Erskine (automobile)
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The Erskine was an American automobile brand produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana from 1927 to 1930. The brand was named for Albert Russel Erskine (1871–1933) who was the president of the Studebaker Corporation at the time.
During his term as Studebaker’s President, Erskine encouraged Studebaker engineers to develop advanced engines. As a result Studebaker began to amass not only numerous racing wins, but also began to claim more of the upper priced market. This left Studebaker without an entry level automobile in the United States, and Erskine, who had always been fascinated by smaller European vehicles saw market potential in a short wheel based, compact car, especially if it could expand Studebaker's presence in the European market.
When introduced in time for the 1927 model year, the car was named after its creator, and marketed as The Little Aristocrat. To make the Erskine affordable, Studebaker fitted the cars with a six-cylinder Continental engines rather than the more advanced Studebaker units and priced the cars at $995. Body design was by Ray Dietrich; the design proved to be quite a head-turner, and received numerous accolades from the British and French press. Initially, sales demand was promising. However, within a year Ford introduced its Model A and priced it at $525 dollars, undercutting the Erskine by $470.
To remedy this, Studebaker marketing suggested that the Erskine become a larger car, which when implemented grew the wheelbase from 108" to 114". The Erskine was no longer small, and became more like its Studebaker brethren. Ultimately, the Erskine was absorbed into Studebaker by May 1930. A little over a year later, Studebaker would try again with the 1931 Rockne brand automobile.
To his credit, Albert Erskine successfully strengthened Studebaker’s core automobile business and helped to guide the corporation toward technical advancements that eventually would help the company through the first few years of the depression.
However Erskine also encouraged the payment of stockholder dividends from Studebaker’s capital reserves as the depression deepened; this inflated the value of the stock, and eventually weakened the company. In addition to the two failed marques he created (Rockne and Erskine), Erskine also had purchased luxury car maker Pierce-Arrow during the high rolling 1920s, which had to be sold off to investors as a means of improving cash flow.
Rather than lose control of Studebaker, Albert R. Erskine committed suicide in 1933 on the grounds of Studebaker’s proving grounds (now Bendix Woods Park) outside of South Bend, Indiana.
[edit] Production Totals (model year) for Erskine
- 1927, 24,893 units
- 1928, 22,275 units
- 1929, 25,565 units
- 1930, 22,371 units
[edit] Online Resources
[edit] References
- Maloney, James H. (1994). Studebaker Cars. Crestline Books. ISBN 0-87938-884-6.
- Kimes, Beverly R., Editor. Clark, Henry A. (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4.
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