Harold Sines Vance (22 August 1889 – 31 August 1959) was an American

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

company executive and government official, notable for being chairman (1935–54) and president (1948-54) of the

Studebaker Corporation Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...

and for a four-year term on the Atomic Energy Commission, where he encouraged the industrial use of nuclear energy.

Biography

Vance was born in the city of Port Huron, Michigan in 1889. He achieved moderate grades in school and, having failed the entrance examination for

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, he went to work briefly for his father's law partner whose death terminated the arrangement. In 1910, he obtained a job as a mechanic at the Port Huron branch of the E-M-F Company, which was being acquired by the Studebaker Corporation. He moved to the Detroit plant and was production vice-president in 1926 when he supervised the plant's closure and move to Studebaker's primary plant at

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. By the time of the Great Depression, Vance was production vice president in the company at South Bend, working with Paul G. Hoffman who would later take charge of the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

and the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

. A series of financial mistakes by Studebaker's long-serving president Albert Russel Erskine, led to his suicide and the corporation's insolvency in 1933. Vance and Paul G. Hoffman gained control of the company as receivers with Ashton G. Bean of the

White Motor Company The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the comp ...

and began to reinstate the operation which owed the banks $6 million but had current assets of $7 million, being an operating concern with a big stock of cars on hand. In 1935, a $6,800,000 new stock and bond issue, underwritten by

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

, Goldman Sachs and others, took Studebaker out of receivership. At that time, Vance became chairman and Hoffman became president. A new era of success arrived with the popular 1939

Studebaker Champion The Studebaker Champion is an automobile which was produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana, from the beginning of the 1939 model year until 1958. It was a full-size car in its first three generations and a mid-size car in its ...

car range. A sales record of over $364 million was set in 1943 Contracts during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

brought in $1.2 billion, and led to the production of 290,000 trucks, 64,000 engines for Flying Fortresses, and 16,000 amphibious vehicles (the Studebaker US6 truck and the unique

M29 Weasel The M29 Weasel is a World War II tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. Built by Studebaker, Weasels were also used in sandy, muddy, and desert terrains, including towing loads over terrain wheeled vehicles could not negotiate as in the ...

cargo and personnel carrier, in particular). With Hoffman’s departure to head the

Economic Cooperation Administration The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a form ...

(administrator of the

) in 1948, Vance became both chairman and president of Studebaker. On February 2, 1953 Vance was featured on the front cover of

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...

. In 1952, Vance was called to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to chair a committee on mobilization relating to the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. To Defence Secretary Robert Lovett, Vance reportedly commented ''"Bob, I understand that the Army has 60,000 trucks in Texas just sitting around."'' This disclosure led to the cancellation of a $100 million order for such trucks which had been placed with Studebaker. The reports attracted the attention of President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, who requested that Vance direct the mobilization process, however Vance declined. In 1954, Studebaker was merged with Packard Motors Company and Vance left the corporation. A year later, in on October 31, 1955, Vance joined the

United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...

, and worked there until his death on August 31, 1959.

Notes

External links

The Studebaker MuseumThe Studebaker Drivers ClubStudebaker History and Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Harold Sines Studebaker people People in the automobile industry 1889 births 1959 deaths