Studebaker Motor Company

Fish & Electrics Fish realized early on that Studebaker’s future did not rest in the limited electric car, but in the gasoline powered automobile. Studebaker’s field of expertise was in body building and product distribution, not engine building. This realization led to the creation of the Studebaker-Garford automobile in 1904. The joint agreement worked well until 1909-1910 when Garford attempted to divert chassis to its own brand of automobile, and Studebaker, looking for an affordable car to sell entered into an agreement with the E-M-F Company of Detroit. E-M-F would build the entire car, which would then be distributed through Studebaker wagon dealers.

End Of Eletrics Still, Studebaker continued to build electric vehicles until John M. Studebaker, Frederick Fish’s father-in-law, decided to begin the process of seizing control of E-M-F in 1909, which Studebaker completed by 1910.

1912By 1912, John M. Studebaker finally saw that the future in automobiles involved gasoline powered engines, and the limited production of electric cars stopped. An official announcement from the newly re-incorporated Studebaker Corporation stated:
The production of electric automobiles at South Bend has ended…It has been conducted for nine years without much success, and ultimately the superiority of the gasoline car (is) apparent.