| 1910 Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company purchases the Everitt-Metzger-Flanders Company, an automobile manufacturer in Detroit, and is renamed The Studebaker Corporation.
1911- 1915 Albert Russel Erskine joins the company, and rises to first vice president by 1913. He is made president in July, 1915. 1914- 1918 Studebaker enters World War I, when the British government places an initial order for 3,000 wagons. Additional orders come in from England and are joined by orders from France and Russia, and eventually the United States upon its entry into the War. Items supplied eventually include equipage ambulances, artillery carriages, bayonet scabbards, staff cars, and caterpillars. 1920 All horse-drawn vehicle operations are liquidated in 1919 except for wagons, farm trucks, and harnesses. These final operations are discontinued in 1920. Meanwhile, automobile production is moved from Detroit to South Bend, Indiana. 1925 Studebaker introduces four-wheel hydraulic brakes into its automobiles. This was considered controversial at the time, as it was thought by many to be unsafe to stop so quickly. 1927 Studebaker celebrates its Diamond Jubilee on January 2. 1928 The luxury car manufacturer Pierce-Arrow is purchased, and allows Studebaker to offer cars at all price ranges. 1933- 1935 Unable to avoid the effects of the great depression, Studebaker goes into receivership March 21, 1933. President Albert Erskine, despondent, commits suicide on July 1, 1933. Studebaker is finally released from receivership on March 9, 1935. 1936 Raymond Loewy begins his association with Studebaker. Raymond Loewy Associates will hold the design account until 1955. 1939- 1945 Studebaker production supports allied demands in World War II. Starting with an order placed by the French government in November, 1939, for 2,000 trucks, Studebaker also supplies trucks to Belgium and Holland. Ironically, many of these trucks are used in the German army upon France's surrender in 1940. Trucks are also supplied to Russia as a result of the Lend-Lease Act. Upon the United States' entry into the War, passenger car production ceases on January 31, 1942 and Studebaker's assembly lines turn out military trucks, engines for Boeing B-17s, and an amphibious personnel carrier known as the Weasel. 1950 Introduction of the famous "bullet nose" design. 1952 Studebaker celebrates its first 100 years of business. 1953 The "Loewy coupe" is introduced. 1954 Studebaker merges with Packard. 1956 Introduction of the Hawk line. 1958 The last Packard is produced, but the name remains on the corporate banner until 1962. |