The Studebaker-Packard Corporation was the entity created in 1954 by the purchase of the
Studebaker Corporation
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...
of
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
, by the
Packard Motor Car Company
Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.
One of the "Thr ...
of
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. While Studebaker was the larger of the two companies, Packard's balance sheet and executive team were stronger than that of the South Bend company.
In the spring of 1962, Studebaker-Packard reverted its name to "Studebaker Corporation". The following year, the South Bend plant was closed, while its Canadian plant in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
, continued to produce Studebaker cars until 1966. The South Bend plant would later be acquired by the
Avanti Motor Company.
Studebaker Corp. merged with
Worthington Corporation
The Worthington Corporation was a diversified American manufacturer that had its roots in Worthington and Baker, a steam pump manufacturer founded in 1845. In 1967 it merged with Studebaker and Wagner Electric to form Studebaker-Worthington. This ...
one year later.
Studebaker-Worthington
Studebaker-Worthington was a diversified American manufacturer created in 1967 through a merger of Studebaker-Packard Corporation, Wagner Electric and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by McGraw-Edison in 1979.
Origins
F ...
was a diversified American manufacturer operating the various business units of Studebaker,
Wagner Electric
Wagner Electric Corporation was an electric equipment manufacturing firm established in 1891 that became part of Studebaker-Worthington in 1967.
History
Wagner Electric Corporation was founded by Herbert Appleton Wagner and Ferdinand Schwedtma ...
and Worthington Corporation. The company was in turn acquired by
McGraw-Edison
McGraw-Edison was an American manufacturer of electrical equipment. It was created in 1957 through a merger of McGraw Electric and Thomas A. Edison, Inc., and was in turn acquired by Cooper Industries in 1985. Today, the McGraw-Edison brand is us ...
in 1979.
Purposes of merger
It was hoped that Packard would benefit from Studebaker's larger dealer network. Studebaker hoped to gain through the additional strength that Packard's cash position could provide. Once both companies stabilized their balance sheets and strengthened their product line, the original plan devised by Packard president
James J. Nance
James John Nance (19 February 1900 – 21 July 1984) was an American industrialist who became president of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Later, he was chief executive of the Central National Bank of Cleveland, chairman of the executive co ...
and
Nash-Kelvinator Corporation
Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the result of a merger in 1937 between Nash Motors and Kelvinator Appliance Company. The union of these two companies was brought about as a result of a condition made by George W. Mason prior to his appointment as ...
president
George W. Mason
George Walter Mason (March 12, 1891 – October 8, 1954) was an American industrialist. During his career Mason served as the Chairman and CEO of the Kelvinator Corporation (1928-1937), Chairman and CEO of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation (1937-19 ...
was that the combined Studebaker-Packard company would join a combined Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other branded automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., from 1909 until 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was continued through ...
in an all-new four-marque
American Motors Corporation
American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...
.
Had the complicated set of combinations gone through as planned, the new company would have immediately surpassed the
Chrysler Corporation
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
to become the third of America's "
Big Three" automobile manufacturers. However, the sudden death of Mason in 1954 (succeeded by
George W. Romney
George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gover ...
) and disputes over parts-sharing arrangements between the companies doomed any chance of completing the proposed merger. This failure to combine the companies effectively sealed the fates of all four.
Packard executives soon discovered that Studebaker had been less than forthcoming in all of its financial and sales records. The situation was considerably more dire than Nance and his team were led to believe; Studebaker's break-even point was an unreachable 282,000 cars at a time when the company had barely sold 82,000 cars in 1954. Furthering the new company's problems was the loss of about 30% of Studebaker's dealer network by 1956.
Studebaker-Packard tried a company reorganization in which Studebaker took the part of the volume and commercial car and truck seller from South Bend while Packard was to re-occupy the luxury market - one of Nance's targets since he took over Packard's presidency in 1952. The gap in between was filled by a new make, the
Clipper
A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...
