since he took over Packard's presidency in 1952. The gap in between was filled by a new make, the Clipper. Technically, it was a lighter Packard, built in Detroit alongside the senior cars. The next generation of cars would have to be concentrated on one location, and there was a detailed program for sharing as much sheet metal as possible. Although Nance was presumably right, dealer resistance against the Clipper as a new entry in the intermediate field was big. Dealers complained that the only thing that allowed them to sell Clippers was the prestige, though declining, of the Packard name on the car itself. Following a disastrous sales year in 1956, Nance resigned and Studebaker-Packard entered a management agreement with the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Curtiss, led by Roy T. Hurley, insisted on major changes. All of Studebaker-Packard's defense contracts and plants where defense work was carried out were picked up by Curtiss, Packard production in Detroit was stopped and all remaining automotive efforts were shifted to South Bend. "Packardbakers" The Packards (for 1957 and 1958) were essentially Studebaker Presidents with a redesigned Front Clip using Packard Parts and redesigned interior and tail of the car also using Packard Parts. The vehicles were referred to as "Packardbakers". The final Packard rolled off the assembly line on July 25, 1958. That year, Studebaker instructed company personnel to sell their Packards and use only Studebakers. Hurley was able to negotiate the distribution rights of the Mercedes Benz automobile brand in the USA exclusively owned by SP. Daimler Benz. The agreement was looked on as a necessity both for the income that Mercedes-Benz could add to the company's bottom line and as another product that the Studebaker dealer network could sell in the event that the company quit building its own cars. Studebaker-Packard Corporation made numerous attempt at resurrecting the Packard nameplate. The Franco-American Facel-Vega four-door sedan, which was powered by a Chrysler V8 engine, would have been supplied the basis of a new Packard. Additional work was done with the Ford Motor Company to use the 1956 Lincoln Bodies that Ford was eliminating. Studebaker Corporation in 1965 sold back to Daimler Benz, Mercedes Benz of North America which was distributing Mercedes in the USA. Diversification In 1960, the company began diversification efforts by buying: D. W. Onan & Sons - Generators & engines Cincinnati Testing Labs - Plastics Research Gering Plastics - Plastics