Studebaker Motor Company resuscitated, looking for investors
02-03-12, 06:59 PM
#1
Studebaker Motor Company resuscitated, looking for investors
Studebaker Motor Company resuscitated, looking for investors
The annals of automotive history are filled with nameplates that weren't quite able to survive the boom and bust nature of the business, especially here in the United States. One of the most successful orphaned automakers was Studebaker, remembered fondly for such design gems as the bullet-nosed post-World War II Starlight and trend-setting fiberglass-bodied Avanti.
Sadly, Studebaker officially ceased producing automobiles in 1966, though a small portion of its legacy lives today in the form of the ex-Kaiser AM General. But if a Colorado-based business has its way, the Studebaker name will once again appear on vehicles sold in America. Somehow, we're far from convinced any of its conceptual designs will ever see the light of day.
Looking over the proposed revival, we see a range of so-called Studebaker cars, trucks, motorcycles and scooters. Half the motorcycles are actually Hyosung models from Korea with Studebaker scripting on the fuel tanks, and the other half are nothing but poor renderings. As for the cars, well... there isn't a single shred of Studebaker DNA in any of them. In any case, the company is reportedly looking for "qualified investor/partners". We wish them the best of luck... they're gonna need it.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/03/s...for-investors/
02-03-12, 11:56 PM
#2
Out of Warranty
Probably few people remember that Studebaker was first a maker of wagons here in the US, but their heritage goes back to Germany in the late 18th Century. The Staudenbecker family was a renowned maker of fine cutlery, and because their products included swords and other edged weapons, their family business was closely regulated by the German state. They were a military supplier, thus believed to hold military secrets.
Emigrating from Germany was difficult, thanks to their status of weapons-makers and it took years to secure all the proper paperwork to depart for the US and the opportunities to be found there. Arriving in Philadelphia, a customs clerk unfamiliar with German names and recorded their entry as "Studenbecker", beginning the morphing of the family name that included Studebaker, Studibaker, and Studabaker.
Through a long series of frontier adventures, John Studebaker arrived in Ohio as a blacksmith, while his two sons became wagon-makers. Their products included Conestoga wagons that carried hundreds of settlers west, freight wagons, and farm wagons, all of which represented the very best in design and assembly. Studebaker wagons found their way to the gold fields of Placerville, California where John Mohler Studebaker built wheelbarrows using the same rugged design and craftsmanship as the family's wagons. They were building a reputation. The Studebaker trademark appeared on Union wagons and gun carriages in the Civil War, and found their way to farm wagons and chuck wagons as the nation expanded westward.
Studebaker "Conestoga" Wagons
Early in the twentieth century, the Studebaker family began building automobiles alongside its wagons, predating Ford as a major manufacturer of early "horseless carriages". By the outbreak of World War I, Studebaker was manufacturing a wide range of wagons, tankers, trucks, and gun carriages for the war effort. But by the depression in 1932, business had begun to falter. The company held on through World War II, contracting French designer Raymond Lowey to pen the new cars that would reach the market in the late 40's. Today they are regarded as beautiful examples of industrial art deco, but at the time they were regarded as strange-looking, unlike competitive automobiles.
1951 Studebaker Champion Starlight
1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk, 281 CID V8, Paxton supercharged, 275 hp.
The Hawks, Silver Hawks, and Golden Hawks of the early to mid '50's were works of automotive art, that were very popular in their day, but unfortunately the company had not invested in tooling since the early '30's, and production volume was low and costs were high for a virtually hand-assembled car. Quality always remained high, but by now profit margins were rapidly becoming nonexistent. Studebaker's market was always in the rural Midwest, where those old farm wagons had built such a reputation for solid reliability that farmers wouldn't buy a pickup unless it carried the Studebaker nameplate. My grandmother and one of my uncles would never drive anything else, whether a farm truck or a four-door sedan.
1951 Studebaker Pickup note the lack of running boards that distinguished
the truck - something unheard of in the day. The running boards were replaced
by "step plates" faired into the door sill, covered by the doors.
While Studebaker's vehicles' styling was far advanced and they were surprisingly reliable, their vehicles were still being built on a 1930's technology chassis. The 1963 Avanti was the last gasp of the failing company - a sports coupe that leapfrogged the styling of everything else on the market by at least ten years, but with a drivetrain and suspension borrowed from the Hawk that was at best, uninspired. By the end of 1966, production ended at the old South Bend plant, and the doors were closed forever.
Studebaker Avanti
From time to time some wealthy auto aficionado will buy the Studebaker name and the Avanti designs to attempt to build a replica Avanti - but thus far, with no real success. A few creaky fiberglass replicas with modern small-block V8s and interiors reminiscent of a kit-car turn up at various meets, but the "real" Avanti has long gone. Should there be an investor and a real automaker with actual engineering, manufacturing, and management, skills, and should that investor bring the kind of cash to the project that bringing a specialty-car to market in any kind of quantity, they're going to need more than luck, they're going to find that most of their potential buyers are saying, "Studebaker WHO?"
