Even though you may know the name and perhaps even seen one of its models, chances are that you were either too young to remember or not even born yet when the Studebaker Automobile Company closed shop in 1966.
Fast forward to today and the company may have a second chance in life - hopefully with better designs than the official CGIs you see here... According to a report from FoxNews, Ric Reed, who bought the rights to the Studebaker brand in 2001, has revealed new plans to resurrect the famous nameplate.
Reed, who runs the Denver, Colorado-based Big Kahuna apparel company, told the news site that he wants to revive Studebaker's classic monikers such as the Lark, President and Hawk for the new model series, adding, however, that the cars themselves will be 21st-century hybrids.
"As the entrepreneur at the helm of Studebaker Motor Company, it is my earnest goal to create vehicles that are in some way reminiscent of classic Studebakers, or in other words, definitively Studebaker, yet brought into the 21st Century, and again to see Studebaker Motor Company the American Icon it once was," says Reed on the company's website.
"It is also my dream to develop or reopen factories, employ Americans in those manufacturing and assembly plants, which shall be on American soil. I desire to make vehicles that not only compete, but have a significant cutting edge in a highly competitive world market," he adds.
Reed said he wants to employ hybrid technology because he thinks that electric cars still have a long way to go. He intends to use the Hydristor, a device invented by Tom Kasner for a sports car that John DeLorean wanted to make before his demise. The Hydristor is a hydraulic transistor, which Kasmer claims, is akin to a highly efficient CVT gearbox.
Before rolling out his brand-new models, Reed says he may cooperate with another, yet unnamed company, to build a US$70,000 limited run of a retro-themed modern iteration of the Chump pickup truck in order to raise some cash and mainly attract investors.
Studebaker was founded originally in 1852 as a manufacturer of wagons used by the military, as well as farmers and miners. It produced its first automobile, an electric model (which is ironic given Reed’s opinion about EVs) in 1902.
Among other achievements, Studebaker was the first ever carmaker to employ a monoblock engine in 1913 and the first U.S. automotive company to open an outdoor proving ground (in 1926).
By 1929, its range comprised of 50 models. The same year, the infamous Wall Street Crash caused the Great Depression, which resulted in a downturn in sales; by 1933, however, Studebaker was once again profitable.
After World War II, though, the situation started going downhill as small carmakers couldn’t match the price war between Detroit’s Big Three nor were they able to afford the increasing labor costs and in 1954 Studebaker was in the red.
Merging with Packard didn’t help either, nor did poor management decisions. Sales dropped, plants closed and the press made extensive reports on the carmaker’s problems. Finally, on March 16, 1966, the last Studebaker rolled off of the assembly line.
20 Comments:
Studebaker is classic name that deserves better cars than the ones depicted here. Management should start with a qualified designer and worthy modern electric engines. I hope the owner achieves his goal of creating new American jobs.
If i ever had the money for it, id get an old car company that went out of business and have fun with it.
These cars are hideous though. The truck would probably look pretty good in a production stage.
I could design cars for them! Not over a computer system though, because I've never taken formal industrial design classes, but the old fashioned way. With pencil and paper. I've been drawing cars all my life! Mostly modern inturpretations of classic ones. Just a hobby of mine.
Hmm making friends with Bangle I see, but the pick up and suv aren't bad at all. We'll see.
bring back hispano-suiza
I usually just read and laugh at some of the proposals here on Carscroop, I have never been moved enough to comment before but this guys is an idiot - The American Government should step in and take the brand away from him for even thinking the World is ready for such BUTT UGLY cars under a classic brand name like Studebaker - he should realise that the word Hybrid after a vehicle doesn't make ugly cars altright!
It looks so chinese !
who is the new owner Ssang Yong?
I'll trade my Ford Ranger for the pick-em-up!
Automobile propulsion technology under development include gasoline/electric and plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles, hydrogen cars, biofuels, and various alternative fuels. Research into future alternative forms of power include the development of fuel cells, Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition, Stirling engines, and even using the stored energy of compressed air or liquid nitrogen.
I wish i was good at drawing cars. thats what i would do. I love the idea in general. So fa my favorite is the Challenger. I hear theyre redesigning it as the Cuda for 2015.
The 1957 Golden Hawk looks nice, they should redesign that.
But they do sell a lot of Prius HYBRIDS!
Wow this is...I mean...Really....Wow...
These models look like they come from a freshmen car designer wannabe and really F's up the whole Studebaker image and history. All proportions and lines are just wrong! I can only say; shame on you!
.....and people talk about Chinese.
Yeah...Studebaker was world famous in Indiana.
there is people already working on it.
http://www.hispanosuiza.de/
Pretty much anyone who whips up some car pics on their computer and makes ridiculous claims about production proposals gets a little CarScoop article. Fun maybe, but not to be taken seriously. Know how much money it takes to design and engineer a modern car and produce it? Way more than this guy will ever have.
Anyway, you can see a few historic Leowy Studebaker cues here and there.
The only realistic way to actually sell some new Studes would I think to be to make exact copies of the original Avanti, but with modern running gear. A low production boutique deal. Not the various awful restyles that were made, but an original model replicar. You would still have to charge a couple hundred thousand for the things and be ready to lose millions for your efforts.
Though I don't feel these cars really hold the studebaker name in high standard, The silver sedan depicted, and the pickup are both decent looking vehicles. Having said that, you can't say all studebakers were good looking vehicles. Many of them were some of the most hideous hunks of metal to roam the globe.
Exceptionally ugly cars. Either redesign them or rename the company Picasso Automotive.
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