest of them that are useful only to the vagrants will only help the area. The Studebaker Buildings have become an identifying part of the area for many who drive by and don't even know what they once were. Economic forces are now in place to make the demolition feasible. Good or bad? Certainly, some of both. I hate to see them go. Maybe the loss of the "cancerous" areas will serve to make the surviving buildings even more valuable and viable. That's how I have forced myself to look at it. Ken Wolford - Nov 03 =============== Engineering Building ================ The building has the most significance and history of any building left in the complex. It's had a pretty continuous string of tenants, and has with some exceptions been maintained better than the other buildings south of Sample. The facade put up on the front of it during it's time as the Welfare Dept. has been removed to reveal it's Studebaker Wheel logo again. It's tucked nicely on the northeast corner of the south of Sample section of the complex. It is not on any list for demolition. Ken Wolford - Nov 03 ================= With the success of the Lark, Studebaker went wild trying to add dealers. There's no doubt their standards were lax and marginal dealers were added strictly to make the recruiting numbers. I knew a used car jockey back in the 1980's who ran a very successful lot in a small town. He had been in business since the 1940's. Studebaker came after him hot and heavy several times in the 1950's and especially in the early 60's to take the line and become a new car dealer. He never took it. I asked him why. He replied, "I asked them why should I ruin my business to become a Studebaker Dealer?" After asking each new Zone Rep this once or twice, they would leave him alone. The town he was located in was only 60 miles from South Bend. He had nothing against Studebakers. But, Studebaker's reputation had been on a crash course since the mid 1950's, and very few had confidence the tide would ever turn back their way. The public considered them out of the business before they actually abandoned it. And they never recovered from that lack of confidence. They could not attract many of the best dealers in the business. I remember commenting here on the group a while back that Studebaker's problems were like a ball of twine rolling downhill gathering speed and more twine as it descended. Some dealers were in the ball of twine. But they had lots of problems as company that just added speed and bulk to the runaway ball. Ken Wolford dec 03 ============================================= ================= Plotting, intrigue marked postwar era at Studebaker DIALOGUE By ANDREW BECKMAN The 1947 Studebakers, the result of a surreptitious design scheme by disgruntled employees, reach the end of the assembly line. Photo provided "First By Far with a Postwar Car,'' Studebaker proudly proclaimed as the company debuted its radical 1947 models in May 1946. Indeed, the 1947 Studebakers were enthusiastically received by the press and the public and were presented as yet another aesthetic triumph for Raymond Loewy and his troupe of designers. In reality, the 1947 Studebakers were created in the midst of a coup taking place in the Studebaker hierarchy. Studebaker retained Raymond Loewy Associates in 1936 to head up the design department. Loewy was one of the pioneers in the field of industrial design and by the 1930s had built a successful business with wide name recognition. Loewy excelled in marketing his firm's sometimes radical designs to reluctant clients and served as a very effective "front man'' far Raymond Loewy Associates. His lifestyle reflected his celebrity status, which only furthered the exclusive "Designed by Raymond Loewy'' mystique. By 1949, Raymond Loewy Associates had over 180 designers on staff with offices in New York, London, Paris, Chicago, Sao Paulo and South Bend. Loewy's far-flung offices meant that he was not a direct manager of the Studebaker account. He did make regular visits to South Bend and directly supervised the work being done under his name. Loewy appointed a "design chief" of his South Bend office to oversee the day-to-day affairs. One of Loewy's design chiefs was Virgil Exner. Exner joined Raymond Loewy Associates in 1938, having previously been at Pontiac. Exner contributed to the successful 1939 Champion and was recognized by his peers as a talented designer. Loewy had always taken personal credit for his company's work even though most of it was done by his subordinates. Exner chafed at this practice and reportedly had several heated conversations with Loewy on this topic. Exner's philosophy was that a man should serve as a designer or a salesman, but not both. However, from Loewy's standpoint, the Loewy name by itself sold many designs, and his name was on it whether it was a success or failure. This fundamental difference between the two men would continue to fester during Exner's tenure with Loewy. The third player in the drama was Roy Cole, Studebaker's vice president in charge of engineering. Cole came to Studebaker in the early 1930s, having worked previously as an independent engineer in Detroit. Cole did not care much for Loewy. He felt that Loewy's services were too expensive and his ideas too radical. In Cole's opinion, Studebaker could get along just fine without Loewy. Cole and Exner worked together quite often in the course of their jobs. Inevitably the subject of Loewy would come up, and the men became acquainted with each other's displeasure. However, neither man was in much of position to do anything about it; Loewy did not work for Roy Cole, and Exner was a subordinate of Loewy. Cole saw an opportunity to get rid of Loewy when Studebaker made the bold