Studebaker Drivers Club 60th Annual International Meet

Hundreds of classic Studebakers vehicles will be in Dubuque, Iowa, in June 2024 Classic Car Club featuring Studebakers announces it will host the 60th Annual Studebaker Drivers Club International Meet in Dubuque, Iowa, in June of 2024. The Iowa Hawkeye Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club will host over 400 Studebaker and related vehicles at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds on June 25-29, 2024.  With more than eight thousand members worldwide, this event is expected to bring Studebaker enthusiasts from every state in the nation, Canada, and Mexico to Iowa.  The Iowa Hawkeye Chapter is chartered under the International Studebaker Drivers Club and has been active since 1972.  With about one hundred members all over the state and beyond, they are an active group with two tours a year and monthly meetings throughout the state.  They hosted the SDC International Meet in Cedar Rapids in 2009 and are proud to bring Studebaker enthusiasts back to Iowa to see the beauty of the area and the hospitality of the Iowans everywhere.   The event is open to the public on Saturday, June 29, 2024, with an all-makes-welcome Cruise-In at the Fairgrounds joining the Studebakers on display.  There will be a viewing of The Muppet Movie and a speaker from the Studebaker National Museum talking about the restoration of the 1951 Studebaker Bulletnose movie car used in the 1979 release of The Muppet Movie.  From June 25 to 28, the event is limited to members of the Studebaker Drivers Club, the Antique Studebaker Club, and the Avanti Owners Association International.  Studebaker and related vehicles of all makes will be on display daily, along with a large swapmeet, concourse judging, watches, toys, memorabilia displays and judging, and several seminars.  All details are on www.sdcmeet.com.  Studebaker Corporation was located in South Bend, Indiana, and has a rich history going back to before the gold rush and settlers crossed the country.  Studebaker dealerships were common in America; nearly every town had a dealership first selling wagons and then motorized vehicles.  1852 the Studebaker brothers built horse-drawn buggies, carriages, and Conestoga wagons.  These wagons were a primary mode of transportation as the nation migrated westward.  In 1902 Studebaker started building electric automobiles but soon went to gasoline power.  By 1915, Studebaker was producing more than 45,000 cars annually.  Horse-drawn wagon production continued until 1919.  In 1928, Studebaker acquired Pierce-Arrow.  They merged with Packard in 1954 During WWII, Studebaker produced trucks and radial engines for aircraft.  After the war, automobile and truck production resumed, and by the 1950s, Studebaker offered their famed bullet-nose design.  During the last half of the 1950s, Studebaker introduced their family of Hawks, merged with Packard, and, in 1959, responded to the growing demand for a more compact family car with the Lark.  Expansion to Gravely Tractors, STP Motor chemicals, and Clarke cleaning machines continued under the Studebaker Corporation. 1963 Studebaker released the Avanti, Lark, and Champion light-duty trucks and postal Zip Vans.  Production ceased in South Bend, Indiana, plant in 1964 but continued in Canada until 1966.  The Avanti Motor Company continued to build the Avanti II in South Bend until 1987, when production and redesign moved to Ohio, then Georgia, and on to Cancun, Mexico, where production of the Avanti ceased in March 2006. www.StuudebakerDriversClub.com www.StudebakersIowa.com www.sdcmeet.com Chapter President 2023, Gary Thoren, Red Oak, Iowa Chapter Vice President 202, Bruce Aldrich, Storm Lake, Iowa