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?
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Then since this thread is tire related. Ford and Firestone were connected by marriage.
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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.
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I thought Six degrees of Separation meant avoiding the Know it All at family gatherings.
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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/
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Did someone say Bacon??? 
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Bacon is its own food group.
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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.
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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.
Sklyark?
Man I wish I had my granddadâs '64! Metallic with red vinyl bucket interior, super high-tech AM mono radio, 3 speed transmission⊠
Studebaker Lark, see my last post.
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Yup. Ours was gold though and the no frills version. Not sure of the year. 62 or somrthing.
No, Studebaker Lark, not Buick Skylark.
We had two, a 60 Sedan Flathead six, three speed and a 62 Wagon, 289 with 3 speed.
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Thanks for the clarification.
It seems that anything containing âlarkâ was en vogue 60 years ago:
Stude Lark
Buick Skylark
My Dadâs runabout outboard we used to go around Long Island Sound in, guess what propelled itâŠ
You got it!
An Evinrude LARK IV outboard!
So some confusion is understandable.
During the summer of 1967, I had an internship with my stateâs child protective agency. The local motorpool was a bunch of plain-jane Fords, Chevys, and Plymouths, all with a 6 cylinder engine, automatic trans, a heater, and the full gauge package. Nothing elseânot even a radio.
Anyway, one day I was given the assignment of taking our sole Studebaker Lark (probably a '62 model) to Trenton, in order to turn it in and bring back a brand-new Chevy. (I think that they replaced their vehicles every 5 years) I had never before driven a Studie, and after a couple of minutes, I remember thinking⊠Thatâs strange⊠This is the only car in our motorpool with power steering and an 8 cylinder engine.
When I had a chance to pull into a parking lot, I lifted the hood, and found that it didnât have PS, and that the engine was Studebakerâs standard OHV straight six.
I enjoyed my drive to the Central Motor Pool, and it showed me that the smaller, lighter, Studebaker Lark was more powerful (after several years of use) and that it steered almost effortlessly, in comparison to the âBig 3â sedans that I usually drove.
Iâm sure that the state sold that âoldâ Studie at auction, and whoever got it was rewarded with a very decent car with a lot of life left in it.
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