Bob Wondries Studebaker, Alhambra, CA.
Floyd Capito Studebaker, Estell MO (1947).
Jos. F. Stein Inc. Cadillac–Studebaker, Asbury Park NJ.
Arcure Motors, Ann Arbor MI (An additional view of Arcure Motors appeared previously).
Old Hickory Motor Co., Studebaker–Mercedes-Benz, Durham NC.
Garnes-Burson Motor Co. Studebaker, Gadsden, AL.
My dad worked for Raymond Loewy so we were a Studebaker family until they left the business. I still remember when he drove Loewy’s Avanti back from the factory. He was supposed to get back to Long Island sometime in the evening but arrive many hours early – he was an earnest lead foot…. (my dad was the head of the team that designed the Avanti).
A real insider! I’ve seen many pictures of your proud dad along with Loewy in the Palm Springs house where they did the Avanti.
One just has to wonder how the Jos. F. Stein Inc. Cadillac–Studebaker, Asbury Park NJ. franchises came to be paired.
Was it a Cadillac dealership that took on Studebaker to have entry-price market coverage?
Or a Studebaker dealership who had the opportunity to buy out a stand-alone Cadillac franchise not paired with Pontiac or Oldsmobile as was usual practice?
Guess we’ll never know…
Once Studebaker was out of the picture, I’m sure Mr Stein was happy to have the Cadillac dealership to hold on to.
Same with Old Hickory. If shrewd, held on to Mercedes. May have come out ahead in the long run.
And the remaining dealerships. Were they able to pick up another franchise when the Studebaker Packard merger failed. I would image the Big Three cherry picked dealerships to fill in voids of coverage.
Mercedes-Benz struck a distribution deal with Studebaker-Packard that resulted in many S-P dealers selling Benzes from 1956 to sometime between 1963 and ’65, when MBUSA was formed. That is almost surely how Old Hickory got into M-B sales. Many current Mercedes-Benz dealerships were previously Studebaker or Packard dealerships, including local American Service Center (now called Mercedes-Benz of Arlington)
la673
The 2 largest Studebaker dealers in the Close-up DC metro area were ASC in Arlington, and McNey Motors in Bethesda, both took on the M/B franchise, as did Benson Motors in Annapolis.
Dan Webber, the local Studebaker parts buyer/seller, and I [Packard parts] bought out the remaining Stude & Packard parts, literature, and ephemera, from all 3 locations.
I still have a sign from ASC, from the entrance to the parts department. In the early ’70s I got a call from a friend at McNey telling me to bring my truck right away to the dealership, as they had been told by MBUSA to discard anything relating to Studebaker and Packard. He carefully set signs, photos, literature, parts books and lots more into the big dumpster out back, where I grabbed it all.
The attached photo shows a large color print from Mr. McNey’s office entitled “Mercedes Benz around the world”, showing M-B cars & trucks being unloaded from a big cargo ship. Below the title is a note that M-B cars are distributed by Studebaker-Packard.
In 1972-73 I was stationed at Ft Dix, NJ. and looking for S-P NOS parts to buy. I had a Studebaker-Packard dealership master list from 1958, and I spent many weekends searching for S-P dealerships in New Jersey, looking for parts inventories to buy. This dealership was not in the list of dealerships I had.
I know the Joe Stein automobile company from research I did into the company’s history, as they had been a Packard dealership in the 1920s [along with many other car makes] prior to taking on Cadillac in 1933. Soon after this 1951 photo was taken, GM offered Mr Stein a Pontiac franchise, and soon the showroom was filled with new 1952 Cadillacs and Pontiacs!
Note: This Jos. F. Stein is sometimes confused with another Jos. F. Stein who founded what became one of the most successful menswear companies in America with 91 stores; Stein’s Clothiers, later becoming Richmond Bros Menswear.
Top Photo:
Dig that Studebaker convertible parked on the street.
Just think what the neighbors would say!! 😉
We lived in an apartment on Hartwick Rd. in College Park, MD in the mid-’00s, unaware at the time it was just a block and a half away from the former Nelson Motors Studebaker at 7215 Baltimore Ave. They were there from at least 1949, and in late 1957 became Bowman Edsel (Bowman also operated a Studebaker/Packard dealership at 7530 Georgia Ave NW DC). That obviously didn’t work out, but the building still stands as a Zips dry cleaner. The service bay doors and the showroom area are still clear today. I’ve found many references but no photos of its time as a car dealership.
