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Heritage Structure 22
aMERICANISM
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DEPENDABILITY
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VersatilitY
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e g a t i r he The
ebaker
of Stud
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100 years of history Since 1852, when Henry and Clement founded their company in South Bend in Indiana,the Studebaker had an evolution to answer the world’s needs,in particuar, those of its native country: United States. At the beginning, the producton was aimed at the making of wagons both for the agricultural and for the military industry, which, in a short period of time, expanded on the whole territory,thanks to the westwards migration and to the important United State Army commissions. The President of United Stated of America himself. contributed to the success of this company, thus ordering, in 1889, a huge number of wagons for the White House. A slogan defined this way their first wagon: “Terrific steel hand - work equipment, the kind of courting buggy where every boy and girl would be proud to sit on”.
In1902 Studebaker’ s debut in the automotive branch with an electric car, which was purchased,in its second sample, by Edison. Despite its great innovative spirit decided Studebaker in 1904 to undertake tank cars path. A series of successes followed which lead Studebaker, in 1926, to become the first car producer in United States. From the 20s till the 60s Studebaker produced many car models which were milestones in the automotive branch both for wagons style and for their engineering . During Second World War the productionchanged in military tanks. After the end of the war, Studebaker started again to produce cars for the American middle class. The competiton was however fierce, in particular General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, for compact cars sold between 1960 and 1961. This led to a significative loss sale and to the following closing 7
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of the company in 1966. If you observe Studbaker, we can gather that it evolved in a very resolute way, going from the production of wagons and military vehicles to get to cars with various purposes. A brand which was able to get the new challanges and take advantage from the new chances to reach great goals. Through innovative advertising initiative as the purchase of a huge plot where in 1937 were planted 5000 pine trees and a part of the park planting shaped the writing “Studebaker”, or the realisation of a enormous car for a short - film of even 10
more, a magazine production on it own cars which reached, in the 30s, a million of copies and the several appearances in the Tv serial “Mister Ed”, Studebaker breached the hearts of American people to remain there till nowadays. There are several fan - clubs and associations promoting every kind of event so as not to forget the importance this brand had in the American history. A brand which managed to hit the nail on the head, carrying great values. And it is on this solid basis that the name Studebaker, till today, would be still appreciated and shared.
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e r u t c u r t S th e
of Stud
ebaker
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Americanism
Mass production Oversize Emphasized curves
AffidabilitĂ
100 years of history Safety test Ergonomics
versatilitĂ
Choice of optionals Wide range Wide target
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Americanism Americanism is being able to accompany the evolution of American population’s life style. Both aestethic and functional features of the products reflect American identity.
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oversize
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Emphasized curves Mass production
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Dependability A long-lasting tradition guarantees quality and safety of the products, which arise from a great interest in users’ needs.
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safety test
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Ergonomics
100 years of history
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versatility Versatility is being able to adapt to different backgrounds, meeting a miscellaneous target with different needs and coming up with various solutions.
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wide target wide range
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Choice of optionals
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CONTRIBUTORS Text Alice Fada, Laura Faraci, Umberto Dolcini
Images Alice Fada, Laura Faraci, Chiara Colombo, Anne S. Philipp, Umberto Dolcini
lAYOUT Alice Fada, Laura Faraci, Anne S. Philipp, Umberto Dolcini, Chiara Colombo
printed at Politecnico di Milano, Laboratorio di metaprogetto 2014
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