The Erskine Error
“Trying to sell European styling to Americans was a costly lesson…”
Several American Independent automakers tried offering a companion make, usually as a lower-priced alternative to their main sellers. Willys had its Whippet, Hudson had the Essex, Kaiser-Frazer its Henry J, Nash the Lafayette, and Studebaker had its Erskine.
The Erskine got its name from the man who first proposed it—Albert Russel Erskine, Studebaker’s president since 1915. Once third in industry