decision to introduce all-new styling immediately after World War II. With no new automobiles being produced during the war, the pent-up demand was enormous. All of Studebaker's competitors dusted off what they had been producing before the war. Studebaker, on the other hand, chose to grab the limelight by unveiling completely new styling. To make his plan work, Cole would have to enlist the help of Exner. In late 1944, Cole approached Exner with a bold plan. He asked Exner if he would create a design for the new postwar Studebaker on the sly. The work would have to be done outside of the Studebaker design studio and without Loewy's knowledge. Exner agreed to the plan and prepared a room in his home to serve as the clandestine design studio. Cole arranged to have a drafting table and all necessary design equipment shipped to Exner's house. Meanwhile, Exner continued to work during the day for Loewy. To further tip the scales, Cole gave incorrect dimensions to the Loewy group and the correct set of dimensions to Exner. Exner would work on the Loewy group's designs during the day, and then work on his own design at home at night and on weekends. Within a few months, the models were ready, and a board meeting was convened to review them. At the meeting, Loewy was more than slightly surprised to see a car being shown that he was totally unaware of. Compounding Loewy's embarrassment was the fact that the Loewy group's model was built to the "incorrect'' dimensions given to them by Roy Cole! The board elected to go with the Exner model, much to Loewy's chagrin. Loewy promptly discharged Exner, who was quickly hired by Cole in the engineering department. In 1949, Exner left to join Chrysler, where he earned fame for the "Forward Look'' Chryslers of 1957. Cole emerged from the affair remarkably unscathed, and retired a short time later. The irony of this sordid affair is that Loewy received full credit for the 1947 Studebakers, the very thing that led Exner and Cole to conspire in the first place. The cars were a resounding success and cemented Studebaker and the name of Raymond Loewy as a styling leader. Andrew Beckman is the archivist for the Studebaker National Museum. Dec 2003 ============================================== =========== 9 December 1963 The Studebaker Board fired Sherwood Egbert as President, discontinued the Avanti model, all on November 22, 1963; but the nation was too preoccupied with the assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, TX, to "give two hoots & a holler". ===== --------------- The South Bend CBS afilliate (WSBT) ran a short segment on the anniversary on tonight's news. The segment starts out with Walter Cronkite reporting the death of President Kennedy two weeks prior, and then goes on to say South Bend was soon to get another blow of bad news on "Black Monday" that same year. Les Fox, the 1963 head of UAW Local 5 is then interviewed. Many locals still refer to this day as "Black Monday" The anchors of the 6:00 news are the senior members of the news staff, and one of them was a freshman at Notre Dame on Dec. 9, 1963. He commented he was given the assignment of covering the story for the college newspaper and radiorstation, but the community was in such disarray, no one could direct him to any news conference pertaining to the announcement. He's almost sure on that day there was none. The news of the closure was transmitted from the Board Meeting in New York. Many National reporters then in South Bend predicted grass would cover the streets of South Bend soon because of the news. Naturally, a little pride was shown that that didn't happen. Then, the head of the local economic development committee said they don't actively try to recruit large employers who build on 80 acres like Studebaker because if they leave, another Black Monday could happen. They have been very active in diversifying and recruiting smaller, more varied businesses since 1963. And standing among the Stude buildings, it was said "We are trying to avoid future scars like these." (And we wonder why the manufacturing base is leaving the country?) The subject of the buildings was discussed among the anchors after the segment closed. They agreed amongst themselves that the personal & emotional scars have mostly healed, but the scar on South Bend hasn't, and some of the buildings can't come down soon enough. As I've said before, I have to partly agree. The area will never recover as long as some of the large, unusable behemoths stand. The buildings worthy of preservation need to be saved, and it would be best if the remaining and overwhelming scars were removed. I hate to see them go, but the good is dragging down the bad, and the good won't be able to really shine until the area is improved. Kind of like having so many Studes, you can't keep them all inside or restore any of them (I'm sure none of us are like that here, though!). ================= We should never underestimate or discount the terrible impact the closing had on the employees and their families that remained on the payroll until 12/63. Studebaker employed 24,000 people in South Bend during the peak years of 1950-51. By 1963, the force had dwindled to 6,000. In the news story tonight, it was said about another 4000 were employed in '63 at suppliers to Studebaker in South Bend (Like JP). From the mid 1950's (with the exception of '59/60) on, it was joked that you were an optimist if you brought your lunch to work at Studebaker. Temporary shut downs were that common. Studebaker lay-offs caused problems for other employers in the area because if Studebaker called back employees, they might lose much of their staff on short notice. That prevented other businesses from locating in South Bend. Overall