When I think back to the most difficult period of my life, when I specialized in failure, I remember my job at Studebaker, a now-defunct car company.
Studebaker got its start in the 1800s as a manufacturer of farm wagons.
By the beginning of the automobile era in the early 1900s, the company began producing gasoline-powered cars. In fact, Central Utah Motors in Provo, Utah, where I more or less worked, had a vintage 1906 of his that was restored and taken out for special occasions like summer parades.
Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s (the 1941 model was the last generally available until the 1946 model was released by all manufacturers), Studebaker produced high-quality, mid-priced cars. However, when World War II began, they began manufacturing munitions for the war effort.
Americans treasured every car they owned, and tires and gas were in short supply. I remember the “E” sticker that gave my dad the right to his 3 gallons a week.
Therefore, when the information came out that a completely new car would be produced again, the design teams of all manufacturers tried to outperform the competition. As an elementary school student in Alaska, I remember seeing a new car and how modern it was.
By 1950, Studebakers had evolved into odd-looking vehicles with very streamlined “bullet noses” and wraparound rear windows. they were completely different.
But not only has Studebaker changed, so has the competition.
More powerful and redesigned engines came along and the “big three” (GM, Chrysler, Ford) took over the lead, making it very difficult for some of the older stalwarts to catch up.
Studebaker merged with Packard and Nash merged with Hudson. These were not marriages of love and produced strange cars that no one wanted.
It reminds me of a 1956 Packard. It looked like it had been cobbled together after a night on the town. It was ugly and unsellable, but thankfully a friend offered me a home construction job at an amazing wage of $2 an hour. I started driving nails instead of Studebakers.
I kept in touch with some friends there and they told me that the company was planning to put a new car on the market and it was very confidential. None of the public knew what the amazing new car was going to be, but the dealership was going to be completely redone, new paint, new fixtures, whatever.
I was excited myself until everything was revealed.
The grand opening was attended by local radio stations, giant searchlights circling the sky, and the mayor and city council members in attendance. oh! Well, it had to be something special. And that was kind of special. The new car was an Edsel!
I think it’s much more valuable as a collector’s item than a dream car.
And today there is a new dream car: electric cars.
Does anyone really know how much a new battery set costs? If we all drove electric cars, what would our household electricity bills be? I doubt it would get any cheaper.
Oh, and one more thing — how long does an electrical extension cord need to be?