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 Manufacturing Company, the firm was originally a coachbuilder, manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages and harnesses.

1892 Studebaker buggy.

Studebaker entered the automotive business in 1902 with electric vehicles and in 1904 with gasoline vehicles, all sold under the name "Studebaker Automobile Company". Until 1911, its automotive division operated in partnership with the Garford Company of Elyria, Ohio, and after 1909 with the E-M-F Company and with the Flanders Automobile Company. The first gasoline automobiles to be fully manufactured by Studebaker were marketed in August 1912. Over the next 50 years, the company established a reputation for quality, durability and reliability.

While manufacturing its own Studebaker Electric vehicles from 1902 to 1911, the company entered into body-manufacturing and distribution agreements with two makers of gasoline-powered vehicles, Garford of Elyria, Ohio, and the Everitt-Metzger-Flanders (E-M-F) Company of Detroit and Walkerville, Ontario. Studebaker began making gasoline-engined cars in partnership with Garford in 1904.

In 1910, it was decided to refinance and incorporate as the Studebaker Corporation, which was concluded on February 14, 1911, under New Jersey laws. The company discontinued making electric vehicles that same year.

light four

1918-1919

The Studebaker Light Four was an automobile produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana in 1918 and 1919. The car was officially designated Model SH Series 19 and available as a touring car, sedan and roadster.

The Light Four rode a 2800 mm wheelbase, and was powered by Studebaker's side-valve inline 3150 cc four-cylinder engine, delivering 40 bhp at 2000 rpm. It shared the chassis and length with the Studebaker Light Six.

The Light Four was dropped in 1920 as Studebaker shifted its model range to the more popular Light Six, Special Six and the Big Six.

commander

The Studebaker Commander is the model name of several automobiles. Studebaker began using the Commander name in 1927 and, with interruptions in 1936 and 1959-63, continued to use it until 1964. The name was applied to various products in the company's line-up from year to year. The Commander was the company's mainstream product, the Studebaker Champion was the junior model, and other models were short lived or renamed as market conditions required.

dictator

The Studebaker Dictator is an automobile produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, United States from 1927 until 1937. Model year 1928 was the first full year of Dictator production.

In the mid-1920s, Studebaker began renaming its vehicles. The model previously known as the Studebaker Standard Six became the Dictator during the 1927 model year—internally designated model GE. The name was intended to connote that the model "dictated the standard" that other automobile makes would be obliged to follow.^[1] Dictators were available in a full range of body-styles.

In June 1929, Studebaker began offering an 8-cylinder engine for the Dictator series (3,620 cc, 70 bhp at 3200 rpm), designed by Barney Roos, though the old 6-cylinder option was continued for another year. There was no 1933 Dictator due to Studebaker's bankruptcy, and a redesigned lower-priced model was released in 1934 with a 6-cylinder engine. The 8-cylinder engine was then on only available for the Commander and President models.

coupe express

1937-1939

The Studebaker Coupe Express is a passenger car based coupe utility, produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, between 1937 and 1939. Featuring an automobile styled cab and flared rear fenders right off the Studebaker Dictator, it was sold both with a manufacturer supplied pick up style metal bed, and as a rolling chassis and cab to be fitted with a bed or boxes by the purchaser.

The truck was powered by the larger of Studebaker's L-head six-cylinder flathead engines and mated to a 3-speed manual transmission. Studebaker offered a Borg-Warner 3-speed transmission with overdrive as an option. Other options included a radio, heater, wire reinforced sliding back window and turn indicators.

The Coupe Express model was discontinued after the 1939 model year, and Studebaker did not offer a successor model for 1940.

champion

The Studebaker Champion is an automobile which was produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, from the beginning of the 1939 model year until 1958. It was a full-size car in its first three generations and a mid-size car in its fourth and fifth generation models, serving as the junior model to the Commander.

Ballooning labor costs (the company had never had an official United Auto Workers (UAW) strike and Studebaker workers and retirees were among the highest paid in the industry), quality control issues, and the new-car sales war between Ford and General Motors in the early 1950s wrought havoc on Studebaker's balance sheet. Professional financial managers stressed short-term earnings rather than long-term vision. Momentum was sufficient to keep going for another 10 years, but stiff competition and price-cutting by the Big Three doomed the enterprise.

