This subseries documents Studebaker, which was built by Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (1902-1954); Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (1954-1964); and Studebaker Corporation of Canada Limited of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (1964-1966).

Studebaker was for many years one of the oldest automakers in the United States. Founded by the Studebaker brothers in 1852 and originally the world's largest manufacturer of horse-drawn wagons, the firm built its first experimental car in 1897. Studebaker started marketing electric cars in 1902 and gasoline powered cars in 1904. Between 1904 and 1910, Studebaker's gasoline-powered cars were built by Garford (sold under the Studebaker-Garford name) and E-M-F (which were sold under the E-M-F and Flanders nameplates). Not satisfied with these arrangements, Studebaker broke its relationship with Garford, took over E-M-F, and started building cars under the Studebaker nameplate in 1911.

Once Studebaker started building cars under its own name, the company quickly grew and earned a reputation for innovative engineering and styling (which included cars styled by Virgil Exner and Raymond Loewy). The firm was also the first automaker to build its own outdoor proving grounds. During the 1920s and 1930s, Studebaker attempted to crack the low-priced market sector by introducing the Erskine (1926-1930) and Rockne (1932-1933) lines, but neither of these low-priced entries were successful. Studebaker was badly affected by the Great Depression and was forced into receivership in 1933, but returned to profitability later in the 1930s. The firm prospered during World War II, building trucks and personnel carriers for the American war effort.

When Studebaker resumed peacetime production after World War II, the firm once again earned a reputation for innovative enginieering and styling. But like other independent American automakers of the time, the firm found it could not compete against the American Big Three. In effort to survive, Studebaker merged with Packard Motor Car Company in 1954, but this merger proved unsuccessful and the Packard nameplate was discontinued in 1958. Studebaker also sought to strengthen its financial postion by marketing Mercedes-Benz cars through its dealerhip network, but this did not prove overly successful either. Faced with these realities, the company started to diversify into other businesses during the early 1960s, most notably becoming the makers of STP Oil Treatment and Paxton superchargers.

By late 1963, the writing was on the wall for Studebaker automobiles. That year, the firm closed its South Bend, Indiana assembly plant and moved all of its production activities to its smaller plant in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sales continued to decline, which prompted Studebaker to cease all automobile roduction in 1966. Studebaker's other business holdings survived and merged with Wagner Electric in 1967. See also E-M-F, Erskine, Garford, Mercedes-Benz, Packard, and Rockne.