Customer Reviews

More Than They Promised: The Studebaker Story

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"More Than They Promised" was an excellent read. It detailed the entire history of Studebaker from its beginnings as wagon makers to its entry into the manufacture of automobiles.

Particularly interesting was the postwar era, especially after the disasterous merger with Packard. It SHOULD have worked, but in reality it was a total failure. The Sherwood Egbert era was very well detailed with his last-ditch efforts to save the automobile operations of what had by then become a conglomerate. At the time of their death, cars were but a small part of the empire.

I am fascinated by the Studebaker story, although I was only 8 years old when the last Studebaker was produced. I have often wondered what would have happened had they survived. Would they have survived the increasingly oppressive government safety and emission requirements? Would they have survived the fuel crises of '73 and '79?

I have had the pleasure of visiting the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, IN. Having seen these beautiful cars, particularly the "Loewy coupes" of 1953-55, I couldn't help but draw the conclusion that Studebaker was too far ahead of their customers.

Even if you are not a "car geek" as I am, you would likely enjoy reading "More Than They Promised".

I was born in South Bend and my neighbors and relatives worked at Studebaker. This book is an excellent portrait of a company sliding inexorably downhill. Some of the factors that killed Studebaker were internal (labor relations, high unit costs, lack of due diligence about the company's condition in the Packard merger) and some were external (George Romney's refusal to form a fourth major out of American Motors). Discussed in detail are the beautiful cars Studebaker built and their skill in managing the difficult transition from wagonmakers to automakers. (Lincoln rode in a Studebaker carriage to Ford's theater) Bonsall doesn't hesitate to point out the flaws and missteps Studebaker made, though. This book is an affectionate portrait of an American company that was part of the landscape for a century and has now vanished without a trace. Recommended.

This is an excellent overview of the life and death of an important part of the history of the U.S. auto industry. It covers all periods of the company's history well and combines the stories of people, products, and the entire industry very nicely.

The chapter on the Avanti is a marginal addition to the narrative but the last chapter on why Studebaker failed is excellent. The author points out that most readers of auto industry history focus their interest on product and forget the impact of other factors such as competitors' actions, shifting consumer taste, and the health of the overall economy. The role of the UAW in Studebaker's demise is also presented clearly.

The book is well laid out with enough photographs to keep it visually interesting without being overwhelming.

If you want to understand how the US car market got to where it is, this is a great book to start with. Its amazing how history tends to repeat itself, just with different players. Great read, I have passed my copy on to other family members who also enloyed the history lesson.

Great but there will be times you might fall a sleep when it gets wordy.
I'm glad I purchased it

Book on history of Studebaker Corp. Very good info on the life of the company and several reasons presented on why it failed.

An Excellent Biography, no details were missed in the writing.

Also, product shipping and delivery were very much up to par. I am completely satisfied.

awesome cronological of a great car company that should still be producing cars today