Road Warrior – Grand Finale – Studie Museum

The last day of the trip back from the East Coast started with a visit to the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Ind. It had been a good many years since I last saw the collection and it has a new home and a very healthy look to it. Archivist Andy Beckman was my contact and got me started on a walk through of three floors full of cars, trucks and wagons. It turns out that Andy is from Wisconsin and his father even did some horsetrading with former Old Cars weekly editor Denny Schrimpf. Many of the cars we saw years ago in the attic of the old factory building are now stored on the basement level of the new museum. They include everything from rare factory prototypes to military vehicles. The earlier Studebakers, Flanders, Erskines and what have you are exhibited on the main floor. The top floor houses many postwar models placed in settings that range from a mock design studio to a drive-in restaurant. This is a destination definitely worth adding to your hobby travel itinerary this summer. For an electronic look at the National Studebaker Museum visit www.studebakermuseum.org.