though, just to avoid misunderstanding, South Bend today is better for the experience in most local's resident's eyes. South Bend was one of the first cities to sustain a huge loss like this. South Bend was on it's way back in the 70's and 80's while other cities were just experiencing such events for the first time. Fort Wayne, IN was brought to it's knees with the loss of a huge International Harvester plant in 1983. I can remember driving through Kokomo, IN in the early 1980's when half the stores in the Kokomo Mall had left because Chrysler and Delco were down to one partial shift. Flint, MI lost Buick. South Bend had been there before when all this happened. South Bend was even being looked to for advice! Studebaker had made South Bend grow, even in it's loss! Now, in 2003, DaimlerChrysler has announced the closing of it's Indianapolis Foundry. Hardly gets mentioned in the news, does it? It takes a fraction of the people to manufacture cars that it did in 1963 because of automation. Imports are grabbing more and more of the market. More jobs have been lost through those developments than those brave 6000 souls who were some of the first to face the hard realities in 1963. But they were some of the first, and they should be remembered for that too. Studebaker was always ahead of it's time. In many ways. ========== =========== The Packards were wealthy before they got into cars.....mostly in hardware and timber businesses. Brothers James and William were both degreed engineers with the intellect - and money - the persue what interested them. Their Packard Electric made all sorts of electrical supplies, bulbs, etc. Both brothers were interested and involved with building the first cars - again mainly as an engineer exercise. The first "production" models were turned out in the shops of Packard Electric before they created The Ohio Automobile Company. Investors in that enterprise included George Weiss. W.A.Hathcher and Henry Joy (of Lincoln Highway fame). The outside investors were interested in expanding the business - the Packards not so. The investors prevailed.....PMCC was never a small, struggling concern.....the investors had big money and had the Detroit factory designed and built (first major Detroit car company) and entered the business "full blown". The Packards retained a goodly chunk of stock and James remained as honorary President, but really never had "hands on" interest once the firm left Warren, OH. They retained interest in Packard Electric until it was purchased by GM to become Packard-Delco.....they were paid in part with large chunks of GM stock. It's now part of Delphi. Unlike the Studebakers who lost about everything in the Depression when Stude went into receivership (George Studebaker wisely sinking all his money in the South Bend pocket watch company - when wrist watches were coming in).....the Packards retained - and still do - their fortune. One note: the original plan was to move Ohio Automobile to Cleveland.....but the city fathers there didn't want to attract another "dirty" industry to town - but were hoping to consolidate Cleveland's position as the wooden clothes pin capital of the world (honest, I'm not making this up). Detroit wasn't so pickie and welcomed the company - which required dropping "Ohio" from the name. That was 1903. BUT....Stude didn't buy Packard.....although the smaller company, Packard bought Studebaker to obtain a low price line and more outlets. Unfortunately, Stude was losing so much money that it sunk the entire operation within 3 years, requiring the sale of the Packard assets to keep South Bend going. Blah blah blah....so true that PMCC and Packard Electic-Delco-Delphi were the same guyz, but entirely separate companies. But as many of you know, Warren, Ohio, is justly proud of both connections. Jay RQB2880. ec 2003 =========== Here's a scan of the back of the Stude 1963 Report to Shareholders converted to text (I'm glad they didn't have OCR scanners and software when I was in school. The temptation would have been too great!): STUDEBAKER CORPORATION CORPORATE OFFICE-635 SOUTH MAIN ST. SOUTH BEND 27, INDIANA Divisional Offices and Plant Locations: Clarke - Floor Machine Division, Muskegon, Michigan CTL - Missile/Space Technology Division, Cincinnati, Ohio (home office) Santa Ana, California Franklin - Appliance Division, Minneapolis, Minnesota (home office) St. Cloud, Minnesota Bloomington, Indiana Webster City, Iowa Jefferson, Iowa Calt. Ontario, Canada Guelph, Ontario, Canada Leini, Italy (Domowatt, S.p.A.) Gravely - Tractors Division, Dunbai, West Virginia (home office) Albany, Georgia Torquay, Devon, England International Division, South Bend. Indiana Mercedes-Benz Sales, Inc., South Bend, Indiana Onan - Engine/Generator Division, Minneapolis, Minnesota (home office) Chisholm, Minnesota Paxton - Supercharger Division/Product Evaluation, Santa Monica, California Schaefer - Commercial Refrigeration Division. Minneapolis, Minnesota (home office) Aberdeen, Maryland Studebaker of Canada, Ltd. (Automotive), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Studebaker Automotive Sales Corporation, South Bend, Indiana STP - Chemical Compounds Division, South Bend, Indiana Trans International Airlines, Inc., Oakland, California Transfer Agents First National City Bank, New York Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago Registrars The Chase Manhattan Bank, New York The First National Bank of Chicago Certified Public Accountants Ernst & Ernst, Chicago ======================================================== You have to remember, Studebaker played down this closing business as much as possible. The official position was that they were merely transferring world-wide assembly operations