In 1961, 40 year-old Sherwood Egbert took on an impossible task: saving Studebaker. 

Sherwood Harry Egbert (1920-1969) had one of the shorter tenures as chief executive in Studebaker history—less than three years—but in that time he made a major impact on the company. In his aggressive efforts to revive the stuggling car brand, his initiatives included the introduction of disc brakes, superchargers, a redesigned Lark, the Wagonaire, the Gran Turismo Hawk, and the Avanti. None of these bold moves, together or separately, were enough to keep the automaker in business, as it turned out. But realistically, that was never in the cards. Egbert had arrived too late.

Sherwood Egbert (left) with Raymond Loewy, 1963 Avanti introduction 

In truth, when the Studebaker-Packard Corporation’s board of directors chose Egbert to run the company in January of 1961, saving the Studebaker car brand was not on the top of their task list. Rather, he was directed to streamline operations and diversify the company through acquistions to limit its exposure in the auto industry. And that he did, acquiring STP Oil Treatment, Franklin Refrigeration, and Paxton Products, among others. As the board saw it, with less than a 2 percent market share the prospects for Studebaker in the car business were dismal at best.

Egbert didn’t see it that way, as soon he was throwing both arms around the automotive operations. A major in the U.S. Marines in World War II, at six feet, four inches he was a dynamic presence: According to Time magazine, the 40 year-old was known as “Mr. Go-Go-Go” in his previous job running the McCulloch Corporation. One of his first tasks was to visit 1,300 Studebaker dealers personally where, as a fully rated pilot, Egbert  took the right seat in Studebaker’s corporate aircraft.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman (left) and Sherwood Egbert with the 1962 Indy 500 pace car, a Lark Daytona Convertible. 

With no hope of resuscitating the dead Packard brand, the company’s name was shortened to the Studebaker Corporation. To reinvigorate Studebaker’s aging product line, Egbert engaged his friend, industrial designer Brooks Stevens, to upsize and restyle the 1962 Lark and to repackage the Hawk as the striking Gran Turismo Hawk. From Raymond Loewy and Associates, Egbert commissioned a radically styled fiberglass GT called the Avanti, designed in just five weeks in a bungalow in Palm Springs and rushed into production for 1963. Superchargers by Paxton (another Studebaker division) were available across the board in ’63, along with disc brakes by Bendix, a neighboring South Bend company.

While all these developments were exciting at the time and so memorable today, they failed to reverse the automarker’s rapid decline. Sales fell another 22 percent in ’63 and the company repoted a loss of nearly $17 million. Egbert, who’d been diagnosed with stomach cancer a year earlier and had undergone several operations, stepped down on November 24, 1963. Just 26 days later, the board shut down vehicle production in South Bend, though assembly continued on a limited basis in Canada though March of 1966. Despite his serious illness, Egbert outlived Studebaker as a carmaker, passing away on July 30, 1969. He was 49 years old.

1963 Studebaker Lark, Gran Turismo Hawk, and Wagonaire