Studebakers oldest dealers

[Studebaker Wheel]

The Electric Garage in Woodland, California was listed in the top 10 of the oldest Studebaker dealerships in the nation when they received their 50^th anniversary plaque in 1960. They started selling electric vehicles in 1909 (ergo the company name) and received their Studebaker franchise the following year (8-16-10 to be exact).

I was fortunate to purchase the post card below in a recent ebay auction that shows the dealership as it looked in 1951. The plaque presentation image to Morris Pritchard is from the December 1960 issue of the Studebaker News. By the way anyone have a Studebaker sold new there?

Your quiz question. What dealership was the oldest, where was it located and when did it start selling Studebakers? This does not include those that began as Packard dealers and took on Studebaker in 1954-55.

[HAWK64]

Dick,
I believe Morris Pritchard attended the Indy Meet back in 1976 & he gave me his business card of the Electric Garage which I still have around here somewhere.

[clonelark]

So is the guy in the ally a Mercury salesman that parked his new Mercury in front of the Studebaker dealership?

[raprice]

So is the guy in the ally a Mercury salesman that parked his new Mercury in front of the Studebaker dealership?

To compensate, there's a nice Studebaker M class truck across the street.
Rog

[8E45E]

Your quiz question. What dealership was the oldest, where was it located and when did it start selling Studebakers?

Was it a dealer in Utah, selling wagons in the 1860's?

Craig

[StudeRich]

I know that A.J. Atran (or Antran?) in Arbuckle, CA was one of the oldest, but not sure if he was THE oldest.

I am not sure but I think his Father or Grandfather started in 1879.

I visited with his Son there, bought Parts and was given a "Studebaker's Oldest Dealer" Mug in 1979, yes he was still open selling Stude. & IH Parts and Service and still had a fair amount of Stude. Parts.

One thing I saw on a shelf I could not resist, was a NOS in the Box 1685777 H.D. Truck and Avanti Aluminum Cam Timing Gear.

[jclary]

Somewhere, I have a piece of literature, stating you can buy new Studebaker vehicles from "Repositories" in various cities. Was the word, "Repository" a term for "Dealer," used in the Horse Drawn era? Is it merely semantics, or was there some significant reason?

[Studebaker Wheel]

Studerich is the winner! Studebaker acknowledged Atran as the oldest having started selling horse drawn in 1889 and cars in 1907. See specifics in the two articles below.

[Studebaker Wheel]

Dick,
I believe Morris Pritchard attended the Indy Meet back in 1976 & he gave me his business card of the Electric Garage which I still have around here somewhere.

I met Morris at the first Long Beach meet in 1979. He had a lot of 1930s truck literature with him.

[Studebaker Wheel]

So is the guy in the ally a Mercury salesman that parked his new Mercury in front of the Studebaker dealership?

No, just a customer who had come in to trade that old Merc for a new Studebaker Commander V-8.

[Roscomacaw]

When JDP and I were collaborating in selling Studes on ebay, I trailered home a Lark from Sacramento that had been sold new by The Electric Garage. I kept both of the dealership license plate frames and have them hanging up in the garage.

[53k]

The Electric Garage in Woodland, California was listed in the top 10 of the oldest Studebaker dealerships in the nation when they received their 50^th anniversary plaque in 1960. They started selling electric vehicles in 1909 (ergo the company name) and received their Studebaker franchise the following year (8-16-10 to be exact).....

Was there any mention of Anderson Motors, Garnett, Kansas? The two Anderson brothers running the dealership when I used to stop by in the mid-60s told me that the dealership had been an Anderson family Studebaker dealership since before Studebaker made cars. They started as a Studebaker wagon dealer, but I don't know what year. They sold Studebakers right up to the end in 1966 and continued servicing them at least up through the late 80s. When I stopped there in 1991 both brothers had died and the only surviving heir, Sonny Anderson, had sold the business, by then a Ford dealership which the two brothers had taken in addition to Studebaker in the mid-60s. Sonny had remained as a Ford salesman.

Though Garnett was a small town (population 3,000+), the Andersons ran a very smart franchise and sold many Studebakers. One of the brothers told me that there were more Studebaker trucks registered in Anderson County than Ford, Dodge and Chevrolet trucks combined. They had also been given a contract by the State of Kansas to correct an annoying defect in the fleet of Lark station wagons that Kansas had bought. It seemed that whenever one of the Larks was driven on an unpaved road, the trailing dust cloud came in around the tailgate. The brothers devised a better set of seals and solved the problem.

I was talking to them about ordering me a car, but some things I wanted weren't offered any more. One brother told me that when they had a customer who wanted something that wasn't available on the Studebaker they wanted, he would simply walk in to the President's office and tell him what they wanted and they would get it.

When I talked to Sonny Anderson in 1991 he told me that he had just taken a 1951 Studebaker two-ton truck in trade on a new Ford truck. He also said that he had sold the Studebaker almost immediately. Sonny reminesced about the many Studebakers they had sold including Golden Hawks, Avantis and even Rural Routers. He told me that he had sold two 1960 convertibles the same day. He told me that he had a lot of artifacts from the Studebaker days and I had hoped to get back to him and get "the rest of the story", but never did.

[Studebaker Wheel]

When JDP and I were collaborating in selling Studes on ebay, I trailered home a Lark from Sacramento that had been sold new by The Electric Garage. I kept both of the dealership license plate frames and have them hanging up in the garage.

Obviously you have no need for two! Send the best one my way. Will reinbuse you for postage.

[Studebaker Wheel]

Paul (a.k.a 53K). The only Kansas dealer listed in the top 20 oldest was Stearns Auto Company in Hiawatha, KS. It started selling horse drawn in 1896 and cars on 1-17-10.

[53k]

Paul (a.k.a 53K). The only Kansas dealer listed in the top 20 oldest was Stearns Auto Company in Hiawatha, KS. It started selling horse drawn in 1896 and cars on 1-17-10.

Thanks. I wish I had been foresighted enough to get dates for the story.