to more modern, efficient facilities in Hamilton. "Nothing to get excited about, here, we're not going out of business or anything....just a routine business decision." (Pardon us while we light a candle to see where we're going while whistling in the dark...) Therefore, the actual closing in South Bend occurred with the minimum fanfare possible. That last car, which JP describes later, was actually hidden away for some time so as to be "no big deal." They sure wouldn't want to interview the union boys: Less than two years previously, just when the 1962 models got to rollin' out the doors pretty good, those can't-see-beyond-the-end-of-my-nose dodos went on strike, crippling production when Sherwood Egbert needed to get those stretched, popular 1962 Larks and fresh GT Hawks SHIPPED. But union mentality being what it was at the time, even though they probably had a better package than comparable workers at The Big Three, they walked out and left the lines DOA for...how many weeks was it? BP Dec 2003 ====================================================== .did anyone see the article in the WSJ on the similarities of Studebaker and Enron ??? I did not, but have heard a few stories from Studebaker employees (not all automotive division workers) who clearly stated how Studebaker screwed the workers out of serious money in benefits, pension etc...As I understand it, much of the cost-cutting, union concessions on pay, benefits, pension, etc, were actually rolled into the other (more profitable) divisions (e.g. STP or Gravely). It was a "textbook" case on how to improve the overall corporation by cleaving off the unprofitable division, it's assets, people, pensions, etc. I had a patient who's 1st job for the FDIC was to investigate Studebaker's corporate books after the "auto division" closure. Very interesting story. He (they) found little/nothing illegal, BUT, their findings found significant corporate, paper/money shuffling that did fuel the fire for significant legislation to protect future consolidations and workers' assets....Not too nice a picture......In essence: management decided to strip down all that was valuable from this losing (auto) division, and pour it into the profitable divisions. Moving to Canada allowed the corporation to "sidestep" existing US laws protecting vehicle owners, workers, pensioners, and many more in the greater SB area.... ------------------------------------ Excerpt from SB Trib - Dec 2003 By GENE STOWE Tribune Correspondent Harry Kowalski, an employee for Studebaker from 1942 to 1963, speaks about his working memories during an open house for former employees Sunday at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend. Tribune Photo/ MARK SHEPHARD Ray Burnett was national sales training manager for Studebaker when the company closed 40 years ago. "I remember that morning very well," he said. "That was a dark day. We knew it was coming." The Studebaker National Museum on Sunday marked the anniversary with free admission for former employees and their families. "We realize that Studebaker belongs to South Bend and South Bend belongs to Studebaker," said museum board member Ron DeWinter, who went to work at Studebaker soon after he turned 18, just before the closing. "We're trying to get across the beautiful relationship that this company has with the community. I worked there three months. My dad worked 35 years." The closing was hard on South Bend -- DeWinter said it took 10 years to recover property values lost when the business left -- but fond memories of better days remain. Becky Bonham, director of Studebaker National Museum, said she hopes to start a Studebaker veterans club with names collected at the event. "You don't celebrate the closing of it, of course, but we wanted to mark the date," she said. Scores of workers poured into the museum Sunday afternoon, gathering in groups among the gleaming cars to reminisce about the Studebaker style they miss. Burnett stood near a 1950 Commander Starlight Coupe just like the one he drove to Detroit when he went to work for other automakers before coming home to Studebaker. "When I was in Detroit, I worked for Ford, worked for Chrysler, worked for GM," he said. "Of all the companies -- and I worked for all of them -- Studebaker was by far, by far, the best. "I never had a day at Studebaker I didn't enjoy. "It's just a feeling you had when you were there." The feeling was family, recalled Burnett, whose father and brother also worked for the company. Others visiting the museum said the same. "It was all family," said Donald Cornelis, who worked at the factory from 1946 until he became a South Bend police officer in 1951. "My father worked there 43 years. When I got out of high school, where else was I going to work? I applied on a Friday. I was working on Monday. I worked on the same floor with my father. He was a solderman and I was door adjuster. The Studebakers were all family-oriented." Cornelis pointed out a police uniform on a mannequin in one of the displays and said the museum is preparing a 1964 Studebaker police car for display. His friend John Istenes, who joined him at the museum, also worked for Studebaker. "I started with the '50 model," Istenes recalled. "It's when they started coming out with coil springs on the first suspension. I used to test every sixth Studebaker that came off the line." He had to leave for the Korean War, but when he came home, he recalled, "my job was waiting for me again." After he was laid off in 1954, as the company began a decline, he became a police officer. "We were driving Studebakers on the Police Department," he said. "We fixed Studebakers." Jessica Chalmers, a writer from Manhattan who teaches at Notre Dame, was doing research