Javillac
After World War II, the largest global automobile market was the United States. Europe was then struggling to rebuild itself after the brutal conflict, and this was reflected in its cars. Meanwhile, in America, automobile manufacturing had resumed since 1945, after a break from the moment the country entered the conflict.
Since then, the main American automobile manufacturers have been presenting aesthetic and technological updates to their models practically year after year. V8 engines y automatic transmissions They quickly became commonplace on American cars from the late 40s.
Buyers soon became accustomed to these conveniences, and manufacturers with fewer resources, who were slow to incorporate this technology, were seriously affected commercially. Some examples of brands that suffered a decline in popularity and sales in those years were Hudson or Kaiser, which merged with other existing manufacturers in order to survive.
The same thing happened with two of America's oldest automakers. Packard, which had been a benchmark for what a luxury car could be, and had been manufacturing cars since 1899, and Studebaker, a company founded in 1852 and dedicated to manufacturing cars since 1902. These companies, which were also going through a bad economic times were forced to merge in 1954, thus founding the Studebaker-Packard Corporation.
Studebaker was the best stop on the deal, being able to introduce new models like the cutting-edge Avanti or Lark Wagonaire station wagons that had a sliding roof hatch in the cargo area. Packard, meanwhile, was able to introduce innovations such as a self-leveling torsion bar suspension system operated by an electric motor, for the 1955 models. However, this did not save the brand, which disappeared in 1958, with the range for that year being little more than restyled Studebaker models, something that was an insult to the most faithful of this historic firm.
Looking for new partners
Being an import car in the United States in the 50s was not an easy task. Technologically the cars made in America were, in general, much more advanced than those manufactured elsewhere on the planet. In addition, they were adapted to the needs of a country with an enormous extension and that was beginning to fall in love with its highways.
For this reason many European manufacturers did not try to build cars to compete with American models. Countries like the UK they had their own niche markets such as sports convertibles, whose production was mostly exported to the United States.
Despite this, some of the cheapest models in Europe managed to reach America in the 50s, such as the FIAT 600, the Renault 4CV and Dauphine, and of course, the Volkswagen Beetle, which in the following decades would become the most popular foreign-made car. But by then, they were ridiculed by the American public, who conceived of the automobile with the philosophy of "Bigger is better".
In this context Mercedes was in a rather peculiar position. With the exception of the innovative and sporty X, that they did come to America, Mercedes manufactured luxurious sedans at the time that they could compete with some of the American-made models.
One of the first Mercedes dealers in the United States was that of Max hoffman in New York, which has been importing the brand's cars since 1952. Sales of Mercedes until then in this country ranged between 1.000 and 2.000 units per year.
Meanwhile, the alliance between Packard and Studebaker was not proving fruitful at all. Studebaker was the company that provided the most jobs in South Bend, Ind. In addition, they manufactured essential defense materials during the development of the Cold War.
All this did not go unnoticed by the United States government, who did not want Studebaker to disappear. In 1956, the White House helped set up a deal with an aircraft engine manufacturer called Curtiss-Wright, which received military inventory and some facilities from Studebaker, while Packard-Studebaker received $35 million at the time, but Packard would have to disappear.
Trying to save two national brands
Curtiss-Wright had production agreements with Daimler-Benz's aircraft engine division. With the imminent demise of packardCurtiss-Wright president Roy Hurley thought it would be a great idea to use Studebaker dealerships to sell luxury Mercedes-Benz cars.
Until now, Mercedes cars were sold in the luxurious facilities of Max Hoffman. Quite a contrast compared to the smaller Studebaker dealerships. Something that made German executives quite reluctant to change. But Hoffman sold few cars a year, and Studebaker had more than 2.500 dealerships around the United States, a reason that convinced Mercedes-Benz, which announced their agreement in April 1957.
However, the deal did not go as expected. Very few dealers accepted the Mercedes franchise. In addition, the mechanics who worked on these were not familiar with the technology used in the new cars. That At this time he began to use the sophisticated mechanical fuel injection, so specialized mechanics had to be brought in from Germany.
It did not help that the price of these cars was higher than any Studebaker product, whose most expensive car cost $2.495, a big difference compared to 3.240 and 13.655 between which was the Mercedes range in America.
Apart from the large outlay to buy a Mercedes in the United States, most cars sold were not equipped with automatic transmission, a preferred option for American buyers, and that manufacturers such as Cadillac or Lincoln already equipped in their series cars.
As a curiosity, this time gave a peculiar prototype to replace the Mercedes W120 known as "Pontoon” for its bodywork, which in the eyes of the American market was somewhat outdated, compared to the large-finned cars that were manufactured in the country at the end of the 50s. The prototype presented was the W122. Reminiscent of certain elements of a 1956 European-style Packard, combining American and European elements in this bodywork.
The Mercedes-Benz alternative
In 1959 the modern Mercedes W111 appears. With small rear fins, inspired by the fashion that began in the United States, which in Spain he got the nickname of "Drives". With this innovative model, plans to continue with the development of the W122 are completely ruled out.
A last attempt to revive Packard came in 1959. And again an ally was sought in Europe, this time in France with Facel-Vega. Redesigning the Excellance models by equipping them with the powerful V8 engine developed by Packard in 1956. However, Mercedes-Benz opposed these plans that did not benefit them at all.
Finally, in 1964, the agreement between Mercedes and Studebaker came to an end. By then the sales of the German brand in the United States exceeded 20.000 per year, a success compared to the figures achieved prior to the alliance. In 1964, Mercedes-Benz paid Studebaker a figure between 4 and 9 million dollars that ended their commercial agreement, and Studebaker, would make its last vehicle in the United States in 1966.
Meanwhile some of the Studebaker dealerships where Mercedes were sold decided to continue selling German cars on their premises. Some of which still survive to this day. For 1965 Mercedes founds Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA). Which currently has more than 300 dealers, and that has only grown exponentially since then. A success story in the United States, which began on the last vestiges of two great brands that were in decline, Packard and Studebaker.
Photos: Mercedes-Benz / Studebaker / Volkswagen
