Oldest auto manufacturer?

[wlfrench]

At the beginning of the 1964 model year was Studebaker the oldest auto maker in the U.S.?

[jclary]

Not sure if you use the term "Auto." However, using the term "vehicle," would probably win hands down since they incorporated in 1852.

[Coupe Express]

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's1901 Mercedes and to Karl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, is widely regarded as the first gasoline-powered automobile.

[Stu Chapman]

IIRC the first Studebaker auto was built in 1902.

Stu Chapman

[wlfrench]

U.S auto manufacture. Studebaker's first car was in 1902 I believe. Who else was making cars in 1902 and was still doing it in 1964?

[8E45E]

Not sure if you are asking about self-propelled 'made in USA' vehicles, or what was available on the market in the USA at the beginning of the 1964 model year. It would have been Oldsmobile as far as a US-based manufacturer who started producing automobiles since 1897, but as the poster above states, Daimler Benz holds that credit, as the were marketed in the US at the time (by none other than Studebaker Corporation.) And Rambler started producing its first car in 1902 the same year Studebaker did.

If this only pertains to self-propelled vehicles made in the USA, Oldsmobile held on to the title from 1897 until 2004 as the longest continuous marque when GM dissolved the division and dropped the name. Ford didn't get incorporated until 1903, although Henry produced his first working prototype in 1896. I believe Cadillac might be holding on to the title today for longest US marque (1901).

Craig