for "Avanti: A Postindustrial Ghost Story," a play that she hopes to produce next year. "There's a secretary in the play," she said. "I found a secretary. She can give me more information on what skills they had to have." Kevin Miller, born a year after the closing, browsed through the museum remembering his father who worked for Studebaker and his grandfather who retired from the company. "Dad worked there up until pretty close to when they closed," Miller said. "You still kind of wish they were still around." ============================ The story of Ian Fleming's Avanti is simple; he saw the Studebaker Avanti display at the 1962 New York Auto Show, and wanted to but of the three displayed Avantis (Studebaker only HAD those three Avantis) that Studebaker President Sherwood Egbert flew all around the U.S.A. in a military surplus "flying boxcar" cargo plane. They promised Fleming one of the first production Avantis, then he said he wanted it painted black. He ultimately ended up, after great delay, with a black '63 Avanti R2 -- it was painted and repainted THREE TIMES because the dark color brought out all the flaws in the fiberglass body. Avanti II builder Nat Altman offered his version in "any automotive color in the world, EXCEPT Black"! No Avanti II ever left the factory painted black, according to Avanti Service Manager Tom Taberski -- NONE. All black Avanti's are after market repaints -- just look for the "Avanti Paint Code Sticker" (usually around/inside the glove box/slide-out vanity box) EVERY black Avanti II I've checked out had been painted another color according to that sticker...EVERY ONE! But, I digress! When his Avanti arrived the car experienced numerous breakdowns -- I think related to the Paxson Super-Charger that no one "over the pond" could make sense of. Poor Ian died within several months of receiving possession of his Avanti; last I heard it supposedly was "cannibalized" for its parts. But check you current AOAI 2004 Membership roster, and contact our many English owners, they should be able to provide a much more clear and accurate picture of what became of Fleming's Avanti. All I know is that I have been engaged in some literary research, and have been in contact with several educated Britons, and when they learn I own an Avanti I've had at least a quarter of the two dozen Englishmen over the age of 50, recount an anecdote about a black Avanti sitting on the side of the roadway, abandoned, in the early 1960's! :-) Mike Shutko Dec 2003 ============================= In 1963 the factory-owned Studebaker dealership in Kansas City (MO) took a 300 SL in trade on a new Avanti- kept it on their showroom floor for a while. Paul Johnson --- I lived in KC in that era. Most of my family's Studes came from Kincaid-Weber. I think I know the dealership you refer to, just can't come up with a name right now. It was the biggest one in KC and was a Packard dealer before the merger, right? --- I don't remember any names either. I do remember three dealers in KCMO, one in the south part, one in the east and the big one which was sort of on the crest of a hill somewhat overlooking the down town. I think there was also a dealer in KC, KS. Of the MO dealers I remember the one in the south, in '63, had taken a '63 R-2 Avanti in trade on a '64. The '63 had something like 70,000 miles on it. When I asked why so many in a year I was told that it belonged to an editor or official of HotRod Magazine and he was on the road all the time. The dealer on the east side was where I saw my first '64 GT with a vinyl top (light blue with white vinyl). I also drove a '63 R-2 4-speed Avanti there (first Avanti I had driven). The big dealer had some interesting cars- a '63 R-2 Cruiser, a '64 Daytona Wagonaire with buckets and Powershift, etc. A salesman there told me that Western Reserve Distilleries ordered seven Avantis when they first came out for their salesmen to use. Sadly, Studebaker couldn't fill the order and after a few months it was cancelled. I ended up ordering my '64 Wagonaire through Joe Egle Motors in Olathe, KS (because he was close to where I lived at the time). Paul (fond memories) Johnson ---- Paul, You described the locations perfectly. I just looked at some of my old dealer brochures, and the 'big' dealer was I believe Keith Ware, 28th & Main. There was a smaller dealer known as Michael Motors at 5751-53 Troost. I already mentioned Kincaid-Weber. Surprisingly I didn't find any brochures from them, but they were in the Waldo District maybe? Don't forget Armacost Motors, a Stude dealer since the teens or twenties. I went to high school with Don Armacost who is now the Pres. of a family business, Peterson Mfg., which makes commercial vehicle lighting products. They have a beautiful campus in Grandview where the fabulous Armacost Museum is also located. ---- And owner of some outstanding Studebakers and employs a real nice guy from Connecticut as his restoration guy. Gary L. ----- ======== ........was the caption on this story appearing in July 1945 MoToR Magazine: Emphatic denial is made by Studebaker of persistent and widely circulated reports that for many months before reconversion was sanctioned by WPB the corporation had maintained in Mexico a large staff of technicians working steadily on real postwar models. The story may have stemmed from the fact that Raymond Loewy, body stylist, spent a vacation in Mexico and that President Paul G. Hoffman went down there last spring on an inspection trip with some of his fellow directors of United Airlines. Dec 26 2003 ===== That sounds off the wall, if you look in a few of the "history" books of Studebaker, you would be surprised to find out that the Bullet Nose was to be the 1947 model. One book, I forgot