From 1950 Studebaker declined rapidly, and by 1954 was losing money. It negotiated a strategic takeover by Packard, a smaller but less financially troubled car manufacturer. However, the cash position was worse than it had led Packard to believe, and by 1956, the company (renamed Studebaker-Packard Corporation and under the guidance of CEO James J. Nance) was nearly bankrupt, though it continued to make and market both Studebaker and Packard cars until 1958. The "Packard" element was retained until 1962, when the name reverted to "Studebaker Corporation".

A three-year management contract was made by CEO Nance with aircraft maker Curtiss-Wright in 1956 with the aim of improving finances due to Studebaker's experience building aircraft engines during the war and military grade trucks. C-W's president, Roy T. Hurley, attempted to reduce labor costs.

Under C-W's guidance, Studebaker-Packard also sold the old Detroit Packard plant and returned the then-new Packard plant on Conner Avenue (where Packard production had moved in 1954, at the same time Packard took its body-making operations in house after its longtime body supplier, Briggs Manufacturing Company, was acquired by Chrysler in late 1953) to its lessor, Chrysler. The company became the American importer for Mercedes-Benz, Auto Union, and DKW automobiles and many Studebaker dealers sold those brands, as well. C-W gained the use of idle car plants and tax relief on their aircraft profits while Studebaker-Packard received further working capital to continue car production.

conestoga

1954-1955

The Studebaker Conestoga is an all-steel station wagon that was produced in 1954 and 1955 by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA). The company chose the name Conestoga as an homage to its wagon business that company produced from the 1850s into the early 20th century.

The Conestoga station wagons were built on the Studebaker's 2960 mm wheelbase platform. One body style was available, a two-door wagon with a two-piece tailgate/liftgate configuration for accessing the cargo area.

The 1954 Conestoga's original base price was $2,095, and 3074 were produced.

Studebaker discontinued the Conestoga nameplate at the end of the 1955 model year, although the basic body would be continued through several styling changes — and even built as a Lark compact — through 1961.

hawk

The Studebaker-Packard Hawk series were cars produced by the merged Studebaker-Packard corporation between 1956 and 1964. All but the 1958 Packard Hawk were badged Studebaker. Described by the company as "family sports cars", they were all two-door, four-seat coupes and hardtops. They were an evolution of the long wheelbase (120") 1953 C/K models designed by Robert Bourke, lead designer with the Raymond Loewy Agency. The 1962 redesign as the GT Hawk was by another famed stylist, Brooks Stevens.

The four-model Hawk range launched in 1956, mirrored the engine and trim levels of the sedans. There were two coupes; the Flight Hawk was a base model powered by Champion's obsolete and underpowered flathead straight-6 enlarged to 185.6 cubic inch; the Power Hawk used Studebaker's mid-level OHV 259 cu. in. with either 180 hp  2-bbl or 195 hp with a  4.7 L V8 from the Commander; there were two hardtops; the Sky Hawk shared the larger OHV 289 in³ V8 and luxury trim with the Studebaker President, and Studebaker Golden Hawk, which stood at the top of the range. The Golden Hawk, fitted with Packard's powerful big-block  275 hp 5.8 L V8, was the best all-around high performance car of 1956. Some feel by installing the largest V8 in the smallest lightest body, Studebaker created the first muscle car eight years before the GTO. It had the second highest power-to-weight ratio of any American production car. Contemporary road tests verified the Golden Hawk was faster/quicker  than the Corvette, Thunderbird and Chrysler 300B. In top speed, only the Chrysler 300B could equal it.

By 1956, Studebaker-Packard's financial condition had deteriorated to the point where there was no choice but to discontinue all manufacturing in the Packard facilities. Packard's Detroit factory and Utica proving grounds were closed. In a stop-gap effort to buy time for the development and financing of an all-new Packard, and to honor existing dealer contracts, a 1957 Packard that was merely a dressed up Studebaker President went into production at Studebaker's factory in South Bend. As Packard's V8 was no longer being produced, the new Packard as well as the 1957 Golden Hawk were fitted with Studebaker's largest 289 in³ V8, equipped with a McCulloch supercharger to produce the same 275 hp  rated power output as the 1956 Packard V8. The range was simplified; the Sky Hawk was discontinued as too close to the Golden Hawk, while the two lowest models were replaced with a single Silver Hawk model, available with either the Champion straight-6 or 4.2 L V8. 1958 saw a restyled and re-badged luxury version of the Golden Hawk sold as the Packard Hawk.

