Re: SP merger
Posted by Mahoning63 On 2015/3/10 18:31:30
Many good points Steve203, thanks as usual. Permit me to comment on a few.
"Take a look at Jet sales..."
The 65,000 sales I mentioned included your numbers plus 27,000 "charitable" sales in '55, taking into account the industry's banner year and addition of Jet wagon series. It wouldn't have mattered had the sales been 20K less/more, the car was as you said, a dead duck. Its real value was in its basic architecture, which held the key to something very big for Nance because he could have morphed it into a vehicle sized similar to Champion, which for years Studebaker proved had huge sales potential.
"Studebaker could have done a cut down Champion..."
Most of Studebaker needed replaced... its platform, assembly line, most of its workforce and the entirety of its leadership. The rest was gold... its V8, its newer facilities, its dealers and all of its existing owners. The goal needed to be to retain these owners, capture lots of Wasp and Jet owners and chisel away at Ford/Chevy/Plymouth.
"Jefferson was in poor material condition."
Absolutely. On the other hand, if the product coming out was of high quality and the breakeven on a $2200-$2700 line of cars was only 70-80K, who cared? Hudson's system worked! Everything and everyone had a function, probably even the rats, knowing Barit. For 1955 Nance's priority needed to be breakthrough product, and there was more breakthrough potential in a heavily modified Hudson step-down unibody than a modified Reinhart high pocket.
"As for Hudson customers accepting a Clipper based Hornet, Hudson's clientle was already rejecting the step down by 53, so I would say there was little to lose."
Specifically, they were rejecting Hudson's old-fashioned late-40s design, inside and out. They loved step-down and unibody and history was on their side... the '57 GM C-bodies and '57 Fords and Mercurys were all step-downs and many cars to follow were unibody. Mason set the bar way too low, there was lots more to lose... hundreds of thousands of existing Hornet/Wasp owners, folks who would have gone hog wild over a modern design in 1955. I redid the Panther to give you a hint at what was possible... the Car of 1957 in 1955. (All due credit to Panther owner.)
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"Take a look at Jet sales..."
The 65,000 sales I mentioned included your numbers plus 27,000 "charitable" sales in '55, taking into account the industry's banner year and addition of Jet wagon series. It wouldn't have mattered had the sales been 20K less/more, the car was as you said, a dead duck. Its real value was in its basic architecture, which held the key to something very big for Nance because he could have morphed it into a vehicle sized similar to Champion, which for years Studebaker proved had huge sales potential.
"Studebaker could have done a cut down Champion..."
Most of Studebaker needed replaced... its platform, assembly line, most of its workforce and the entirety of its leadership. The rest was gold... its V8, its newer facilities, its dealers and all of its existing owners. The goal needed to be to retain these owners, capture lots of Wasp and Jet owners and chisel away at Ford/Chevy/Plymouth.
"Jefferson was in poor material condition."
Absolutely. On the other hand, if the product coming out was of high quality and the breakeven on a $2200-$2700 line of cars was only 70-80K, who cared? Hudson's system worked! Everything and everyone had a function, probably even the rats, knowing Barit. For 1955 Nance's priority needed to be breakthrough product, and there was more breakthrough potential in a heavily modified Hudson step-down unibody than a modified Reinhart high pocket.
"As for Hudson customers accepting a Clipper based Hornet, Hudson's clientle was already rejecting the step down by 53, so I would say there was little to lose."
Specifically, they were rejecting Hudson's old-fashioned late-40s design, inside and out. They loved step-down and unibody and history was on their side... the '57 GM C-bodies and '57 Fords and Mercurys were all step-downs and many cars to follow were unibody. Mason set the bar way too low, there was lots more to lose... hundreds of thousands of existing Hornet/Wasp owners, folks who would have gone hog wild over a modern design in 1955. I redid the Panther to give you a hint at what was possible... the Car of 1957 in 1955. (All due credit to Panther owner.)
Attach file:
(47.22 KB)
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