which one states that the 47 front design was opt'd for instead of the bullet nose as it would conjur up thoughts about the just terminated war, and it might hurt sales. According to the book the BN was introduced in 50 as we all know, but it was to be the 47. While it would not surprise me that all the automakers had staff working on post war products. By 1943 it was a forgone conclusion that once the Allies got a foot hold on the continent the war would be soon over. If you look carefully at late 1944 and early 45 Studebaker full page ads, every month they addressed a possible post war problem with the automobile. I have one ad that address traffic congestion, one that addresses trucks having specific hours for deliveries, and others dealing with public transportation. I am sure they had people working on projects, but not sure that they woul need to go underground when their "post war" car was already designed at the onset of war. BBG --- Jan 2004 A colleague gave me an interesting book, published (2d ed.)in 1924 by the Studebaker Corporation and authored by Albert Russell Erskine, president of the corporation. It was an update of the version published in 1918 to provide stockholders with a history of the company from 1852 until 1923. Some of the highlights are as follows: 1. The Studebaker family first arrived in Philadelphia, from Rotterdam, in 1752. 2. The family trade was originally smithing and woodworking which led, ultimately, to wagon building. 3. H. and C. Studebaker was established in South Bend in 1852, its first carriage being built in 1855. Carriages were later built for, among others, presidents Lincoln, Grant and Harrison. A large number--if not a majority--of the wagons built for the U. S. government during the civil war were built by Studebaker and by 1868, annual sales approached $350,000 4. Studebaker Brothers Mfg. Corp was organized in 1868 and by 1874, a major factory complex had been built with a dealers' organization and "branch houses" being established in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, New York, and other smaller cities. By then, the company was probably the world's largest manufacturer of horse drawn vehicles. The company operated for 43 years and total sales during that period were $119,249,000. 5. Electric runabouts were first built in 1902. Fabrication was ceased in 1912. A total of 1,841 such runabouts were built. 6. 1904 saw the first gas powered Studebakers. 7. Various corporate transactions, mergers, and acquisitions occurred between 1908 and 1910, most notably involving the Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company which had a net worth of nearly $3,700,000 when it was merged into the Studebaker Corp. in 1911. 8. The merged companies at that time had tangible assets exceeding $15 M and cash from the sale of stock in the amount 0f $8,325,000. 9. Automobile sales in 1911 were 22,555 10. " " " 1913 " 35,410 11. " " " 1914 " 35, 460, but 2,000 fewer employees were utilized, thus dramatically increasing profit. 12. Net profit between 1911 and 1914 was $10,181,266 13. During the initial stages of WW I (prior to US involvement) Studebaker was a major supplier for the British armed forces and from those war contracts with Britain generated a profit of $4,200,000, at a rate of 22.7%. But when the US became involved, the company sacrificed profit for patriotism and realized a profit of only $900,000 from its government contracts, at a rate of 5%--and that did not even account for depreciation and debt service. During the year 1916, nearly 66,000 vehicles had been produced but by 1918, only 23,00 cars came out of the plants. 14. Post - war retooling was extensive and Studebaker was alone in the industry with new designs. Profits were enormous and by the end of 1919, stock was selling at $140.00 PER SHARE. 15. By 1920, a new plant at South Bend had been completed and had a production capacity of 200 cars per day. By 1923, 145,000 cars were produced, at a rate of 635 per day. Net profits between 1919 and 1923 were $65,972.000. Corporate assets at the end of 1923 were $122,425,000. Just thought that the efficiency and profitability of the corporation was an interesting contrast with what ultimately occurred. It was my understanding that, in the end, one of the reasons for the failure of Studebaker was the company's failure to support its dealers--in contrast to the early distribution and dealership mechanism that provided such a strong support system in the early years. ============================================ but the 53/54 Commander prototype was for sale at Auburn 1n 1996. It needed a lot of work but was all there. It didn't make reserve but I heard it sold to someone in California for $20K+. At least I got to touch it.(G) Several stories about the history of the car has been tossed around on the NG. I believe JP or someone said that it hung around SB for a long time even on a used car lot at one time. Another story was the daughter of a Stude executive drove it while attending Indiana University. when at the Auburn sale, it came from Illinois where it had been since 1990. I don't know the original color but it was red when I saw it. The business about 53/54 was Studebaker hadn't decided whether to go into production so upgraded it with 54 trim as they were still testing the car. The only true fact is that I saw it in 96. The rest I have heard from different folks. Snurdly Jan 30 2004 it was the factory prototype convertible. one more thing, it had a propeller just below the hood ornament. That sure added some class to it. Actually, the car looked pretty sad. A collector by the name of Lee Thomas in Denver was a former owner of my 53. He told me that he had the Prototype convertible