Studebaker sales continued a rapid decline in 1957-58, so for 1959 Studebaker-Packard discontinued the hardtop Golden Hawk, all Packards, and the Studebaker sedans; the Silver Hawk coupe was the only holdover left alongside the new Studebaker Lark range. It was a make-or-break year, but Studebaker's big gamble paid off; the smaller-appearing Lark was actually just the six-year-old sedans with a shorter wheelbase and abbreviated front and rear sheetmetal, but it was in the right place at the right time, a car the market wanted. The Silver Hawk served as a useful showroom draw, and it was continued; since it was the only Hawk model left, it was renamed simply the Studebaker Hawk and continued under that name through the end of 1961.

For the 1962 model year, Brooks Stevens restyled the GT Hawk and it was launched as the Gran Turismo Hawk. Its styling was well received, and sold relatively well for 1962. By 1963, Studebaker sales were in an irreversible death spiral. Even though the 1964 Super Hawk, available with an optional R2 supercharged engine, 4-speed transmission, TwinTraction limited-slip differential, front disc brakes and a sport suspension, was the best Hawk ever, production was ended with the rest of Studebaker's US production in December 1963.

lark

The Studebaker Lark is a compact car that was produced by Studebaker from 1959 to 1966.

From its introduction in early 1959 until 1962, the Lark was a product of the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In mid-1962, the company dropped "Packard" from its name and reverted to its pre-1954 name, the Studebaker Corporation.

Lark-based variants represented the bulk of the range produced by Studebaker after 1958 and sold in far greater volume than the contemporary Hawk and Avanti models.

champ

1960-1964

The Studebaker Champ is a light-duty pickup truck produced by the Studebaker Corporation from 1960-1964, the last such vehicles designed by the company before leaving the automobile manufacturing business in 1966.

Designed at a time when Studebaker's truck line had not seen major upgrading in over 10 years, Studebaker engineers were forced to use a number of existing components to fit within the $900,000 budget given them by the company's Board of Directors, but the end result was astonishingly fresh and competitive in price, capability and performance with other American-built trucks of the era.

Studebaker equipped the Champ with engines that had served well in the company's lineup for years. Buyers in 1960 could choose the last of the company's flathead sixes, either the Lark's 170 cuin (90 hp ) or the time-honored 245 cuin "Big Six" (110 hp ) which dated to the early 1930s.

Given the cobbled-up nature of the truck, sales were fairly good for the 1960 model year "5E" series. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.

avanti

The Studebaker Avanti is a personal luxury coupe manufactured and marketed by Studebaker Corporation between June 1962 and December 1963. A halo car for the maker, it was marketed as "America's only four-passenger high-performance personal car."

Designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein on a 40-day crash program, the Avanti featured a radical fiberglass body mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark 109-inch convertible chassis and powered by a modified 289 Hawk engine. A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option.

The Avanti's complex body shape "would have been both challenging and prohibitively expensive to build in steel" with Studebaker electing to mold the exterior panels in glass-reinforced plastic (fiberglass), outsourcing the work to Molded Fiberglass Body in Ashtabula, Ohio — the same company that built the fiberglass panels for the Chevrolet Corvette in 1953.

After the closure of Studebaker's factory on December 20, 1963, Competition Press reported: "Avantis will no longer be manufactured and contrary to the report that there are thousands gathering dust in South Bend warehouses, Studebaker has only five Avantis left. Dealers have about 2500, and 1600 have been sold since its introduction." This contrasted with Chevrolet which produced 23.631 Corvette sports cars in 1963.

wagonaire

The Studebaker Wagonaire was a station wagon produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, from 1963–1966. It featured a retractable sliding rear roof section that allowed the vehicle to carry items that would otherwise be too tall for a conventional station wagon of the era.

Studebaker developed the Wagonaire version using the standard Lark station wagon body that was modified above the beltline. The roof was designed with a panel over the cargo bay that was manually retracted into and then locked into position in the forward section of the roof.  This configuration allowed Studebaker to boast that the Wagonaire could transport items (such as standard size refrigerators) in an upright position.

