In 1963, Sherwood Egbert had the interiors of some of the South Bend Studebaker factory buildings painted grey and white to brighten them up, and boost production workers morale. I believe he wanted the interior of Studebaker dealership buildings around the country painted in a similar fashion. I remember that shortly before 1964 new car introduction time, the Studebaker dealer in my area indeed painted his showroom in a grey/white scheme. Then the 1964 showroom banners and large 'lazy S' displays were added, really making the place look nice. Studebaker may have helped their dealers by covering part of the cost for this. Does anyone else remember their local Stude dealers showroom re-painted in a grey/white scheme around the 1964 new car introduction time?
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Our local Stude dealer had one of the most beautiful oversized Lark emblems painted on the side of his dealership.. The building was not much but that painting graced highway 280 for many years, only until just a few months ago.. -
The company issued a brochure at that time recommending (requiring?) dealers to adopt standardized decor and signage, and provided a package of decals with the red/white/blue color scheme and new font for use on counters, etc. I think SI may still have a supply of the brochures for sale. Don't have my catalog handy, so can't check.Skip LackieComment
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It was part of the Uniform Identity Program where dealers adopted common signage and color schemes. Much like what we see at auto dealerships today.
Chris.Comment
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The factory had a lot more colors than just gray and white. Various colors were used not only to liven up the plant but was also a way to separate departments. For example, the casting floor in the foundry was green.Chris DresbachComment
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Somewhere I read that left over truck paint was used to paint the inside of the factory and that Mr. Egbert convinced workers to do it on their own time. I don't know if this is correct or not. To me, it seems like the Union would of have an issue with that.
Mr. BillComment
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I heard about Egbert's 'paint the place on your own time' idea........but I strongly doubt if anything like that ever took place!Originally posted by Mr. Bill View PostComment
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I do know that the paint used in the factory was leftover car and truck paint. When I led a tour through the foundry a few years back there were several cans of paint sitting in there.Chris DresbachComment
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I remember mentioning in about 1963 to the dealer that sold us our '59 Lark about the neat stuff Egbert was doing including a new and uniform paint scheme for the dealership. He snorted and replied that it will take more than paint to save this sinking ship. As a then 20 year old Studephile, that took the wind out of my sails. But he was correct in his assessment. The following year the small dealership closed up shop and he went to work selling Chevys at a large dealershipComment
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Not old enough to remember any showrooms, but I spent much time in Buildings 53 & 58 over the years when it was N&A Parts, and remember seeing some of the paint inside and wondering if it had been applied during Egbert's spruce up program.Comment
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The painting and cleanup is disscussed in the following videos.
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Good point! All Toyota and Honda dealerships in my area look almost exactly alike. (building colors, signs, seem to always be located near highways, etc.)Originally posted by stude dude View PostComment
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