Studebaker: South Bend’s Automotive Legacy

Few American automakers have a story as long — or as surprising — as Studebaker. The company started not with gasoline engines but with horse-drawn wagons. Founded in 1852 in South Bend, Indiana, the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company built its reputation supplying wagons to settlers heading west, and later to the Union Army during the Civil War. By the early 1900s, Studebaker had pivoted to automobiles, making it one of the few carriage manufacturers to successfully navigate that transition.

The Golden Era

Studebaker’s postwar designs are what most collectors remember. Commissioned from industrial designer Raymond Loewy’s studio, the late 1940s and 1950s models were genuinely ahead of their time. The 1950 Starlite Coupe (above) turned heads for its wraparound rear window — a panoramic glass feature that no other production car offered at the time.

The 1953–54 Starliner hardtop, designed by Robert Bourke, is often cited by automotive historians as one of the most beautiful American cars ever produced. Its low roofline and clean, uncluttered sides were a generation ahead of the chrome-heavy styling that would dominate Detroit in the late 1950s. Motor Trend and other publications of the era praised it effusively — and European car makers took notice.

Studebaker’s 1950 full-size lineup offered genuine craftsmanship at a competitive price, with well-appointed sedans that could hold their own against offerings from Ford and General Motors. While Studebaker never had the production volume to truly match the Big Three, the quality of the cars spoke for itself.

The End of the Line

Studebaker struggled through the 1950s as competition intensified. A merger with Packard in 1954 provided temporary relief but ultimately failed to save either brand. Production moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1963 and ceased entirely in March 1966, when the last Studebaker Cruiser rolled off the line.

Visit the Studebaker National Museum

If you want to see Studebaker’s full story in one place, the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana is well worth the trip.

201 Chapin Street, South Bend, IN 46601

The museum holds more than 70 vehicles tracing the company’s complete history, from an 1835 Conestoga wagon to that final 1966 Cruiser. One of the most unexpected highlights is the collection of U.S. Presidential carriages — Studebaker was a major carriage supplier before it built cars, and the museum holds the carriage Abraham Lincoln rode on the night he was shot at Ford’s Theatre. It is the largest collection of Presidential carriages in the world.