Gubmint drops lawsuit against Studebaker

[Chris Pile]

You can't make this crap up, folks.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180716/RETAIL/180719862/studebaker-justice-department

[StudeNewby]

Justice is served!...with a side of STP.

[thunderations]

Had there been any money left in an account for this case, the lawyers would never have let it settle. For some reason lawyers loose interest in a suit if the client goes broke.
Just venting because it was lawyers that that put Studebaker out of business. Building cars made over one million dollars in 1966, but lawyers had made up their minds to shut it down and use the money to invest in other ways, probably into lawyer's pockets.

[mike cenit]

The lawyers certainly had a hand in it but in was Chase Bank and and Insurance companies that pulled the plug on South Bend in 1964

[TWChamp]

Sadly lawyers and insurance companies have ruined a lot of good things in this country, and also made many things no longer affordable. I remember when a guy might have put a dent in a Studebaker or another brand x car and he could pay the owner on the spot, usually a hundred or two to fix it. Now everything goes through lawyers and courts and costs are well into thousands.

[bezhawk]

Actually it should go through your insurance company. If you're not insured stay off the streets.

[Guido]

Just venting because it was lawyers that that put Studebaker out of business.

News to me that lawyers "put Studebaker out of business". Studebaker continued to exist after the last vehicle was assembled in March of 1966, they were just not in the automobile business. A company with 1% market share, antiquated production facilities, an aging product portfolio and high wages and production costs could not be competitive against larger producers. I would argue that paying dividends in the 1930's and failing to use the cash from WWII to modernize their production facilities played a greater role in the death spiral of the automotive division than any lawyers.

Of course, in the spirit of Make Studebaker Great Again we could create a lawyer conspiracy theory that it was really Richard Nixon who was responsible for scuttling a deal with Nissan that closed Studebaker down.

[556063]

Amazing the crap that is getting cleaned up lately. Our tax dollars were at work on this for 55 years. One must remember, Studebaker did not go out of business, they just left the automotive business. And with this kind of legal atmosphere getting a foothold in the 60's, it's no wonder why.

[8E45E]

The article fails to mention a later charge which was stayed by the Federal Trade Commission against STP over 'false and unsubstantiated claims' about the product: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/pres...n-first-brands


I recall seeing the paid ad in Turning Wheels (March, 1978?), which the FTC required them to publish. Of course, STP was no longer owned by Studebaker-Worthington when the charges were filed.


Craig

[sgriggs]

Studebaker and STP in the news

An STP treatment for the wheels of justice, perhaps?

http://www.autonews.com/article/20180716/RETAIL/180719862/studebaker-justice-department

Justice Department ends a price-fixing judgment against STP that dates to the Kennedy administration. Wow.

Scott Griggs
Louisville, KY

[8E45E]

Mentioned here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...nst-Studebaker

Craig

[Jeffry Cassel]

One wonders how STP prices could be fixed???

[DEEPNHOCK]

I have four pages of notes from my phone conversations with Andy G (and the former STP VP of sales)
regarding the start of STP's initial sponsorship in NASCAR with Richard Petty.

Saving those for a future story....