The popular R.J. Bentley’s pub a half block away at 7323 Baltimore Ave. was College Park Auto Place, a Hudson/Terraplane dealership. Also just down the street at 6801 was Herman Follin Packard, now Follin Guest House/hotel. There are several photos of both of those dealerships online.
la673,
If I remember right, Follin Packard became the FIAT dealership, and until the mid 1970s the north side of the building still had the faded painted sign “Follin Packard” in black lettering, however the letters were painted over when the building was repainted.
In the late 1960s, my best friend and I, both Packard owners and still in high school, made several visits to interview Mrs. Foillin at her guest home, a very large house at the top of a hill on US route 1. She was a gracious [but no-nonsense] lady who had multiple old photo books, many featuring Packards. I don’t know what happened to all the Packard items she had, when I returned from my US Army European tour in 1975, Mrs. Follin was deceased & everything was gone.
Are you still in the mid-Atlantic area? We live near the Bay Bridge where the Magothy River empties into the bay [we can sit on the beach and had a ringside seat to watch the progress of freeing the “Everstuck” ship last year]. If you are still in the area, or visit from time to time, perhaps you might be interested in having lunch sometime.
I will never not be fascinated by Mercedes’ choice of Studebaker for their US distribution from 1958-1963. According to some sources I found, Mercedes was selling 1000-2000 cars per year before the Studebaker deal, and by 1963 Studebaker dealers were selling somewhere around 20,000 Mercedes per year. The deal made a great deal of sense for both parties, but at the same time, I can’t imagine walking into a dealer to buy a $9000 300SL, parked on the showroom floor right next to a $1600 Scotsman pickup.
If the $9000 SL and $1600 pickup were in 2024 dollars, I’d buy one of each. 😀
Evan,
From the photos I’ve seen and in talking to various S-P people, most S-P dealers didn’t have any 300 series cars in stock, not even the 300 sedans [both Adenauer and fin type]. The more rural dealers typically had 180 and 190 sedans in stock – mostly petrol fuel, 1 or 2 220 sedans, perhaps a 220 coupe, and on rare occasions a 220 cabriolet. Typically only dealerships in the larger cities had the more expensive cars.
I’ve spoken with former S-P dealership owners who [with WW2 still fresh in their memories] refused to stock or order M-B vehicles.
My ’59 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman was sold at Stewart Motors on Central Ave. in Phoenix.
It was a Studebaker DeSoto pairing. The building was built just after WWII with a curved glass corner and a turntable within that could show off the latest to all.
It was 1954 or early 1955. I think Mom drove a two door 1952-53 Plymouth/Desoto, and Dad drove a 1951 Studebaker two door. Hard to remember but I was only four years old. Mom’s car was totaled. I was in the back seat, we were stopped at an intersection. A motorcycle was hit and landed on our hood. I remember Mom saying keep my eyes shut.
About the same time Air Force Dad fell out of his Studebaker, or that what I was told. I remember we were at Walter Reed Hospital same time President was there and security was tight. Turned out they found Dad had cancer, but he kept his flying status until he retired in the mid-60s, and lived until the mid-90s.
Remember riding with Dad in that Studebaker and thinking what a unique car with its wrap-around back glass.
Many decades later, Danbury Mint offered a members only 1:24 scale model of Dad’s Studebaker in the same color (limited Edition). I had been buying many DM scale model cars but not a “Members Club”. I called DM, explained my history with this auto, they found one remaining diecast model and sold it to me.
Great photo selections, as always Rich. The lead photo, is especially attractive. A very elegantly and beautifully presented showroom. Particularly well done, for an independent car maker.
Toss up between Alhambra, CA and Asbury Park, NJ for my favorite dealer.
Really cool shots of the car I lusted after in high school: the ’51 Studebaker.
Interestingly, Bob Wondries emigrated from South Bend to SoCal to (smartly) enter the industry – according to his obituary, his father was president of Studebaker!
The showroom (opened in 1947) became a dual brand store when he took an Edsel franchise… curiously it wasn’t until 1967 when he bought the local Ford dealer out (which just closed last year) and eventually owned or coowned a number of other dealerships.
The pictured location above (1333 Main Street) became Wondries Toyota but the original building is sadly gone.
Here’s what the Old Hickory Motor site looks like now. Old Hickory kept the Mercedes franchise for a few years after Studebaker’s demise, but then obtained a Toyota franchise and in the early 1970s moved to a larger site between Durham and Chapel Hill.
The former building served as an auto parts store for a few decades. Now it’s a Mexican western wear store.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/WTgDhMzqEUowdZAH7
Lovely buildings .
-Nate