Re: Would it have been easier to salvage Packard than Studebaker?

Posted by Mr.Pushbutton  On 2010/11/22 11:16:33

Said it before, say it again:
Any company that sat out the big mergers of the 1920s was not poised to survive the 50s-70s. Hudson and Nash were the only exceptions, due to AMC's emulation of GM, Ford and Chrysler in multi-segment production/marketing and even that did not last, foregin competition was eating a lot of their lunch by the time Chrysler bought them, to get Jeep.
Had someone combined Packard into a conglomerate that included other market-segement brands, bolstered by a volume-leader (low price) brand they might have stood a chance. The conversion of the industry from wood-structed bodies to all-steel bodies, coupled with the large conglomerates ability to amortize rapid body shell redesign/tooling spelled the death knoll for the independant auto maker here in the US. Packard fared well during the post WWII auto famine, as did the other independents, but once that demand was met it was trouble.