Emigrating from Germany was difficult, thanks to their status of weapons-makers and it took years to secure all the proper paperwork to depart for the US and the opportunities to be found there. Arriving in Philadelphia, a customs clerk unfamiliar with German names and recorded their entry as "Studenbecker", beginning the morphing of the family name that included Studebaker, Studibaker, and Studabaker.
Through a long series of frontier adventures, John Studebaker arrived in Ohio as a blacksmith, while his two sons became wagon-makers. Their products included Conestoga wagons that carried hundreds of settlers west, freight wagons, and farm wagons, all of which represented the very best in design and assembly. Studebaker wagons found their way to the gold fields of Placerville, California where John Mohler Studebaker built wheelbarrows using the same rugged design and craftsmanship as the family's wagons. They were building a reputation. The Studebaker trademark appeared on Union wagons and gun carriages in the Civil War, and found their way to farm wagons and chuck wagons as the nation expanded westward.
Studebaker "Conestoga" Wagons
Early in the twentieth century, the Studebaker family began building automobiles alongside its wagons, predating Ford as a major manufacturer of early "horseless carriages". By the outbreak of World War I, Studebaker was manufacturing a wide range of wagons, tankers, trucks, and gun carriages for the war effort. But by the depression in 1932, business had begun to falter. The company held on through World War II, contracting French designer Raymond Lowey to pen the new cars that would reach the market in the late 40's. Today they are regarded as beautiful examples of industrial art deco, but at the time they were regarded as strange-looking, unlike competitive automobiles.
1951 Studebaker Champion Starlight
1958 Studebaker Golden Hawk, 281 CID V8, Paxton supercharged, 275 hp.
The Hawks, Silver Hawks, and Golden Hawks of the early to mid '50's were works of automotive art, that were very popular in their day, but unfortunately the company had not invested in tooling since the early '30's, and production volume was low and costs were high for a virtually hand-assembled car. Quality always remained high, but by now profit margins were rapidly becoming nonexistent. Studebaker's market was always in the rural Midwest, where those old farm wagons had built such a reputation for solid reliability that farmers wouldn't buy a pickup unless it carried the Studebaker nameplate. My grandmother and one of my uncles would never drive anything else, whether a farm truck or a four-door sedan.
1951 Studebaker Pickup note the lack of running boards that distinguished
the truck - something unheard of in the day. The running boards were replaced
by "step plates" faired into the door sill, covered by the doors.
While Studebaker's vehicles' styling was far advanced and they were surprisingly reliable, their vehicles were still being built on a 1930's technology chassis. The 1963 Avanti was the last gasp of the failing company - a sports coupe that leapfrogged the styling of everything else on the market by at least ten years, but with a drivetrain and suspension borrowed from the Hawk that was at best, uninspired. By the end of 1966, production ended at the old South Bend plant, and the doors were closed forever.
Studebaker Avanti
From time to time some wealthy auto aficionado will buy the Studebaker name and the Avanti designs to attempt to build a replica Avanti - but thus far, with no real success. A few creaky fiberglass replicas with modern small-block V8s and interiors reminiscent of a kit-car turn up at various meets, but the "real" Avanti has long gone. Should there be an investor and a real automaker with actual engineering, manufacturing, and management, skills, and should that investor bring the kind of cash to the project that bringing a specialty-car to market in any kind of quantity, they're going to need more than luck, they're going to find that most of their potential buyers are saying, "Studebaker WHO?"
Last edited by Lil4X; 02-08-12 at 06:58 AM.
I wish this American icon luck
02-05-12, 07:26 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Sadly, Studebaker officially ceased producing automobiles in 1966, though a small portion of its legacy lives today in the form of the ex-Kaiser AM General.
Studebaker (which had merged with Packard in the early 1950s only to see Packard fold a couple of years later) was quite an innovative company. They not only gave us the Hill-Holder clutch for starting a manual-transmission on steep hills some 30-35 years before Subaru claimed to (first) have the same feature, but also was the first American auto company to put optional front-disc brakes into production entry-level compacts (It's own Lark, for instance). Before the Lark came out, discs were confined mainly to Corvettes, Thunderbirds, and a number of British cars.
Last edited by mmarshall; 02-07-12 at 11:18 AM.
02-07-12, 07:21 AM
#5
Out of Warranty
Disc brakes were needed on the Lark because of its unique (in the American market) free-wheeling overdrive that when engaged on the highway made excellent mileage, but decoupled the driveline on lift throttle, almost making the little car seem to accelerate as you lifted off the gas. It didn't of course, but with no engine compression braking, the car had to depend on the service brakes alone to bring it to a halt. I had a college roommate with one of these Larks that was practically new, and driving it without being forewarned of this effect could be pretty scary.
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