Re: PREwar Studebaker opinions

Posted by Dave Kenney On 2009/10/12 15:10:25

This was borrowed from the Pierce-Arrow Society website.


"Many of the changes at Pierce-Arrow during the early thirties was a result of the influence of Pierce-Arrow's major stockholder, the Studebaker Corporation. In 1928, Studebaker bought $5.7 million in Pierce-Arrow stock. Studebaker was one of the major automobile companies in America and the acquisition of Pierce-Arrow put Studebaker in the number four position, behind General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Albert Erskine, the president of Studebaker became the chairman of the board of Pierce-Arrow, while Myron Forbes remained on as president of Pierce-Arrow. In addition to much needed cash, Pierce-Arrow also gained an increased dealer network, as Pierce-Arrows were sold through Studebaker dealerships. The engineering efforts remained, for the most part, separate, although Pierce-Arrow blocks were cast in the Studebaker foundry in South Bend. During these years, Studebaker spent a considerable amount of money on improvements to the Pierce-Arrow factory in Buffalo. Unfortunately, the optimism of the 1929 sales did not continue forward and sales at Pierce-Arrow dropped. Studebaker eventually declared bankruptcy in 1933 and sold Pierce-Arrow to a group of Buffalo businessmen for $1 million. Arthur Chanter, a former Studebaker man, became president of Pierce-Arrow, once again an independent company."