Champion

Studebaker Corp. has a neat biography. Founded in 1852 by two bearded brothers who made wagons, it is the U.S.'s oldest vehicle maker. Its net sales once reached $166,000,000. It once employed famed Knute Rockne as a sort of supersalesman. When the company failed in 1933, after three years of refusing to admit the existence of Depression I, its grand old man, President Albert R. Erskine, went home and shot himself. Later, under former Vice Presidents Paul Hoffman and Harold S. Vance, it became the first automobile company to reorganize under famed Section 776.

Last week, still fecund at 87, this corporate oldster proudly brought forth an offspring: a new car, the Studebaker Champion, frankly designed to compete with Ford, Chevrolet and Plymouth in the low-price field. Other makers have tried for ten years to crash this field without success, and Studebaker itself has had two previous cracks at it with the Erskine and the Rockne.

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler today control 90% of the U. S. car market. Studebaker, Packard, Nash, Hudson and the few other remaining independents survive on 9% of the dwindling medium-price field. Since Studebaker emerged from 776 in 1935, Messrs. Hoffman and Vance, now president and chairman respectively, have been pondering this squeeze (on sales of 52,000 medium-priced cars in 1938 they lost $1,700,000). They decided the public would not buy any car smaller or less powerful than Ford, Chevrolet or Plymouth (vide the Austin and Willys). They knew they could not compete with the big three in price. But they discovered that the driving public remained dissatisfied with automobile economy. Result is the new Champion, which has approximately the size of Ford, the power of Chevrolet and the price of Plymouth, but beats all three, claim Messrs. Hoffman and Vance, by 20 to 30% in operating economy.

Nothing slows up a champion like excess weight; nothing eats up gas like a heavy car. The Studebaker Champion has been trained down by smart engineering until it weighs 500 Ib. less than its rivals. Studebaker swears this has brought no structural weakness, no less safety. Most of the weight was saved in the engine and frame assembly, little taken from the body, in order to avoid the charge of being "tinny." Design is conservative--little chromium, headlights in fenders, no running boards. It has gearshift on the steering post, many standard Studebaker features such as hill-holder, rotary door locks, expensive shock absorbers. And it gets some 20 miles to a gallon of gas.

To be put on sale in April, the Champion was last week displayed to Manhattan dealers. President Hoffman, once called the "greatest salesman on the Pacific Coast," hopes to sell 50,000 in 1939. To break even he will have to sell 25,000. He and Chairman Vance have bet four years work and $4,500,000 they can do it.

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