Studebaker established a manufacturing facility
in South Bend, Indiana (USA) to manufacture wagons.
Incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers
Manufacturing Company by the 5 Studebaker brothers,
it would enter the automotive business in 1897,
then to manufacture electric vehicles. The first
gasoline Studebakers would not be manufactured
until 1913, although it was the 1929-1932 Studebaker
President, along with the 1939 Studebaker Champion
that really established the marque and its enviable
reputation.
During World War 2 the company manufactured
countless Studebaker US6 trucks, along with the
very unique M29 Weasel cargo and personnel carrier.
After the war the company again turned its attention
to the manufacture of automobiles.
The price-cutting
war between Ford and General Motors took a heavy
toll on the smaller US car manufacturers during
the 1950’s, many knowing that survival
depended on their finding other suitable auto
manufacturers with which to merge. In 1954 the
company was acquired by Packard Motors of Detroit,
Michigan, becoming a division of the Studebaker
Packard Corporation from 1954 until 1962, it
then reverting back to its previous name.
Studebaker
would struggle on until 1966. Today models such
as the Commander Starliner, Avanti, Hawk, Wagonaire
and Lark based Cruisers, along with Commander
and Daytona convertibles are all highly prized
by collectors. It was the Lark that helped stave
off the receivers for a time, however the inevitability
of the dominance of the “Big Three” would
eventually take its course.
