Henry Ford Quote of the Day
Worcester County Model A Club
Worcester County Model A Club
Started in 1991 the club is for enthusiasts of the Model A Ford both young
and old whether you own one now or did back in the day and just want to
tell the stories of wrenching on the road, the Roadster that got away, or the
Tudor behind your uncles barn when you were a kid.
The Ford Model A
The Model A Ford went into production on October 20th 1927, the A was set
to replace the venerable Model T that had a hugely successful 18 year
production run. The first car was sold on December 2nd 1927, in March
1932 the A’s production run ended after 4,858,644 cars had been built.
© 2015, 2016, 2017 Worcester County Model A Club
A of the Day
This day in Automotive History
March 23, 1956 The Studebaker-Packard Corporation halted
merger talks with the Ford Motor Company to pursue talks
with the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Studebaker-Packard
itself was the result of a merger in which the large
Studebaker firm merged with the small and successful
Packard line. After World War II the independent car
manufacturers had a difficult time keeping pace with the
production capabilities of the Big Three, who were able to
produce more cars at lower prices to meet the demands of a
population starved for cars. Independents began to merge
with one another to remain competitive. Nash-Kelvinator and
Hudson Motors merged successfully to become American
Motors (AMC). Paul Hoffman, the manager of Studebaker,
realized his company would have to merge or perish. He
negotiated an arduous merger between his company and
Detroit-based Packard Motors. The merger took over five
months to come through, as unionized labor on both sides
balked at the proposal. Finally, in October of 1954,
Studebaker and Packard merged to become the country's
fourth largest car company. Hoffman chose Packard
President James Nance to lead the new operation. Nance,
spiteful of the inefficiency that Studebaker brought to his
company, generally ignored the input of his colleagues,
instituting his own policies in an attempt to turn around the
fortune of his new company. His policies failed, and renewed
labor problems brought Studebaker-Packard to its knees. In
1956, Curtiss-Wright purchased Studebaker-Packard. The
failed merger between Studebaker, which had been in
operation since the 1890s, and Packard was emblematic of
the post-war independent manufacturers' scramble to
consolidate. While Studebaker-Packard failed, AMC was able
to stay alive into the 1970s, when it was bought by French
giant Renault.
1956 Studebaker Sky Hawk Coupe