Fifty years ago this week—March 16, 1966—the last Studebaker rolled off the line in Hamilton, Ontario. Here’s a quick look back at the mournful end of a storied automaker.
When the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Indiana ceased production on December 20, 1963, it was a sad day indeed for the venerable auto manufacturer, but it wasn’t the final day. Not quite. Through a strange alignment of events and decisions, the company’s Canadian assembly plant in Hamilton, Ontario, 40 miles west of Niagara Falls, was permitted to continue vehicle production on a limited basis. So oddly enough, Studebaker would shamble along in its final months as a nominally Canadian auto producer. For a brief time, the company’s print ads included the tagline, “Canada’s Own Car.”
Crunching the automaker’s rapidly declining numbers, Studebaker management determined that operations at the Canadian plant were sustainable at a level of 20,000 units per year. To reduce costs, the Hawk, truck, and Avanti lines were dropped, and production was focused on the Cruiser and Commander (formerly Lark) models. As the engine operations in South Bend were wound down, the Hamilton facility arranged to use Chevrolet 194 and 230 CID sixes and the trusty 283 CID V8, obtained from nearby McKinnon Industries, GM’s engine division in Canada.
Unfortunately, even the 20,000-unit sales objective proved to be hopelessly optimistic. While production actually increased at the Hamilton plant when the South Bend factories closed, sales overall continued to plummet. For the 1965 model year, production came close to the target at 19,435 units, but in 1966, only 8,947 cars were produced before the company threw in the towel for the final time on March 16—50 years ago this week. Telegrams sent to the few remaining dealers stated that the losses were simply too great for the corporation to continue auto production. The very last Studebaker produced that day, a ’66 Cruiser four-door sedan in Timberline Turquoise with a 283 CID V8, dwells today in the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend.
The final Studebaker—photo courtesy of the Studebaker National Museum.
It is a sad story about the fall and eventual demise of Studebaker. In its heyday Studebaker was as formidable a force in automotive achievement as anyone else. I can’t understand why it seemed to fall and continue to fall from the end of the war until the day production ceased. I wonder if it didn’t do itself in during the 30s when it continued to pay out handsome dividends to shareholders when the competition held back and pumped the money right back into the company. Large corporations such as International Harvester ran into similar problems that actually began way back when profits should have been saved and reinvested.
In college I had a nice old ’66 Studebaker given to me by my grandparents. It was a white four-door with a 283 and was indestructible. Looking back it was a pretty good car, but I didn’t much care for it at the time.
At the time, the story seemed to be one of quality lapses and crushing union rules, instituted in happier times.
One of my dads grandpa’s bought a 1957 Golden Hawk optioned out with pretty much everything that Studebaker was offering that year. This was a car that he really wanted. He owned it for just a year. My dad told me that up to that time it was the fastest car that he had a chance to ride in, but it was also a running pile of junk, the fit and finish was terrible. It rattled and squeaked from one end to the other, the trunk was hard to close, the doors didn’t hang right. My dad said that every time the sun would go behind a cloud the windows would start to leak. It was in the Clintonville, Wisconsin Studebaker garage as much as it was out with trouble with it’s Twin Grip rear end the electrical system amongst other complaints that should not have been part of the new car owner’s experience. After a year my dad’s grandpa traded up for a new Cadillac. I remember my great grandpa fairly well and on a couple of occasions he did mention that the Golden Hawk was the car that he liked the looks of the best of any of the cars he owned, but is was also the worst car he ever owned.
On that very (sad) day, 16 March, however 50 years later, some good news can be reported: Studebaker finally has it’s home port for lovers of the car brand in Norway: The Studebaker Register of Norway was founded by 20 souls in a borrowed assembly room in a local vintage motor associaton’s building in Moss, Norway.
Already more than 30 people with together more than 60 vehicles have signed up, less than 24 hours after the meeting! We’re definitely “getting there”, and already on Facebook:(Studebakerregisteret Norge / Studebaker Register Norway).
