EDIT Monday, October 31: The Broadmoor info is erroneous; see Post #12.
By way of education: It cannot be overstressed, the extreme disadvantage Studebaker dealers faced as to pricing, and how it contributed to Studebaker's sales problems after the bullet-nose era, getting worse as the 1950s wore on.
To wit: The paperwork with Matthew Burnette's "new" 1957 Boradmoor wagon indictes it had a total retail price of $3,921 when new, which sounds about right. After all, the base price on a 1957 Broadmoor was $3,415, and his has a ton of options on it, plus freight.
Let's compare that with the top-line 1957 Ford V-8, three-seat wagon, the Country Squire.
I ran the numbers on an identically-equipped 1957 Ford Country Squire, and the total MSRP was $3,508! Now that's a Country Squire with woodgrain sides, not available on Studebaker Broadmoors...and a three-seat wagon to boot. [Limited-slip differential was not available on 1957 Fords, so I added in/included the 1959 Ford Equa-Lock price ($39) to keep the comparison as fair as possible.]
A more accurate comparison would be to a 6-passenger 1957 Ford V8 Country Sedan, the same wagon as a Country Squire but with no woodgrain...and with no third seat, since one is not indicated on Matthew's new ride, either. The Country Sedan tallies to only $3,275 when equipped exactly as is Matthew's $3,921 Broadmoor!
Consider: The well-equipped Ford Country Sedan is $140 less than the base Broadmoor with straight three-speed, no power anything, etc.
Ouch.
Not that it makes any difference now, but younger Studebaker students need to know this primary reason (terribly uncompetitive prices) why Studebaker had such a tough time staying alive in the 1950s.
And when you compare the prices, it also helps explain why Ford sold
135,251 1957 V8, 6-passenger 1957 Country Sedans,
versus Studebaker's production and sale of 1,530 Broadmoors.
Gulp. BP
By way of education: It cannot be overstressed, the extreme disadvantage Studebaker dealers faced as to pricing, and how it contributed to Studebaker's sales problems after the bullet-nose era, getting worse as the 1950s wore on.
To wit: The paperwork with Matthew Burnette's "new" 1957 Boradmoor wagon indictes it had a total retail price of $3,921 when new, which sounds about right. After all, the base price on a 1957 Broadmoor was $3,415, and his has a ton of options on it, plus freight.
Let's compare that with the top-line 1957 Ford V-8, three-seat wagon, the Country Squire.
I ran the numbers on an identically-equipped 1957 Ford Country Squire, and the total MSRP was $3,508! Now that's a Country Squire with woodgrain sides, not available on Studebaker Broadmoors...and a three-seat wagon to boot. [Limited-slip differential was not available on 1957 Fords, so I added in/included the 1959 Ford Equa-Lock price ($39) to keep the comparison as fair as possible.]
A more accurate comparison would be to a 6-passenger 1957 Ford V8 Country Sedan, the same wagon as a Country Squire but with no woodgrain...and with no third seat, since one is not indicated on Matthew's new ride, either. The Country Sedan tallies to only $3,275 when equipped exactly as is Matthew's $3,921 Broadmoor!
Consider: The well-equipped Ford Country Sedan is $140 less than the base Broadmoor with straight three-speed, no power anything, etc.
Ouch.
Not that it makes any difference now, but younger Studebaker students need to know this primary reason (terribly uncompetitive prices) why Studebaker had such a tough time staying alive in the 1950s.
And when you compare the prices, it also helps explain why Ford sold
135,251 1957 V8, 6-passenger 1957 Country Sedans,
versus Studebaker's production and sale of 1,530 Broadmoors.
Gulp. BP
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