Using that logic, Ford is connected to Chrysler via Lee Iacocca. And Studebaker is connected to Budweiser.
Exactly!
But, the supposedly âinterwovenâ relationships of car companies go far further than that.
Henry Leland-- from Cadillac to Lincoln
The Dodge brothersâfrom Ford to their own car company
Walter P. Chryslerâfrom Buick to his eponymous car company
Ferdinand Porscheâfrom Lohner to Daimler to Steyr to Auto Union to Mercedes to Porsche
Much more recently, Bunkie Knudsen migrated from GM to Ford to White Trucks
And, perhaps most memorable of all, John DeLorean, who began with Packard, moved to Pontiac, and thenâfinallyâhis own car company.
Isnât it obvious that PackardsâŠ
⊠and DeLoreansâŠ
⊠are âinterwovenâ?
Then since this thread is tire related. Ford and Firestone were connected by marriage.
Because employees frequently migrate from one company to another during their careers, that practice would result in virtually all companies (automotive and otherwiseâŠ) being âinterwovenâ.
I thought Six degrees of Separation meant avoiding the Know it All at family gatherings.
And I thought it was Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
I neglected earlier to mention that there was a car company that really was âinterwovenâ with Studebaker. In the early '50s, Studebaker contracted with Porsche to design the ânext generationâ Stude. As usual, Studebaker had funding problems, so the project was dropped, even though Porsche did provide a few somewhat different prototypes (and both air-cooled and water-cooled V-6s) for the Studebaker folks.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/porsches-first-four-door-was-a-studebaker/
Did someone say Bacon??? ![]()
The other close association with Studebaker was Mercedes, they often were sold at Studebaker dealerships, and the last Studebakers has a very Mercedes-like grill design:
That was a very interesting and informative article
Thank you
Yes, Studebaker was the US distributor for Mercedes for several years, in the '50s. I knew a Studebaker parts guy, and he was able to parlay his Mercedes connection into a job with them when Studebaker went belly-up
Another actual case of car companies that were âinterwovenâ would be DKW, Saab, and Trabant. The pre-WW II 2-cycle DKW (Das Kleine Wunder) engine was adapted for the original Saabs, and was also used in Trabants.
Respect your elders. I had an alignment done with the fancy computer equipment. Didnât like it and was scary on a curve in the rain. Took it to an old guy I used in 1968 that still had the mechanical Bear equipment. Called me to come look but I said just fix it. He insisted. Three of the four body mounts were shot with the engine cradle ready to fall out. I think the bill was about $250 to replace everything after I had bought new mounts at the dealer. He got grease on my steering wheel but I didnât mind.
My dad had one of those Larks for commuting. Only thing I did was fix the rust on the fenders and reattach the vacume line.