car for a while. He had some medical problems and started selling cars from his collection, among them my car and the Prototype. He told me he sold it to a fellow in California, he said the name, but I don't remember it. Lee's health problems have improved significantly and now he is regretting selling, but as he put it, they are all just hunks of metal in the end. He has another 53 or 54 now and is debaitng whether to fix it up further or look for another one. Pat I remember hearing somewhere that the car is now owned by Tom Null of North Hollywood, CA. Maybe, that's the guy you're talking about. Another story I've heard is that the car was sold at Auburn Spring MotorFair, May 15, 16 & 17 - 1998 (see below) 1953 STUDEBAKER COMMANDER CONVERTIBLE SOLD: 19600 CONDITION: 3 PROTOTYPE, RESTORED, HAS BEEN GARAGED IN OUR HOME IN ILLINOIS SINCE 1990. DRIVEN A LIMITED AMOUNT. ONLY 24,607 ACTUAL MILES ON THE SPEEDOMETER. PROTOTYPE--HAND BUILT IN ENGINEERING DEPT. ONLY CONVERTIBLE IN EXISTENCE. COST $80,000 TO BUILD IN 1953 ENGINE - V-8 EXT COLOR - RED EXT COLOR2 - BLACK Michael Bostedt R2 Champ pickup Packard Hawk with white leather and red steering wheel The factory 54 convert 57 Supercharged Police car Yet another Egbert Avanti 1950 Desert car or truck (Saudi) 1964 limo ( Israeli ) How about the 1963 prototype van, complete with the Westinghouse logos on the sides? Or the one-off 1942 Champion station wagon that ended up serving the South Bend area Red Cross in WWII? Just maybe a 1958 or 1959 Packard truck in Argentina, and any of the three Frua 1961 styling studies that may still be in Italy..... Or what about the prototype Weasel with the Commander six? Apparently one was built, and deemed unsatisfactory. I think the combination of the added power, and the added weight made for too much stress on the driveline and suspension for their liking. How 'bout a '53 with the Borg-Warner mechanical power steering ? -Dick- Well, they did reportedly make one (Yes, ONE, as in UNO) 1951 Commander 3-passenger business coupe (Q1 Body & Trim Code). Also, the very last Hawk made is accounted for, and I believe it was for sale in Turning Wheels maybe ten years ago. White with red interior. Kind of a low-option car, if I remember correctly, maybe a three-speed (but not sure). BP Wasn't that Hawk written up in Turning Wheels sometime in the late 70's? If I remember right the guy was in the dealership ordering the car when word came on the radio that President Kennedy had been shot (or am I mixing up two stories). As I recall it was a pretty basic car, but with Twin Traction and a couple of odd things that got it pushed to the back of the line causing it to be the last built. Just last Sunday I saw one car that knocked two off your list! Our Ohio Region SDC visited the Frederick Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland and the last Studebaker-built Avanti, serial 5643, white R3 with Powershift and less than 10K miles, black interior, just drop-dead gorgeous and the guide let my friend Joe and I behind the ropes to peer inside! It was bought in Youngstown, OH in the '70's by a former Cleveland Stude, then AMC dealer, Joe Erdellac, who subsequently donated it to the museum. He's quite up in years now but was an invited guest to one of our meetings two summers ago and was a delightful guy and seemed to really enjoy himself. ========================================================== 2 bolt valve valve covers- This is an interesting question because it brings up another one. According to the parts book, the change was made at 1960 259 engine #V466487. That would be the first engine to use 2-bolt valve covers. Engine #V466486 would have had 4-bolt covers. Now, V454701 was the first 1960 259 V-8 engine, so the change was made after fewer than 12,000 1960 259 V-8 engines had been produced; i.e., fairly early in the 1960 model run. That leaves the question of 1960 289 engines in Hawks up in the air, because there is no reference to a change having been made during the run of 1960 289 engines for Hawks...or, later, the special-order police 289 that was available in 1960 Larks (don't get too excited about that; I only understand that the 289 was available LATE in the 1960 run for Larks and then only for police or fleet special orders. I don't claim to have ever seen one.) Anyway, it is well documented that 1960 Hawk production did not begin until well after Lark production, possibly not until calendar year 1960, as a matter of fact. With the onslaught of the "Big-Three" compacts for 1960, Harold Churchill wanted to be sure the dealers had plenty of 1960 Larks on introduction day...and Larks were still selling well as the 1960 model year began. Fred Fox theorized years ago, and I agree, that 1960 Hawk production was held up so as many 1960 Larks as possible could be built. From all that, it would be easy to hypothesize that 1960 289 engine production was also delayed, so PROBABLY all 1960 289 engines had the "later" 2-bolt rocker arm covers. The new question then becomes: Does anyone have a documented 1960 289 engine that WAS built with 4-bolt rocker arm covers? My guess is probably not, but "never say never" in Studebaker Land. BP ------------------------------------- Studillac "I found this email address on your Studebaker website. I am trying to find out more information about a Studillac owned in 1955 by William Woodward Jr., owner of the racehorse Nashua. He had it up in Saratoga that August and it was so well liked by his friend, Ian Fleming, that Fleming included it in a chapter of his next James Bond book, "Diamonds are Forever," published in 1956. Do you know anything about this? I hoped something was written about the car at that time, a magazine article, a newspaper