It is a dreary rainy day here, so I decided to try to clean the basement. Not making much progress, as I keep getting sidetracked everytime I dig something out. Case in point, I found a copy of the notice to Studebaker shareholders on the advantages of the merger with Packard, dated July 9, 1954. One interesing fact documented is the falling market share of the company:
Year................Studebaker............Packard...........Combined
1947..................3.2%.....................1.5%..............4.7%
1948..................4.0%.....................2.5%..............6.5%
1949..................4.4%.....................2.1%..............6.5%
1950..................4.0%.....................1.1%..............5.1%
1951..................4.2%.....................1.4%..............5.6%
1952..................3.7%.....................1.4%..............5.1%
1953..................2.9%.....................1.3%..............4.2%
1954..................1.4%.....................0.9%..............2.3%
As can be seen, the combined company had a lower market share than just Packard alone had in '48. The combined companies saw their share drop by nearly 2/3rds in just five years. Really makes you see how fast things fell apart for both Studebaker and Packard.
The full report to shareholders trys to paint an optimistic picture. It talks of using the Mt.Vernon plant in California to produce Packards, starting auto production in New Jersey, and Packard producing all automatic transmissons.
I also dug up my box of old Automotive News from the '50s and '60s, so I will try to post some other interesting (well, interesting to ME at least) items as I come across them.
Year................Studebaker............Packard...........Combined
1947..................3.2%.....................1.5%..............4.7%
1948..................4.0%.....................2.5%..............6.5%
1949..................4.4%.....................2.1%..............6.5%
1950..................4.0%.....................1.1%..............5.1%
1951..................4.2%.....................1.4%..............5.6%
1952..................3.7%.....................1.4%..............5.1%
1953..................2.9%.....................1.3%..............4.2%
1954..................1.4%.....................0.9%..............2.3%
As can be seen, the combined company had a lower market share than just Packard alone had in '48. The combined companies saw their share drop by nearly 2/3rds in just five years. Really makes you see how fast things fell apart for both Studebaker and Packard.
The full report to shareholders trys to paint an optimistic picture. It talks of using the Mt.Vernon plant in California to produce Packards, starting auto production in New Jersey, and Packard producing all automatic transmissons.
I also dug up my box of old Automotive News from the '50s and '60s, so I will try to post some other interesting (well, interesting to ME at least) items as I come across them.
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