Studebaker-Packard Corporation
The Studebaker-Packard Corporation was the entity created at the time of Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana merged into the Packard Corporation of Detroit, Michigan, in 1954. In effect, Packard actually acquired Studebaker in the transaction. While Studebaker was the larger of the two companies, Packard's balance sheet and Executive team were stronger than the South Bend, Indiana company's.
It was hoped that Packard would benefit from Studebaker's larger dealer network. Studebaker hoped to gain through the additional strength that Packard's cash position could provide. Once both companies stabilized their balance sheets and strengthened their product line, it was hoped that they would join American Motors Corporation. However the death of AMC’s George Mason, and the selection of George Romney as his successor doomed any chance of the proposed merger.
Packard executives soon discovered that Studebaker had not been forth coming in all of its financial and sales records. The situation was more dire then Packard's James Nance and his team were lead to believe. Furthering problems was the loss of about 30% of Studebaker's dealer network by 1956.
Following a disastrous sales year in 1956, Packard production in Detroit was stopped and all efforts were shifted to South Bend, where future Packard’s (1957, 1958) were essentially Studebaker's with excessive amounts of bright work. The vehicles were referred to as Packardbakers by comedians. The final Packard rolled off the assembly line in 1958.
The one bright spot of the merger was that it forced Studebaker-Packard into a distribution agreement with Daimler Benz, both for the income that Mercedes-Benz could add to the company's bottom line and as another product that the increasingly disgruntled Studebaker dealer network could sell.
Studebaker-Packard Corporation made on last stab at resurrecting the Packard nameplate, that would have badge engineered the Franco-American Facel-Vega four door sedan, the Facel-Vega Excellence as a Packard. The plans fell through when Daimler Benz demanded that Studebaker-Packard cease with the plans or risk loosing its German partner.
In 1960, the company began diverisfication efforts by buying:
- D.W. Onan & Sons - Generators
- Cincinnati Testing Labs - Plastics Research
- Gering Plastics - Plastics Manufacture
- Clarke Floor Machine Company - Fork Lifts, etc.
- Gravely Tractors - Quality lawnmowers
- Chemical Compounds Company - Maker of STP additives
In 1962, four years after the last "Packard" rolled off the assembly line, and eight years following the merger between Packard and Studebaker, the company dropped Packard from its legal name and reverted to the Studebaker Corporation.