Studebaker & Audi (Auto Union)????????????????

[Dick LeRoux]

I'm sure many of you, like me, have Hagerty's insurance for their Studebakers and receive the admirable Hagerty's Drivers Club magazine. Today, while reading issue #78, the March-April 2023 issue, on page 30 I came across:

"Through research into the post-war history of Auto Union, I found that the marque was sold in the U.S. in limited quantities through Studebaker dealers; Daimler-Benz, which owned Auto Union at the time, had an agreement with Studebaker-Packard to sell its cars.


I have been well aware of the Mercedes Benz / Studebaker relationship that has often been mentioned and know the Mercedes influences in my Avanti's transmission and door locks, but this is the first time I've ever heard mention of a Studebaker / Audi (Auto Union) agreement. Studebaker / Nissan potential agreement ruined by none other than Richard Nixon? Yes I'm aware of that, but this Audi relationship came across as news to me. Is this something that others are aware of or are "some" of you as surprised?

[r1lark]

From Wikipedia:
In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union. After World War II, DKW moved to West Germany. Auto Union came under Daimler-Benz ownership in 1957 and was purchased by the Volkswagen Group in 1964. The last German-built DKW car was the F102, which ceased production in 1966. Its successor, the four-stroke F103, was marketed under the Audi brand, another Auto Union marque.

Studebaker-Packard dealers who held a M-B franchise were able to sell the DKW and Auto Union cars was because they were part of the M-B holdings. For example, my family's Studebaker-Packard dealership also sold Mercedes Benz, DKWs, and Auto Union cars. The DKW Juniors they sold were 1960 thru 1963 models, and the Auto Union 1000s they sold were 1960 thru 1962 models.

Without pulling the franchise agreements, I don't remember if there were separate franchise agreements for the DKW and Auto Union cars, or if they were covered under the Mercedes-Benz franchise agreement.

[6hk71400]

Back in 1968 when I was 16 and got my first Studebaker ($150 for overdrive equipped Speedster) there were in the front yard 3 DKW two stroke powered cars. First and last time I saw them. Never made the connection but I am sure they were sold in Phoenix Phoenix in the 50's and 60's several import dealers that were not connected with factory representation. There was a Citroen and Peugeot dealers as well as others. I vaguely remember one that was "Max of Switzerland" that handled many makes.

[ronpasquale]

In South Bend during that time, it was very common to see DKW cars on the streets. We lived near many Studebaker managers who had DKW's parked in their driveways. I always wondered if they owned them or were driving them as their company cars. Or, maybe they were testing the front wheel drive on South Bend's snowy streets.