The Final Studebaker Ever Built Rolled Off The Line 60 Years Ago Today

There are heaps of defunct automakers for us to cry over in 2026. Many of us have our favorites that are we miss dearly, but others are probably more deserving of their place in the history books. We'll forget those for today, though, and instead shine the spotlight on one of the most storied automakers to ever exist – Studebaker.

The familiar American name slipped out of the mainstream decades ago, but at one time, Studebaker sat among the largest carriage manufacturers in the world. The firm went from having no more than a few dollars in the bank when it first formed in 1852 to providing wagons to the U.S. Army in the 1860s, causing annual turnover swell to around $350,000. After 25 years in business, Studebaker was making over $1 million in sales, which placed the company in a great position for the dawn of the gas-powered automobile.

Automobile production at the Studebaker factory actually began with the manufacturing of early electric cars, starting in 1902, and Thomas Edison was an early buyer. In 1904, Studebaker turned its attention to gas, and that's the way production carried on for another 62 years.

Sadly, due to financial issues, Studebaker closed its doors in 1966, but not before churning out 8,947 cars in its last year of business. The very last model, a Cruiser finished in duo-tone turquoise and white, rolled off of the factory floor on March 16th of that year. The doors have been shut on Studebaker's fascinating history for exactly 60 years now, but the automaker's story is still just as important today as it was back then.

During Studebaker's final years, the bosses decided that roughly 20,000 units had to be sold annually, but this proved to be too much for demand in the early-to-mid 1960s. Despite '65 figures coming close, the writing was on the wall, and Studebaker's doors were destined to be shut.

That turquoise and white '66 Cruiser, a four-door sedan with a 283-cubic-inch V8 under the hood, was the last ever to leave as a brand-new Studebaker. It was a fairly modest model, typical of the time, with a handy 195 horsepower under the hood, a stylish, chrome-clad exterior, and an equally of-the-era interior. It rode on 15-inch wheels with bright Studebaker caps, set off sweetly by period-correct whitewalls.

Reportedly, of the 8,947 Studebakers produced in '66, just 1,844 of them were Cruisers, making final-model-year examples such as this an incredibly rare sight today. The very last one made resides in the Studebaker National Museum and is rightfully preserved as a treasure of American (and Canadian) automaking. Despite the rarity and importance of these final models, getting ahold of a '66 Cruiser is far from an expensive endeavor.

Recent sales show that ready-to-go '66 Cruisers happily trade for south of $10,000. Hagerty suggests similar values on the model, pegging good-condition examples at $8,200 and excellent cars at $11,300. For a show-winner, a $15,200-budget should be ample, whereas you can pick up a project for just a few thousand dollars — although spare parts for rough examples may be tricky to find.

The rise and fall of Studebaker is a fascinating story in itself, but is there another chapter that is yet to be told? Well, possibly — we've seen other long-forgotten names be revived in the past, such as Jenson Button's now bankrupt Radford Motors. However, there is certainly no news to excite Studebaker fans at the moment.

Sure, rumors have circulated before, including the supposed launch of an all-new electric model and the revival of the Lark name as a remarkably awkward-looking compact, but there is little to no truth in these reports. It's not clear who, if anyone, currently owns the rights to the Studebaker name. The automaker merged with Worthington Corporation and Wagner Electric in 1967 to become the Studebaker-Worthington Corporation. However, 10 years later, the 'Studebaker' aspect of the name was dropped, and from this point on, tracing any true lineage of the automaker gets tricky.

Potentially, the rights to the Studebaker name are out there for an entrepreneurial automaker to claim, but until that day, the last model ever made will remain a classic '66 Cruiser.