The Studebaker that Woulda-Shoulda-Coulda

Reaganite Republican ^ | 30 December 2013 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

Like most independent US automakers in the 1950s, Studebaker -at that point already in business for over 100 years, producer of Conestoga wagons that conquered the American west, and an automobile manufacturer since 1905-
was simply unable to compete with the Big Three's economies of scale, access to capital, and profit-crushing price wars. The result was companies like Nash, Hudson, Packard, and Studebaker being forced to seek a merger in order to survive...

So as Mitt Romney's old man did when he created AMC/Rambler out of Nash and Hudson, Studebaker teamed-up with ultra-luxury Packard, consolidated manufacturing, and eliminated redundancies. Yet the new Studebaker-Packard corporation wasn't able to save the Packard nameplate for along, as all they could afford to come up with was a gussied-up Studebaker sedan with a Packard pimp-kit tacked on... the Packard mystique was promptly squandered,
and sales tanked. A recession in '58 twisted the knife, and Packard was gone.

Also in a death-spiral of ebbing consumer confidence and tumbling sales, Studebaker salvaged itself as an automotive brand for awhile with a similar cost-effective niche approach to what AMC's: make a medium-large car into a roomy compact by lopping-off some length on both ends and installing existing powerplants  (who's tooling had long been paid-off). 

Both AMC -with the Rambler- and Studebaker -with the 1959 Lark- beat the Big Three to the compact segment (Corvair, Falcon, Valliant) and posted substantial sales/profits by being first-to-market when many were looking at imports after growing weary of the sheer mass of standard Detroit 'dinosaurs'
(as Romney tagged them).

With it's nearly full-size interior with seating for six adults, the compact Lark was an instant hit, and Studebaker sales were up 250% in '59 because of it. Soon the company hired an engergetic 'car guy' -Sherwood Egbert- who (along with racing legend Andy Granatelli) continued to improve and cleverly restyle the Lark, which was basically a 1953 platform that remained -albeit annually updated- right up until the end of Studebaker automobile production in 1965. 

Egbert also brought the world the handsome, innovative, and advanced Studebaker Avanti (designed by genius Raymond Loewy)- and in fact planned a whole family of 'Avanti II' sedans/etc to take advantage of the new, sporty family image. But production problems and persistent cash shortages doomed what was indeed a promising product in the Avanti... alas, this was Studebaker's last shot at remaining a serious player in the auto business.

When 'hot' motors developed for the Avanti -inc. top one with Paxton supercharger- were made available in the Lark, you had what may have been the first factory 'muscle car', even before the famed Pontiac GTO: the Lark Daytona ran a 289hp supercharged V-8 and did 0-60 in 8.9 seconds...
an impressive figure in 1962.

The company went-on selling STP oil treatment, Clarke floor machines, Franklin home appliances, etc up until it was all swallowed-up in yet another merger. By the mid 70s, Studebaker was a $1B/year company.. but the last Studebaker autombiles were 1966-model sedans built in Ontario in 1965, and only ~19,500 where screwed-together in that last year of production. Automotive historians largely blame the company's high price of labor and low (union) productivity for the demise of the huge Studebaker works at South Bend, Indiana.

Yet Studebaker had some very interesting stuff on the drawing board when they withdrew from the automobile business. My favorite would be the Studebaker Sceptre Coupe, which was intended to be a 1966 model. One was made as a non-running prototype to entice the investors that never materialized... this was to be the new Studebaker styling theme that would carry them into the Seventies.

Note that Studebaker at the time was the sole licensed US importer of Mercedes-Benz cars in the late 50s/early 60s, and seeming influenced by Benz, they stressed a new 3-pointed Studebaker star and attached Mercedes-style grilles to some models. The 1962 Sceptre prototype pictured below uses the symbol extensively on the hood, grill, wheels, seats, steering wheel, etc. The car also featured futuristic 'light tubes' front and rear, specially developed by Sylvania-

Pics at Reaganite Republican...

______________________________________________________________________

Curbside Classic   AllPar   CarType.com   Stude100   How Stuff Works   Automobile Quarterly   CarStyling.ru   Autopaedia

[Reaganite Republican]

***ping***

[humblegunner]

Pics at Reaganite Republican...

Why not post them here?

[FroggyTheGremlim]

1958 Golden Hawk (Supercharged)

[lbryce]

Why no post them here? Because the process of linking and posting them here amounts to an incredibly meticulous, cumbersome ordeal, that's why.

[AnAmericanMother]

" . . . the Lark Daytona ran a 289hp supercharged V-8 and did 0-60 in 8.9 seconds . . . "

Dad was original owner on a '62 Lark Daytona convertible. Candy apple red, white top and black and white upholstery with the "S" emblem.

It was a daily driver, and we eventually sold it to a couple in CA who were going to do a ground-up restoration on it.

That puppy would flat run . . . blow the doors off almost anything. Stopping was a problem with the single-shoe drum brakes, and the steering was so loose you could turn the wheel a full revolution and get no response, but hey, you can't have everything.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

My neighbor had a Golden Hawk. Nice car! And fast!

[CMailBag]

I just love this pickup, 1955 I think.

[Impala64ssa]

Studebaker’s 289 cu in V-8 turned out to be a damn good engine, as sturdy as the Chevy small-block. They could’ve built themselves a reputation on the drag strips. They even had a prototype R-5 engine for the Avanti with a Paxton twin turbo setup that put out almost 500hp, before they went under.

[nascarnation]

The PBGC website claims the Studebaker bankruptcy led to its creation.

http://www.pbgc.gov/about/who-we-are/pg/history-of-pbgc.html

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Financially, Studebaker just couldn’t weather the storms of coming out with some good, some bad cars. like Ford & GM could. The Silver Hawk and Golden Hawk were pretty innovative designs; the Presidents and their torpedo models, less so. There was quite a serious downturn in the economy in 1958 (you know, those short ones we used to have) that devastated Buicks’ sales for that year, and unfortunately, that was right at the critical point for Studebaker *and* Packard. It probably drove the last nail into the coffin for Packard and badly weakened Stude.

[Uri’el-2012]

1951 STUDEBAKER 2 DOOR CUSTOM "SUPER SONIC"

[Jeff Chandler]

The Avanti had disc brakes, and the turbocharged version kicked ass.

[Reaganite Republican]

I would really like to have one of these...

[USMCPOP]

I know a guy locally who has an Avanti. Still drives it as far as I know.

[Jeff Chandler]

That puppy would flat run . . . blow the doors off almost anything.

Except my Dad's 57 Dodge D500 with the 354 V8. In jet black it looked like the Batmobile.

[Organic Panic]

Somehow America has survived the loss of all these car companies YET the restructuring of GM and Chrysler would destroy the known universe and required billions of tax dollars.

[SunkenCiv]

The Studys were way over-engined, which is why they were such a blast to drive. :’) The Avanti continued as a solo specialty model into the 1990s at least, having changed hands in the 1980s; there were big plans to expand into SUVs and fordors, but new models would be required to meet modern crash standards, and I dunno, perhaps the original model was no longer allowed to be grandfathered.

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.avantimotors.com/avantihistory.html

They no longer are produced, last made and sold in early 2007.

[Reaganite Republican]

They sold the rights to some outfit in Youngstown, OH

They owned the original bucks and such, but modified the line to include ragtops and a 4 door