Re: Twilight of the Gods

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2013/7/23 19:55:50

It was a genuine shame that so fine a man as Mason did not take better care of himself. He weighed more than 300 pounds and obviously did not exercise, but these should not take anything away from what a great man that he was. He got his start in the auto industry working for Walter Chrysler. When Charlie Nash was seeking a successor, Chrysler recommended Mason to his old friend. These were three honest, honorable men, unlike, apparently, the boys from Studebaker who pulled a fast one on Nance.

I am perplexed at why Packard would have gone ahead with a deal of this enormity without first having a clear picture of Studebaker's actual financial condition. It strikes me as similar to reaching an agreement to purchase a house only find there are numerous liens on it that the witless buyer will have to pay, on top of the asking price! One would think that a man with James Nance's experience would have thought about that before he signed on the bottom line.

I do not believe that by the 1950s it would have made that much of difference if Mason had survived and cobbled together an American Motors consisting of Nash. Studebaker, Hudson, and Packard. By the late 1940s it was clear that the Big Three were moving out in front of the independents in a huge way, leaving the independents with diminishing markets, cash, resources, and advertising. Remember the early 1990s? There were literally hundreds of Internet providers. Now there are only a handful who dominate the market. The marketplace is the proof of survival of the fittest.