Best Stude-wishes to all,
Nils-P. Norman
Chairman / Administrator
I remember hearing the news story on the radio the day that the last Stude rolled off the assembly line I was 12years old at the time. I had not seen any around my hometown of Leominster MA at the time but by 1972 there were a few seen at my high school. My friend’s Dad had a ’64 wagon and one of the kids in school had a flawless ’57 President. A few years later I was driving through Gardner MA and passed by the Legendary Johnny’s Garage one of the last Studebaker dealers in the area. The place was lit up and there were what appeared to me to be Studebakers everywhere! I thought I was dreaming.. my older brother said “No that’s just Johnny’s..cool huh?”
Nothing “Ignoble” about a bunch of blue collar guys trying to sustain a brand they loved, their jobs and support their families in Hamilton (even if only for one more day – that’s another day to leave work with your head held high, an honest days pay for an honest days work). That attitude and determination to sustain is an honorable one no matter if you are a Canadian or an American (even if it was for only 2 years and 3 months).
I thought about it and decided to change ignoble (in the sense of humble) to mournful.
I came home from the hospital in a 1938 Commander. I cried all the way because they wouldn’t let me drive.
My grandfather came to this country from Norway and we were there several years ago to visit our family who stayed in Norway. I saw a couple of old Studebakers during our visit.
Hello Kurt, It is nice to find there are actually someone with Norwegian roots here! 🙂
Check out “Studebakerregisteret Norge / Studebaker Register Norway” and “Studebakers of Scandinavia” on Facebook, and the homepages http://www.studebakerklubben.se and http://www.eac-1977.no , on the Internet.
Do get in touch before your next trip to Norway, if you want to see more Scandinavian Studes.
I am planning on visiting the International Meet in South Bend next year.
Best regards, Nils-P. Norman
IN JULY OF 1969 I PASSED MY DRIVERS TEST AS A 16 YEAR OLD IN DAD’S 1963 GRAN TURISIMO HAWK
I had never heard that Studebaker’s were junk, maybe front fenders would rust, but so did lots of cars in those days. My first new car was a 62 GT Hawk, purchased at Almyra Packard, Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn, NY.
Great car, I wish I kept it, I’ve been a Studebaker “guy” ever since, I own a 64 R1 Police Marshall now with 30,000 miles, fun can, runs great.
I would say in general, Studebaker made a pretty good “blue collar” car.
I recently visited the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. It is a VERY NICE place to visit, and I urge fellow “Gearheads” to put it on their “List” of places to see.
While there, they said that Studebaker never went on strike, that although they were UAW, they were the highest paid Autoworkers in the country. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the company was paying dividends when they should have been building a new factory and upgrading equipment. Seeing the assembly line photos, the place looked O.L.D. even by 1960’s standards!
When I was in high school, there used to be a tricked out Lark that cruised the Main drag in my home town (Elkhart, IN – about 30 miles from the Studebaker Proving Grounds.) I think it was a 62 or 63. I don’t remember much about it, but it was candy-apple red and had big scoop in the hood and cherry bombs. I don’t know if it was fast, but it made quite a racket.
Great, story, Bill!
First car in high school was a 53 Commander Starliner Hardtop with a 289 Stude engine swap. Loved that car. Drove a 62 GT Hawk to college and still own another 53 Hardtop that was purchased in 1966-do the math. Far and away the 53 Starliner is the greatest design in American automotive history–just ask the guys who run at Bonneville what the most aerodynamic body is for high speed runs. In its day, an Avanti R3 would blow the doors off anything off the showroom floor–what a terrible loss of a great company.
I would like to start my story by saying that I am the original owner of my 1964 Avanti but I honestly went with my father to the Helms Brothers Studebaker dealership in Bayside Queens NY to pick out our gold Avanti. We have taken several trophies since 1976, when he started to enter it in shows on the East End of Long Island. In short my Avanti is now our “family air loom”. It is one of the most beautiful automobiles ever designed, It was truly ahead of its time. Raymond Lowey, his team; and Andy Granatelli and his team designed and built a true “luxuary sports car”. Oh and by the way my Avanti is completely original…original plugs, points and condenser. My odometer reads 15,011 original miles. I can go on forever but you can always feel free to contact me so we can talk Avanti!
I have driven over 800000miles in Studebakers. Never had one let me down.