The 1964 models, which were built only in Canada after December 1963, were the last to carry Studebaker's engines. Beginning with the 1965 models, General Motors supplied engines based on the Chevrolet six-cylinder and V8 designs.

the end

After insufficient initial sales of the 1964 models and the ousting of president Sherwood Egbert, on December 9, 1963, the company announced the closure of the aging South Bend plant. The last Larks and Hawks were assembled on December 20, and the last Avanti was assembled on December 26. To fulfill government contracts, production of military trucks and Zip Vans for the United States Postal Service continued into early 1964. The engine foundry remained open until the union contract expired in May 1964. The supply of engines produced in the first half of 1964 supported Zip Van assembly until the government contract was fulfilled, and automobile production at the Canadian plant until the end of the 1964 model year. The Avanti model name, tooling, and plant space were sold off to Leo Newman and Nate Altman, a longtime South Bend Studebaker-Packard dealership. They revived the car in 1965 under the brand name "Avanti II". (See main article Avanti (car).) They likewise purchased the rights and tooling for Studebaker's trucks, along with the company's vast stock of parts and accessories.

Limited automotive production was consolidated at the company's last remaining production facility in Hamilton, Ontario untill 1966. Studebaker had been Hamilton's 10th-largest employer.

The Avanti name, tooling, and plant space were sold to two South Bend, Indiana, Studebaker dealers, Nate Altman and Leo Newman. They reintroduced a slightly modified hand-built version of the original Avanti using leftover Studebaker chassis and engines from General Motors. There was no connection with the Studebaker brand name.

Following Altman and Newman's effort, a succession of additional entrepreneurs purchased the tooling and name to manufacture small numbers of increasingly modified variants of the car, including the Avanti II, through 2006.

avanti II

1964-2006

The Avanti (including the Avanti II) is an American performance sports coupe based on the Studebaker Avanti and marketed through a succession of five different ownership arrangements between 1965 and 2006.

1964

After Studebaker's December 20, 1963, closure of its South Bend factory and effective discontinuation of the auto with the 1964 model year, cars carrying the Avanti nameplate were initially produced from leftover Studebaker components, and later by the Avanti Motor Company from General Motors and Ford chassis and engines. A small and often interrupted stream of increasingly modified cars was made before all production ceased in 2006.

The Altman brothers introduced a slightly modified version of the car in 1965 under the brand name "Avanti II". which initially had a 5.4 L Chevrolet Corvette engine. This evolved to the 400, then the small-block 350, and then the 305 for 1981. The 5.0 L V8 had electronic engine controls, 155 hp, and GM's Turbo 350 automatic transmission with lock-up.

1982

On October 1, 1982, real-estate developer Stephen H. Blake bought the rights to the Avanti II. Modifications were introduced to the car. A new convertible body style along with an all-new and lighter backbone chassis that was designed by Herb Adams, a former Pontiac engineer, using a torque tube with a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette aluminum rear end and independent suspension.

Shortly after introducing the Mark II Avanti, the company declared bankruptcy, and Blake resigned in February 1986.

1987

The Avanti Motor Company was purchased by Michael Eugene Kelly, whose ownership was very brief because the company's ownership changed in 1987.

1987

The company was acquired and run from 1987 until 1991 by John J. Cafaro. With the financial assistance of the State of Ohio, he moved all Avanti production from South Bend – its birthplace – to Youngstown, Ohio. In 1988 and 1989, Avanti made two-door coupes and a convertible. The 1988 Avanti was called the "Silver Year" models, marking 25 years since the Avanti's introduction.

In 1989, Cafaro lost faith in the original coupe and introduced a four-door version, of which 90 were built. Only 405 Avantis were made in four years at the Youngstown plant, which closed in 1991.

1999

Kelly repurchased the company in 1999. He moved its operations from Ohio to Georgia and produced redesigned Avanti automobiles in Villa Rica from 2000 to 2005. From 2004, Ford Mustang chassis and engines were used.

In early 2006, Kelly moved Avanti production to a new plant in Cancun, Mexico. The companys foundered was arrested for fraud charges in 2006.

The factory and showroom were emptied in 2011 and have been sold. Many extremely rare Studebaker and Avanti concepts and racing vehicles on the second floor of the building in Cancun have been moved elsewhere and/or sold.