. Technically, it was a lighter Packard, built in Detroit alongside the senior cars. The next generation of cars would have to be concentrated on one location, and there was a detailed program for sharing as much sheet metal as possible. Although Nance was presumably right, dealer resistance against the Clipper as a new entry in the intermediate field was big. Dealers complained that the only thing that allowed them to sell Clippers was the prestige, though declining, of the Packard name on the car itself.
Following a disastrous sales year in 1956, Nance resigned and Studebaker-Packard entered a management agreement with the
Curtiss-Wright Corporation
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...
.
Curtiss, led by Roy T. Hurley, insisted on major changes. All of Studebaker-Packard's defense contracts and plants where defense work was carried out were picked up by Curtiss, Packard production in Detroit was stopped and all remaining automotive efforts were shifted to South Bend.
"Packardbakers"
The Packards (for 1957 and 1958) were essentially
Studebaker President
The Studebaker President was the premier automobile model manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (US) from 1926 until 1942. The nameplate was reintroduced in 1955 and used until the end of the 1958 model when the name wa ...
s with a redesigned Front Clip using Packard Parts and redesigned interior and tail of the car also using Packard Parts. The vehicles were referred to as "Packardbakers". The final Packard rolled off the assembly line on July 25, 1958. That year, Studebaker instructed company personnel to sell their Packards and use only Studebakers.
[
Hurley was able to negotiate the distribution rights of the Mercedes Benz automobile brand in the USA exclusively owned by SP. ]Daimler Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...
. The agreement was looked on as a necessity both for the income that Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
could add to the company's bottom line and as another product that the Studebaker dealer network could sell in the event that the company quit building its own cars.
Studebaker-Packard Corporation made numerous attempt at resurrecting the Packard nameplate. The Franco-American Facel-Vega
Facel S.A. was a French manufacturer of pressed steel automobile components, later complete automobiles of their own design.
To intensify its World War II war effort, French subcontracting company for military aeronautics Bronzavia created a s ...
four-door sedan, which was powered by a Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
V8 engine, would have been supplied the basis of a new Packard. Additional work was done with the Ford Motor Company to use the 1956 Lincoln Bodies that Ford was eliminating. Studebaker Corporation in 1965 sold back to Daimler Benz, Mercedes Benz of North America which was distributing Mercedes in the USA.
Diversification
In 1960, the company began diversification efforts by buying:
* D. W. Onan & Sons - Generators & engines
*Cincinnati Testing Labs - Plastics Research
*Gering Plastics - Plastics Manufacture
*Clarke Floor Machine Company - Floor cleaners & buffers
*Gravely Tractor Gravely, of Brillion, Wisconsin, is a manufacturer of powered lawn and garden implements which it describes as "walk-behind, zero turn and outfront mowers". It started as a manufacturer of "walk-behind" or two-wheel tractors.
History
Foundation ...
s - Quality lawnmowers
*Chemical Compounds Company - Maker of STP
STP may refer to:
Places
* São Tomé and Príncipe (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code, IOC country code, and FIFA country code STP)
* St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras (Domestic) railway station (National Rail code STP)
* St. Paul Downtown Air ...
additives
In 1961 Sherwood Egbert
Sherwood Harry Egbert (July 24, 1920 – 1969)''Seattle Daily Times'', July 31, 1969, Page 38. was an American businessman and marine. He served as president of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation and Studebaker Corporation from February 1, 1961'' ...
was appointed company president. He was expected to help diversify the company. In the spring of 1962, four years after the last Packard car rolled off the assembly line, and eight years following the merger between Packard and Studebaker, the company dropped 'Packard' from its legal name, which returned to being 'Studebaker Corporation'.
References
* Langworth, Richard. 1957-58 "Packardbaker": America's First Replicar, pp. 8–20, ''Collectible Automobile Magazine'' April 1985, Vol.5, Number 6.
{{Authority control
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Studebaker
Packard