story, anything!!! I'm writing a book about the Belair Stud which was located in Maryland, the racing stable owned by the Woodwards. If you can help, I sure would appreciate it." If you can help her, contact Shirley Baltz sbdocent@bellatlantic.net ---- Studillac: a Studebaker powered by a Cadillac engine; article in Bond No. 36. Cadillac aficionado, Erik Calvino who lives in Tokyo, Japan, sent this quote from the James Bond website: The car appears to be a black Studebaker convertible. When Felix talks up the car's performance Bond thinks he's spouting nonsense, until Felix stomps the fuel pedal and reveals to Bond the car's hidden abilities. Leiter's car is under the hood. Cadillacs in the 1950s were real performance cars. When the horsepower of the Caddy engine was put into the aerodynamic, lightweight, Loewy designed Studebaker body it yielded a potent, high velocity, weapon! Special rear axle, brakes and transmission had to be added to handle the extra power. This car is not the product of Fleming's fertile imagination. Such a car was actually produced by a specialty shop in New York. It was dubbed with the singularly un-mellifluous sobriquet, "Studillac". Here's the info on Bill Frick the guy that built the Studillac Looks like he did the 53-54 Starliner with the 331cu.in Caddy : Frick, Bill: He was associated with Bill Frick Motors, located at 1000 Sunrise Highway, Rockville Center, Long Island, NY. Frick was born Berlin at the end of WW1 but moved to the USA before he was 18. His first engine-swap was to put a 1924 Dodge 4-cylinder engine in a Model A Ford. His job consisted in performance-tuning automobile engines. He built a V8-60 midget racer in the winter of 1946 and won races with it. In 1949 Phil Walters [aka "Ted Tappett"] was his driver. American rally driver, Tom Cole, introduced Briggs Cunningham to Frick and Walters; they built for him a 140 mph Fordillac, with a Cadillac engine, brakes and a Borg-Warner Lincoln transmission. Cunningham bought over Frick-Tappett Motors after the 1950 Le Mans race in which two stock Cadillacs and a Cadillac-engined barquette nicknamed "Le Monstre" [the "Monster"] did rather well. In the Fifties Frick built some sports cars that used Cadillac motors (he had used also Ford, Allard and Studebaker engines earlier). He built about 100 "Fordillacs" and, in 1953 and 1954, the "Studillac" from the 1953 Studebaker Starlight coupe [see CL 4/54]. What Frick wanted most was to build an "exotic", Ferrari-like sports car; one of his three Vignale-bodied "Bill Frick Special" coupes is photographed in "Alpha Auto", a French-language magazine collection of the Seventies; these cars were powered by a 331.1 ci Cadillac V8, developing 250HP at 4600 rpm. The cars used the Hydra-Matic transmission; wheel base was 110". The estimated value of a Frick special in 1989 was $10,000-15,000. Frick-Tappett Motors: the team of Phil Walters (pseudonym "Ted Tappett") and his mechanic, Bill Frick; good reading: SIA80, pp.12-21,60; excellent story in SIA143 pp24-31. --------------- Yes, Robert W. Bee is the man who owns one. He can be reached at 14368 Chapel Lane Leesburg, VA. Bob is the "foremost expert" on this car. ----------------------------------------------------- Bonneville The first record set by a '53 Coupe was in 1954. Glen Overmyer's Studillac went 141 and set the D/Coupe record. Check the Sept 2001 issue of Rod and Custom...an article on the Sanchez '53 Coupe ("Hot Roddings First 200 MPH Grocery Getter").Went 210 (one way) with a 454 inch Chrysler Hemi in 1955. This was the first stock bodied passenger car to break 200 MPH. Set the C/coupe record. Later set records in B/Competition and B/Coupe before the body was modified to run in A/Comp (237 MPH) in 1960. Also check pages 277-283 of John Bridges book "Studebaker's Finest". Lists 94 Bonneville records held by '53-'54 Coupes. "In 1974, either a 53 or 54 bodied Studebaker coupe held 68% of the records in classes it was eligible to enter" "Over the entire history of the Bonneville Speed Trials, no other car body has accumulated as many records in production car classes as the 53-54 Studebaker coupe. (Not even close.)" In 1961, there were 35 C/K Studes entered at Bonneville....27% or the 129 car field. ------------- On this week in 1936 (Aug 10), Frederick Fish died at the age of 84. He married J. M. Studebaker's daughter and joined Studebaker in 1891 as a legal counsel and member of the Board of Directors. He "worked his way up" to Chairman of the Board of Studebaker. -------- Fred Fish almost single-handedly drug Studebaker into the automobile business. It is a complicated scenario, but without Fred Fish, it is possible Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company would have simply faded away with the demise of horse-drawn vehicles and early electric cars. Granted, that is a gross oversimplification, but he was the main force that got the company into the gasoline-powered motor vehicle business as we know it today. BP --------- //////Is it true that Studebaker of Canada was actually making a profit on //each car up to the end ? this is what I heard from an ad on eBay.//// They were, in fact, making a small profit on the automotive division at the very last. But the course had been set to divest themselves of auto production so it really didn't make a difference. --- It's also been said that Canadian Production was continued only to avoid costly legal action from dealers who had contracts for supply of cars that they did not want to relinquish, preventing Studebaker from being in breach of contract. It can be concluded then that no matter how well Hamilton performed past January 1964, production was going to end as soon as the company could cleanly arrange it. -