Studebaker Qualified Mechanic

Red badge with gray scale circle containing hand holding wrench over laurel wreath illustration and text. Hole in button for name to slide in.

Studebaker was one of the longest-lived independent cars in America. The company began in the 1850s making wagons and wagon hardware for others. They supplied wagons to gold rush era ‘49ers, pioneers, and the Union army during the Civil War. Studebaker built and sold their first car, an electric, in 1902. Gasoline cars came two years later. Wagon production ended in 1919. Studebaker prospered in the 1920s, survived the 1930s, but had financial trouble after 1950. Production ended in 1963 and 1966 in the United States and Canada respectively.

Studebaker had two degrees of certification: Studebaker Qualified Mechanic and Studebaker Master Mechanic. The company issued regular Service Bulletins with quizzes. Once you passed, you could wear this ID Badge on your shop coat or a lapel pin on your suit jacket. It is thought that the Studebaker certification process was similar to the ASE certification program that mechanics take today. ID Badges were manufactured so that instead of creating one new badge for an individual every time someone passed into the program, the company could create badges in bulk and insert the name of the individual into the blank space behind the window.