Question for Stu Chapman regarding Canadian Studebakers

[Scott]

Instead of asking this in a private message, I decided to ask this on the forum, since the answers might be of interest to others. As we all know, the major car companies used to give Canadian built models completely different names from their US counterparts. (Do they still?) I do not think Studebaker ever did this. As they were all built in Canada in 1965-66 it is a moot point, but for earlier years why didn't Studebaker follow what the other companies were doing? Cost, or just a different philosophy? Why did the other companies think it was such a necessary part of their Canadian marketing? Would Studebaker have done any better following their example in Canada? In 1965-66 was there any thought given to new names for US vs. Canadian models (I would guess not, since there was so little money for advertising as it was)?

The strange thing to me is that if you look at the marketing of the big three in Canada you would almost assume there was a RULE that Canadian cars have different names. Were there (are there) legal reasons for this? Studebaker had some minor hardware (steering wheel, etc.) differences, but it stopped there.

It's funny to imagine the Canadian version of the President - the Prime Minister!

[RadioRoy]

In addition to different names, the Canadian models of the big three had different trim, grills, tail lights and so forth.

[8E45E]

Yes, Canada did have a line of Pontiacs with their own model names on cars that were based on Chevrolet chassis, and Ford did have the Monarch and Meteor lines in the 1950's. The Monarch was based on the Mercury body and sold at Ford dealers, and the Meteor was based on the Ford body, and sold at Mercury dealers in Canada, and continued until 1961 for both lines. The Meteor did continue on after 1963 when it started to use the Mercury Monterey body and expanded the line with different trim levels (Rideau, Montcalm, LeMoyne) up into the early 1980's. Chrysler never really had anything special to their Canadian lineup, unless one counts the Plymouth Caravelle, which was a higher trimmed Volare/Aspen like the Diplomat and LeBaron. AMC never had anything special to the Canadian market as their market was never large enough to support a separate marque unique to Canada, and I suspect it would be the same for Studebaker.

Studebaker did offer a Custom Wagonaire in Canada in 1963, and some Silver Hawk hardtops in 1957/8 (mentioned here : http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...stom+wagonaire , but then, there were some models that weren't sold in Canada including the 1963 Standard and 1964 Challenger. One thing Studebakers did have were Canadian titles in some their of 1965 and 1966 color names, though. (Yukon Gold, Yellowknife Gold, Mount Royal Red, Niagara Blue Mist, Algonquin Green, etc.)

Craig

[Stu Chapman]

Craig Parslow has already provided almost all the comments I could make, except that Chrysler offered an extended line of Canadian Dodge models in the fifties. They were essentially identical to Plymouth except for the front clip which was the same as the big Dodges. We had one of those in 1957 and I show a shot of it in my book.

Craig's note about the Canadian color names brings back memories. Marketing-wise, we decided to promote our cars sold in Canada as "Canada's Own Car", hence the Canadian-oriented color names, all of which were worked out in my department and were approved unanimously by our senior management Operating Committee. There were some in the U.S. who didn't initially buy into this decision but nonetheless accepted it.

On a side note, Thelma and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening yesterday with Craig and several members of the Foothills Chapter in Calgary, during our current visit in Alberta.

Stu Chapman




Stu chapman

[8E45E]

Chrysler offered an extended line of Canadian Dodge models in the fifties.

Yep, forgot to include the 50's Canadian 'Plodges'; the Crusader, Regent, Mayfair and Viscount models.

Thanks,

Craig

[paul shuffleburg]

Then there was the Fargo pickup.

[8E45E]

Then there was the Fargo pickup.

And the Mercury pickup. And not just 'pickups'; the line for Fargo as well as Mercury was matched line-for-line with the corresponding Dodges and Fords all the way up into the medium-duty ranges.

A big reason why Studebaker trucks were such a 'hard sell' for dealers here in Canada. Besides a far LESS market for trucks than the U.S., there were two MORE lines of trucks available from the (once) Big Three in Canada.

Craig

[Scott]

Thank you, Stu. I like the Canadian themed colors for 1966 (my Cruiser is/was Yellowknife gold with an old inferior repaint). I take it that Studebaker just did not think it was necessary to have specialized trim and model names for the Canadian market despite what the big 3 were doing.

In reference to Craig's post, I actually did once see a 1957 Silver Hawk hardtop in great shape in a garage in Fremont, Cal. in the late 1980s. It was really close to my house, but I never did meet the owner. I wonder where it is now.

[studegary]

I seem to remember Caravelles being sold here in the USA. I will leave it to someone else to verify or disprove my memory.

[2moredoors]

Yep, forgot to include the 50's Canadian 'Plodges'; the Crusader, Regent, Mayfair and Viscount models.
Craig

In the early 1940's the Dodge Kingsway was just a dressed up Plymouth. My brother in law has one and we used some chrome from my '41 Plymouth for his '41 Dodge.

[2moredoors]

In addition to different names, the Canadian models of the big three had different trim, grills, tail lights and so forth.

Up to the mid fifty's Canadian built Studebakers had a Maple Leaf emblem on the glove compartment. I have an emblem and was thinking of putting it on my '55 President Deluxe, only no Deluxe model Presidents were built in Canada.

[StudeNewby]

I believe Hemmings Classic Car had a story about the Canadian-specific models some time back. This story from the New York Times does a nice job of explaining the reasons for the distinctions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/automobiles/collectibles/canadian-cousins-with-fleur-de-lis-and-mixed-genes.html?_r=0

[Scott]

Wow. That's a very well researched article.

[8E45E]

I believe Hemmings Classic Car had a story about the Canadian-specific models some time back.

Try and find a copy: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2...ars-1946-1984/

Craig

[Bob Andrews]

Unless I missed it I still didn't see the answer to the original question, which was, was there a reason why Studebaker didn't change their model names once they were all built in Canada?